“What?” cried JC and Tyler simultaneously.

“How? Why?” cried JC.

Lance shuddered as he took a deep breath to steady himself. “S-she came to my place, crying over something our moms had said. Somehow we started arguing over our moms and… and that was it. She called it off,” said Lance, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Come on,” said JC, throwing an arm around Lance’s shoulders. “Let’s go inside so we can get this straightened out.”

The three men went up the walkway and into the house, letting the door slam heavily behind them.

“Josh?” called Alex from the top of the stairs. “Who was it? I heard the doorbell.”

“It was me, Al,” called Tyler.

“Ty? What are you doing here?” called Alex excitedly. “Hang on. I’ll come down.”

“No!” cried Tyler. “I’ll come up there!” He looked to JC and Lance. “Don’t tell her what’s going on. She’ll freak, and we can’t do that to her or the baby. I’ll keep her distracted.”

“Thanks man,” said JC, smiling gratefully.

“No problem,” said Tyler with a shrug. He slapped a hand down on Lance’s shoulder. “Hang in there, buddy, ok? It’ll all turn out fine.” Lance smiled weakly. With that, Tyler took off up the stairs.

JC turned back to Lance, a sympathetic smile on his lips. “Why don’t we sit down for a while?” said JC, motioning to the couch.

“I’m really sorry about this, Jace,” said Lance quietly.

“Don’t worry about it,” said JC, shaking his head. “You’re one of my best friends… it’s what I’m here for.”

“Thanks,” said Lance meekly.

“How about you run through everything slowly… what happened?” asked JC.

Lance took a shaky breath and ran his hands over his face as he remembered what had happened merely forty-five minutes earlier.

Lance sighed as the ringing of the doorbell continued. There was only one person who could annoy him like that on a regular basis.

“Chris, I swear-“ he abruptly stopped when he saw Jessie’s, not Chris’s, tear-stained face. “Jess?”

“They don’t like my wedding dress,” she said with a shaky voice. “They don’t like it.”

“Oh Jess…” said Lance, opening his arms to her. “It’ll be alright.”

“How?” snapped Jessie, pulling away. “How is it going to be alright?”

“We’ll talk to your mom again,” sighed Lance. “That’s all we can do for now.”

“What?” asked Jessie. “You’re just going to talk to my mom?”

“Well, yeah,” said Lance with a shrug.

“What about your mom?”

“What about her?” asked Lance.

“She’s not exactly innocent in this whole thing, you know,” said Jessie, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Well she’s definitely not as bad as yours,” said Lance defensively.

“Excuse me?” cried Jessie.

“What? You’ve been complaining about her this entire time!” cried Lance.

“I’ve been complaining about both our mothers! And besides! She’s my mother! I’m allowed to complain about her!” cried Jessie, waving her arms.

“Don’t act like my mother’s the one here causing all the problems!” cried Lance, beginning to yell. “My mom told me how you’ve been especially difficult since they’ve arrived!”

“What!” cried Jessie. “Don’t you dare turn on me, Lance, because of your mother!”

“You’re just jealous!” cried Lance.

Jessie stared at him blankly, her mouth hanging open in surprise. “Of what, might I ask?”

“Of the fact that I have a sane mother and you don’t!” cried Lance.

“How dare you!” screamed Jessie. “How dare you insult my mother like that!”

“You’ve been sitting here insulting my mom!” cried Lance.

“You know, it really surprises me that I could’ve gone this long without finding this out about you,” said Jessie.

“Find out what?” snapped Lance.

“That you’re a prissy Momma’s boy!” cried Jessie.

“Whatever,” said Lance, rolling his eyes.

“You know what?” cried Jessie. “This engagement is off!”

“What?” cried Lance, his tone softening.

“You’ve disrespected my both me and my family, and I’ve just discovered a side of you I never knew!” cried Jessie. “If I were to marry you, your mom would probably rule our lives!”

“Jessie!”

“No, Lance, it’s over!” she cried, marching to the door, slamming it heavily behind her, leaving Lance staring blankly at the space Jessie had once filled. The sound of the squealing tires against the pavement outside confirmed what he feared most.

“And she was gone,” said Lance, his voice cracking.

“Maybe she was just stressed,” offered JC. “She was stressed and worried. She probably didn’t mean it.”

“How do you know?” snapped Lance.

“Because women are moody,” came a new voice. Tyler stood at the base of the stairs. “Alex was wondering what happened to her hot chocolate, so I told her I’d find out,” said Tyler with a shrug, explaining his sudden presence.

“Oh,” said JC. “Well, the mess in the kitchen is what was eventually going to become hot chocolate,” said JC, shrugging sheepishly.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it,” said Tyler. “It’s Emma’s favorite.”

“Jessie loves hot chocolate with a little bit of whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkles,” whimpered Lance. JC shot Tyler a look of helplessness. Tyler looked back at JC in a way that clearly stated “good luck”.

JC looked back at Lance as Tyler disappeared in the kitchen. He was a pathetic sight. Lance, who was normally the most put together of them all, sat on the couch, his face buried in his hands. The top few buttons of his white button up shirt were unbuttoned. The collar was bent and twisted awkwardly. His hair was ruffled and disheveled, no doubt from running his hands through it so many times, as he did when he was nervous.

“Look, Lance,” said JC. “The first thing we should do is call Jen. Jen is her best friend. She’ll know what do to.” With that, JC picked up the receiver and quickly dialed Jen’s number.

After letting it ring several times, JC hung up, a confused look on his face. “So much for that idea,” he mumbled. “There’s no answer.”

Lance didn’t respond. He simply shrugged. JC quickly ran through plausible options in his mind as to how to reunite Lance and Jessie, but his thoughts were running dry, as it was normally Alex who dealt with the guys' relationship problems... not him.

The doorbell ringing provided a momentary escape. JC left a mournful Lance on the couch and walked to the door. “Ryan?” he asked in surprise, throwing open the door.

“The one and only,” said Ryan with a grin… the same grin each of the Payton children shared with their father, JC noted. “How’s my favorite brother-in-law?”

“Dealing,” said JC with a shrug, motioning for Ryan to follow him into the next room. “You never warned me about Alex's unhealthy love of green olives,” said JC with a shake of his head.

"What are you talking about? She hates green olives," said Ryan, his brow creasing in confusion.

"Then explain to me why I had to make a midnight run to Food World last night," said JC.

Ryan simply chuckled. “You married her, man. I tried to warn you about her but you wouldn’t listen… poor boy.” As he spoke, the pair entered the den where Lance sat on the couch. “Oh! Hey Lance! How’s it going?” asked Ryan, approaching Lance with a grin. “How’s little Jess doing?”

Lance moaned and resumed his position with his face buried in his hands.

"Look what you did," sighed JC, running his hand over his face.

"What? What did I do?" asked Ryan, looking to JC in utter confusion.

"Lance and Jessie... they're having a few problems right now," said JC softly, trying to keep Lance from overhearing.

"She broke up with me is what happened!" said Lance suddenly.

Ryan's jaw dropped. "What?!" he cried, a little too loudly.

"Josh?" called Alex from upstairs. "Who's that?"

"N-Nothing, honey," said JC. "Just relax."

"I am relaxing," called Alex, her temper beginning to flare. Ryan gazed upon JC supportively.

"I'd try to keep that Italian temper of hers calm, if I were you," he said. JC arched an eyebrow sardonically.

"Gee. Thanks, Ryan. That helps immensely," he said flatly.

"Glad to be of help," said Ryan with a grin.

"Um, Jace," came Tyler's voice from the kitchen. "I don't quite know what to make of this mess- Hey man!" he cried as he spotted Alex's brother and his friend. "What are you doing here?"

"I decided to stop by and visit my poor brother-in-law," said Ryan with a shrug. "Now that I'm working at the lab at the university, I can afford that luxury."

"Um, guys?" said JC. "I hate to interrupt, but we've got Lance here, bordering on suicidal, so I'd appreciate the help."

"Sorry," said Tyler.

"Ok," said Ryan, clapping his hands together loudly. "What do we do?"

"Josh? What's that sound? I know there's something going on!" called Alex. "So you might as well tell me!"

"Nothing, Alex, I swear," called JC. "Just stay up there."

"You didn't let Joey start a campfire in the middle of the room like he's been asking, did you?" she called.

"Alex! Please! Give me some credit!" he scoffed.

"Oh I give you enough credit, Sparky," she said skeptically.

"Hah! She called you Sparky!" chuckled Ryan amusedly. "But why don't you tell her I'm here... Sparky?"

JC rolled his eyes. "Because I need you here for now to help me with him," he said, motioning to Lance.

"But we're guys," said Tyler with a whine. "We can't handle stuff like this!"

Lance, who had remained silent the whole time, let out a pitiful groan.

"Ok, I get it. Help. But what do we do?" asked Tyler.

"Lance? Ryan?" came a feminine voice from the stairs. JC, Ryan, Lance, and Tyler each jumped in surprise. Unfortunately, that jump resulted in puddle of hot chocolate on the tile at Tyler's feet. "I knew someone was here!" said Alex as she waddled carefully down the stairs. "Why didn't you tell me?" she hissed, glaring murderously at JC.

"I, uh..." stuttered JC, shooting Ryan a silent plea for help.

"I wanted to surprise you," said Ryan, walking over and helping Alex come down the last of the stairs.

"Oh," said Alex with a shrug. "Well that was sweet of you," she said with a small smile, allowing Ryan to kiss her cheek. "Hey Lance, could you do me a favor and ask Jessie to call me when you get a chance?"

Lance bit his lip, muffling a small whimper. He nodded, blinking away the tears forming in his eyes.

"Well, it looks like I'm going to have to make my own hot chocolate," she said, glancing down at the puddle at Tyler's feet. She shook her head. "Can't you men do anything right?" she said with a giggle.

"I'll help you," said JC, rushing to Alex's side, placing a hand on the small of her back and leading her into the kitchen. He turned around halfway, silently motioning for Tyler and Ryan to do something about Lance.

Ryan pushed Tyler towards Lance. When Tyler wouldn’t budge, Tyler turned and shoved Ryan. Lance let out another muffled sob into his hands. Ryan and Tyler looked at each other.

This wasn’t going to be easy.

The ticking of the clock was the only sound audible in the eerily motionless apartment. Jen sat on her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest, rocking softly.

On the kitchen counter, down the hall, sat the torn photograph that she’d received when she’d fetched the mail earlier. Since that moment, she’d been practically paralyzed with fear. It had come in the mail… meaning, whoever sent it, knew where she lived. Phone calls were a bit nerve wracking in and of itself. Receiving mail was terrifying.

Finally pushing herself to leave the confines of her apartment, Jen had gone downstairs to speak to Anne, who was the desk clerk of the building, but had also managed to become a friend.

“Hey Anne,” she had said upon spotting her, leaning casually back in her seat, reading a J-14 magazine.

“Hey Jen,” she had said with a smile, sitting up. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, really,” Jen had said with a shake of her head. “I was just wondering… has there been anyone… I don’t know, weird hanging around here lately?”

Anne’s brow had creased in confusion. “Not that I’ve seen… why? Is something wrong?”

“Oh no, nothing,” Jen had said, shaking her head. “So you’re reading a teenybopper magazine, huh?” she teased, changing the subject. “Aren’t you a little old for that?”

Anne grinned broadly. “Your boyfriend’s in it,” she said, holding out the magazine.

“Really?” Jen had said, taking the magazine from Anne’s hands.

“Yeah,” Anne had said with a nod. “Go ahead and borrow it if you’d like. I’ve read that one about fifty million times already.”

“Thanks,” Jen had said, turning to head back up to her apartment. Half an hour later found her seated on the bed, staring forlornly at the magazine tossed on the end of the mattress.

Should she report this? What good would that do besides worry Justin? No… Jen had to handle this on her own.

But how was she supposed to handle it?

She didn’t have time to think it over, as a frantic pounding began coming from the direction of the door. Jen’s heart rate jumped. She froze in place, shaking from nervousness.

“Jen!” called the feminine voice from outside the door. “It’s Jessie! I know you’re home! Open up!”

Letting out a soft sigh of relief, Jen hopped off the bed and made her way down the short hallway to the door, where she opened it to find Jessie, her cheeks tear stained and her eyes red and swollen.

“What’s wrong?” asked Jen immediately.

“Lance and I broke up,” gasped Jessie, diving into Jen for a tight hug.

“W-What?” asked Jen, completely caught off-guard at the announcement and by the intensity of Jessie's grip.

“Yes,” sniffled Jessie, walking further into the apartment and dumping herself unceremoniously onto the couch. “I called off our engagement.”

“Can I ask why?” asked Jen cautiously, closing the front door and moving to the couch beside Jessie. Jessie proceeded into a long and detailed recap of the fight she and Lance had had earlier, leading to the point where they had broken up.

“I understand all that, Jess,” said Jen slowly, forming her words carefully, hoping to avoid another breakdown of tears. “But do you really think it was enough to sacrifice a lifetime of happiness with him?”

“Do you have to put it that way?” huffed Jessie with a short sniffle, hugging a throw pillow to her chest.

“It was just a question,” said Jen.

“I know, I know,” said Jessie resignedly, wiping away a tear from her cheek. “But… but if he can’t see what his mother’s doing wrong, then what does that leave for the rest of our life? Will his mother always be there, convincing him to see things her way? He turned on me, Jen. That’s just something… I don’t know. I just don’t know…” she trailed off, wiping away a lone tear from her cheek.

Jen sat beside her, rubbing her shoulder soothingly, wishing that somehow she could find the right words to say. But, she didn’t have the chance to think much longer, as the phone started ringing.

Jen’s heart jumped into her throat, as it often did every time the phone rang now.

The phone rang twice and Jen didn’t move. Jessie raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to answer that?”

“N-No,” said Jen with a short shake of her head. “I’ll just let the machine get it.”

“Don’t be stupid Jen,” said Jessie with a small sniffle. She reached behind her onto the table beside the couch and picked up the receiver.

“Hello?” said Jessie, not noticing the panicked expression on Jen’s face.

“So, I heard you and Lance were having some problems, and I figured I’d find you there,” came Maggie’s voice.

“So you spoke to Lance?” asked Jessie softly.

“No, not yet… I just heard through the grapevine is all,” said Maggie quickly. “What do you say to a triple fudge sundae and you explain this whole drama to me?”

“I say that sounds like a good idea,” said Jessie with a weak smile. “Lord knows I need the chocolate.”

“Great,” said Maggie. “I’ll be there in half an hour. And tell Jen to stop screening her calls.”

“Okay,” said Jessie, her brow creased. “See you soon.” She reached back and laid the receiver back on the base and turned her tear-streaked face to her best friend. “You’re screening your calls?”

That night...

Joey wheeled himself into the hallway just outside Madison’s apartment and raised his hand to knock on the door. Almost immediately, the door flew open, revealing Madison, mascara drawn lines down her cheeks, the telltale sign of crying. Her now customary contact lenses had been replaced with her old thick framed glasses, another indication of the tears that she shed. Immediately, Joey began worrying.

“Mads?” he asked, wheeling himself into the apartment. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

Madison glared wordlessly at Joey. “Don’t act so surprised,” she said evenly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Joey, his brow creased in confusion.

Madison marched into the small dining area of her apartment and motioned to the table. On it, sat a pair of melted down candles, obviously having been lit for quite some time. The food sat on the table, covered by second plates to keep them semi-warm, although by the amount of time that Joey could guess had gone by, the food was probably very cold indeed.

“But Mads,” said Joey. “Why’d you go ahead and make dinner early? I told you I’d be late.”

Madison’s temper flared. “You did no such thing!” she cried. “You told me you’d be here by 6:00! It’s 9:00, Joey! 9:00!” She was now pacing the room… a habit, Joey had learned, that she displayed when she was upset, as she clearly was now. “You could’ve at least called to tell me you were going to be late!”

“I couldn’t!” cried Joey, completely bewildered. “You knew that! I sent you a message about it!”

“What message, Joey?” cried Madison, snatching her cell phone off a nearby counter and practically throwing it at him. “Because I didn’t get any messages!”

“It must’ve not gone through or something,” said Joey, trying to rationalize the situation that had obviously hurt Madison… something he’d not intended.

“Isn’t that convenient for you?” she muttered, crossing her arms across her chest.

“I swear to you, Madison, I was at a meeting with Johnny and couldn’t call, so I sent a message to tell you I was running late. I don’t know what happened with it!” cried Joey.

Madison stopped her rant and began pacing the room frantically, running her hands through her hair. “Joey, could you please leave?”

“What?” asked Joey in surprise. “Come on, Mads, don’t do this.”

“Leave, Joey,” she said through clenched teeth. “I need some time to myself right now… some time to cool down. Until then, could you please leave me alone?”

Seeing no other choice, Joey reluctantly turned around and headed back to the door, pausing only to look back once more. “Happy Anniversary.” With that, he left, closing the door and leaving a sobbing Madison behind him.

The next day...

Chris sat outside the physical therapy rehabilitation clinic, glancing down at his watch. Joey was inside, but Melanie wasn’t. Another physical therapist had taken over for Melanie that day, and considering the situation in which Chris last saw Melanie, he was a bit anxious for her to show up.

But, an hour into the session, she still hadn't shown up. Pulling his key out of the ignition, he opened his car door and stepped out, nervously straightening the front of his pants. He walked inside and made his way straight to the desk clerk, who was rummaging through some papers scattered around the desk.

Chris leaned against the oversized counter, smiling as charmingly as he could manage. “Well hello there,” he said, in his best impression of Cary Grant.

The elderly woman looked up, her glasses tipped dangerously at the edge of her nose. “Can I help you?”

“Why yes… Maryanne,” said Chris, straightening up and now leaning forward, glancing down at her nametag. “I was wondering if, perchance, I could get ahold of Melanie Dunn’s address.”

“And you are?” asked Maryanne, clearly not moved by Chris’s attempts at charming it out of her.

“I am a very good friend of hers,” said Chris with a smile, not giving up.

“Really?” asked Maryanne, raising an eyebrow. “Then why don’t you have it already?”

“Well, you see,” said Chris. “I’m planning a surprise for her.”

“What sort of surprise?” she asked, leaning forward. Chris grinned.

“Yeah… uh huh… okay… only twenty minutes Johnny, I’m telling you,” said JC, nodding. “Alright. I’ll be there soon.” JC hung up the phone on the base and turned around, jumping slightly in surprise as he saw Alex standing behind him. “Alex, honey… what are you doing out of bed?”

“I came down for a glass of water,” said Alex slowly. “Who was that on the phone?”

“Just business,” said JC with a shrug. “Johnny wants me to come into the office for a bit.”

“For what?” asked Alex.

“To look over some promotion stuff… wants to make sure I’m signed on for the Challenge for the Children in July and stuff like that,” he said with a nod.

“Oh,” said Alex softly.

“And I’ve got that meeting tomorrow afternoon,” said JC offhandedly as he began looking around the room, visually searching for his keys.

“A meeting?” asked Alex.

“Yeah,” said JC with a nod. “Nothing major. Just a follow up on when we’re getting back in the studio and stuff like that.”

“Oh,” said Alex softly, her voice cracking.

JC paused in his search and turned around. “Baby? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” said Alex miserably, sniffling softly.

“Come on,” urged JC, walking over to her and rubbing her arms gently. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she repeated, this time her eyes welling with tears. “Josh… you aren’t having an affair, are you?”

JC’s jaw dropped. “What are you talking about, Alex? Of course I’m not!”

“Then why are you going to be gone?” she sniffled. “And why have you been so secretive lately? It’s because I’m fat, isn’t it?” she wailed.

JC bit his lip to keep from laughing. “Alex, you’re beautiful. I’m not hiding anything, and I’m not cheating on you,” he said solemnly, kissing her on the nose.

“Promise?” she sniffled.

“Promise.”

Chapter 8