~*~ May 4th 1999 ~*~

"Did you see the newspaper lately?" Stephanie asked her when she spotted Chantal.

"No" Chantal said waving her off while she continued her way up the stairs.

"Maybe you should" Chantal got so sick and tired of her. She knew Stephanie wanted her to see the article that she'd sold to The Orlando Sentinel. Chantal already knew about that since her dad had been reading it and saw the article with her name in it. She also read it and couldn't believe Stephanie made money out of it. Although she was prepared for it she didn't think Stephanie would actually do it. Justin saw it too but said she shouldn't be bothered by it. Since there was nothing they could do. The article was partly about the lawsuit and partly about Justin supposedly new girlfriend.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" Chantal said frustrated by Stephanie following her around all the time.

"Well…I could do that but…"

"You need another story" Chantal completed her sentence.

"Can't you write about your own life?" Chantal asked when she saw the gleam in Stephanie's eyes.

"I can't because…"

"You don't have one?"

"Ha very funny, no because I'm a journalist, they never write about their own lives. They write about interesting people" Stephanie explained like she was a professional.

"Then why are you bugging me?"

"Because...."

"Out of all people I thought you'd agree with me that I'm far from interesting"

"Yeah well it isn't you but you've got something interesting, or should I say someone…"

"I don't HAVE him, Stephanie. We're just friends and… I'm not going to tell you anything, just leave me alone ok?" Chantal said before leaving. After the article Justin and she had agreed to say that they were just friends for the time being. People would want to know more if she was his girlfriend than when she was 'just' a friend. The pictures of them kissing would be denied. At least, that the girl in the picture was Chantal. The pictures showed he was kissing someone but it didn't mean it was Chantal like the article said. Their spokesperson also said it would be best to say they were friends and so the decision was made.

Although Justin didn't feel comfortable lying about it, he didn't want to say it either. He wanted to keep her away from the craziness of the media for as long as possible. He didn't know if she would know how to handle it since she had been upset when just a school newspaper wrote about it. That was nothing compared with the professional media, so for him it was the longer the better. He figured the longest would be about a month since there weren't any interviews planned in May, that way he didn't had to lie about it either.

"Hey sweetie" Jamie said when he walked in.

"Hi" Lianne said absent-mindedly. He walked up to her and took her in his arms before he leaned in and put his lips over hers. She pulled away quickly after and that left him with a confused look on his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked while he watched Lianne made her way to the other end of the room like she wanted to get away from him.

"Huh nothing" she said denying anything was wrong.

"Why did you pull away like that?"

"Ooh, I'm sorry" she said like she just noticed that she'd pulled away so abruptly.

"Are you sure everything is ok?"

"Yeah yeah I'm sure. I'm just stressed for the exams and then I have the school musical also…"

"Maybe it's just too much" he said.

"Yeah I know, I probably shouldn't have done the musical but…"

"Then don't" he interrupted. She laughed about it thinking it was a joke.

"Ooh you're serious" she stopped laughing abruptly when she noticed he wasn't joking. "ARE you serious?" She knew the answer when she saw the serious look on his face.

"Do you have ANY idea what this means to me?" she asked angrily.

"Of c…" he said but Lianne hushed him when she continued to speak.

"I don't think you do"

"I didn't…" he tried again but was cut off once again by Lianne who wanted to make her point clear to him.

"OTHERwise you wouldn't have said it"

"Would you let me FINISH?!" he said loosing his patience. Lianne was alarmed by his sudden outburst and flinched back.

"I didn't mean to scare or upset you I was just trying to make it easier for you" he said in a soft tone.

"I know" she said still hesitant. He walked towards her and took her in his arms. Although she allowed it, she felt uncomfortable in his arms.

The past week she'd been avoiding Jamie the best she could. She didn't want to see him because she felt guilty. She'd kissed someone else and she didn't know whether or not she'd had to tell him. She didn't know what her exact feelings were, how they'd changed since the kiss and how everything was going to go from here. She needed some time to think but didn't get the time for it. She was so busy for her exams which were coming up very soon and then she also had the musical to think off. Although the teachers had warned her about how busy she was going to be she said she'd be fine. Now she didn't know all that for sure. Especially when she had the whole thing with JC and Jamie to think off as well.

She hadn't heard from JC, he hadn't called or anything. Maybe he thought that it was a mistake at least that was what her mind was telling her. But her heart was telling her something else. She had felt his feelings, sensed them when they were standing no more than 2 inches away from each other. Her mind was saying 'forget him, this can never work' but still her heart wouldn't listen. Her feelings didn't go away like that.

She needed someone to talk to but could she discuss this with Chantal? She'd never understand. After all she was cheating on Jamie. Chantal had been so hurt when Bastian cheated on her she would never approve. 'She'd hate me' Lianne thought to herself. 'But what am I going to do?' Surrender to the feelings she had for JC. Because deep down she KNEW she loved him, her mind just didn't want to accept it … yet. She wasn't fully ready to surrender. Her mind didn't want to give Jamie up that easily. 'Do I really want to risk loosing him, over something so unsure?' Thoughts were racing through her head. She didn't have an answer for any of them. It was all just too much and she needed peace. She decided to just see what would happen next. She wanted to pass her exams and have a great performance and then she'd deal with the rest. She couldn't worry about everything it would drive her insane and that wasn't the right way to start her exams, she'd be in enough stress as it is.

"I love you" he whispered in her ear while rocking them back and forth. She was stunned not because of the words because he'd said them to her several times but it was like the impact of the words finally got through to her. It finally sunk in how much the words meant. She knew now when she didn't feel the same way about him anymore. It made her feel even more guilty.

"I know you do, I know" she whispered barely audible. That was all she managed to get out. The lump in her throat made it impossible to say anything else.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Lianne yelled frustrated while she threw her lamp against the wall. It hit the wall with a huge thud and landed on the floor with the sound of glass shattering. Breathing heavily she rested her back against the door and slid down till she was sitting on the floor. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head on top of them. She tried to control her breathing by staring at the floor and taking long deep breaths. Slowly she calmed down.

Since Jamie left the day before, she'd decided to stop thinking about her dilemma but in fact that was all she'd been thinking about. She'd been up all night, tossing and turning in her bed. Thinking what she had to do. Nothing came to her, she just didn't know.

"I'll make myself nuts, I need to call Chantal" she said to herself when she fully calmed down. She reached for the phone but pulled back when it rang before she touched it. When she recovered from the shock, she slowly reached for the phone and picked it up.

"H…ello?" she said still a bit shocked.

"Hello, this is Josh is Lianne home?" a familiar voice asked.

"JC?" she asked surprised.

"Yes? Who is this?" he asked in return.

"This is Lianne" she answered.

"How have you been?" he asked.

"I'm ok", 'I'm lying' she thought after she spoke.

"And yourself?"

"I'm fine, just hectic but I'm ok"

"Good" she said slowly. The conversation went a little dead since they didn't know whether or not they should bring up the kiss.

"Lianne, would you like to get together?" JC asked out of the blue. She was taken aback by the question.

"I'd like to see you but if you don't want to then I'll understand and…" he rambled nervously until Lianne cut in.

"I'd like that too" Lianne didn't think about her decision she answered immediately, persuaded by hearing JC's voice. For once she let her heart decide and the worries of her mind were pushed aside.

"Where would you like to meet up?" she asked.

"Do you know 'Greg's Diner' just out of town on the highway?"

"Um… yeah I think I do" she said pondering the question for a moment.

"Then meet me there in half an hour ok?"

"Alright" she agreed, this sounded like a real sneaky romance and it kind of excited her.

"See you soon" she said before she hung up. She ran downstairs grabbed her keys and yelled,

"I'm going to Chantal! I'll be back in a couple of hours!" to her parents before she stormed out the door and headed towards the diner where she would meet up with her secret date although it was only for a short time since JC needed to get back to the studio where they were recording their third album: No strings Attached.

~*~ May 7th ~*~

"Alright history you're next" Chantal said when she put her French book aside.

"Page 102 through 191. Ooh no THAT much? Man I hate exams just like my head isn't stuffed enough" she whined before she opened her book and started reading the first page. She was about to turn the page when she was interrupted by Bryant.

"Chan!" Bryant yelled from downstairs.

"What?!" she yelled back a little annoyed, she didn't want to get interrupted she needed to study now or else she'd never make it.

"Get down here, QUICK" he urged her, he saw an announcement for something she HAD to see. Chantal sighed heavily before shoving her history book to the side. She ran downstairs and stopped in front of the TV which was tuned in on MTV.

"MTV News with today Mariah Carrey's breakdown, Christina Aguilera's new song and Justin Timberlake's friend" The newsreader announced.

"What is this?" Bryant asked for an explanation but she hushed him.

"A news paper revealed the supposedly new girlfriend of Justin Timberlake. The article said that the two were seen together occasionally and that they seemed to be very close. However Nsync's spokesperson Ray Jones stated that the girl is just a friend of his after numerous of phone calls asking about the announcement in the paper. Justin Timberlake recently told a television host that he was seeing a girl starting with a C, would this be the girl who's just a friend according to their spokesperson? We'll keep you posted" The newsreader ended her news bulletin.

"So what's going on?" Bryant asked after he turned off the TV.

"Nothing" she said avoiding eye contact while picking at the hem of the couch.

"Chantal!" he warned her.

"What? ...... They're kind of figuring it out"

"Yeah I noticed" he said sarcastically.

"I don't know how they figured it out probably because of Stephanie's stupid article" he looked puzzled still not understanding the situation and the things he just heard on MTV.

"We agreed to say we're just friends for now"

"They're not really buying it, are they?"

"I don't know" she put a hand up to here forehead while closing her eyes. "Ah! I don't care" She continued while she slammed her hand down on the couch.

"He's going to get you in trouble I just know it. I know you like him but its going to break you up"

"What is?"

"The attention of the media"

"I'll manage…" she trailed off.

"What do you think will happen when he says you're his girlfriend?" she shrugged at his question. He sighed before speaking. "All of the media will dive on top of you"

"How would you know? People don't care about me! It's not about me, it's about Justin" She said incomprehensible.

"Sometimes you're SO naïve! Don't you see people will WANT to know everything about you BECAUSE of Justin?! They want to know everything about Justin that includes his girlfriend which they don't know yet" Chantal still stared at him in disbelief.

"Don't you understand?" Her eyebrows furrowed. "You know Justin! You know a celebrity and you don't just know him you hang out with him, know him up close and personally. Do you know how many people want that? THAT makes you interesting. People will do anything to get to the person you know and love. They will want to get to him through you, the media to begin with"

"But…. But" she stuttered, she knew the media would get involved in her life but the way Bryant described it never crossed her mind.

"Just….listen" he said gaining her attention by grabbing her hand.

"Promise me you'll be careful" he said to her looking her in the eye.

"Yeah…." she said quietly before she cleared her throat. "Yeah" she repeated.

"Just think about it ok? Consider it" he said when he saw it overwhelmed her.

"I got enough to think about my head is already stuffed!" she complained while reaching for her head.

"Ha-ha I know" Chantal smiled still holding her head while trying to clear her head.

"Shouldn't you be studying instead of watching TV and worrying about me?" she asked after a while thinking about the fact that Bryant was watching TV instead of studying.

"I took a break alright?"

"Have you started?"

"Yeah I started" he said defensive.

"With what?" she challenged him.

"I borrowed a book which I'll have to study"

"Then how did you start?"

"I started when I borrowing the book. That's a step in the right direction" he said with a grin on his face.

"You're hopeless! I'm going back to studying" she said throwing her hands in the air out of frustration. Getting back to her history book, where she had at least 90 pages waiting for her to memorize.

~*~ May 12th ~*~

"Hey, are you close?"

"I'm not really nearby but that can change" Lianne said tempting when she heard his voice.

"When can you be here?"

"25 minutes, meet me outside" she said shortly before she hung up and pressed the gas pedal a little further down. She was on her way home from school. Listening to last advices from her teachers and she could definitely use a break. She was running around from the musical to her study and JC certainly couldn't take her mind off of things.

"Don't whine, I'll be right back! I just need some air alright?!" JC yelled over his shoulder to Justin who was saying he was needed in the recording room. JC had been giving them this excuse all week.

'What's up with him? He's always telling us to focus! Where is his mind?!' Justin thought as he watched JC exit the room. The whole week he'd gone outside occasionally.

'What's wrong with him?' he sighed before getting back to control panel.

When he got outside he quickly walked around the building to the place where Lianne and JC had met up almost everyday of the past week. When he got around the corner he saw Lianne was already waiting for him. He advanced quickly running the last part to get to her as soon as possible. They fell in each other's arms craving for each others touch. Their lips made contact short after and they kissed each other passionately.

"We're going to New York tomorrow" JC said after a while in between kisses.

"Really?"

"Yeah…so….I….guess…I won't see….you for… a couple… of…days"

"I don't….want… you to…leave" she whined, never breaking the contact between their lips.

"I…know I….don't want… to leave…but I don't…. have a…choice" "I…know" All of their words muffled by their lips and in between kisses since they didn't want to let go of each other.

"JC CHASEZ GET YOUR BUTT IN THE STUDIO THIS INSTANT!!!" Johnny yelled over the parking lot. He had no idea where JC was he only knew he was outside and that he was needed INside.

JC pulled away slowly.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" he strained to hear the sound again but didn't hear anything.

"Nothing" he shrugged.

"NOW!!!!!!!!" JC heard the voice again and recognized it immediately, pulling away from Lianne quickly.

"That" he stated.

"Damn I have to go" JC started another kissed.

"hmmmm" Lianne softly moaned.

"I…got to…go"

"Yeah...." JC pulled away.

"I'll call you" he said before he took a step back. He put his clothes back in place and ran a hand over his hair before he disappeared around the corner. He wiped away the lipstick with the back of his hand, which came from Lianne's lips, on his way to the angry man standing in the doorway. Johnny saw JC approaching quickly. He'd heard about JC slacking off and that was the last thing they needed.

"JC what's up with you lately?" Johnny asked when JC stood in front of him.

"Nothing" he said while he dropped his gaze to the floor.

"Ah come on JC I don't have time for things like this. You know we need to finish this album as soon as possible. Why do you keep disappearing every 5 minutes"

"It's not THAT much. I just needed a little fresh air. That's all geez, get off my back!" he said angrily before he made a step in the direction of the door. Johnny stopped him by grabbing his arm and pulled him back into his line of vision.

"I know things are stressful right now but I don't want this to happen again understand?"

"Yes" he sighed.

"It won't happen again alright?" he said still a little angry.

"Alright" Johnny said while releasing his grip on JC's fore-arm.

"Finally!" Chris exclaimed when JC and Johnny walked in. JC shot him a deadly warningful look causing Chris to shut up immediately.

"Alright let's get back to work" Justin said clapping his hands to gain everyone's attention. He took a seat behind the control panel and waved JC into the recording booth. He didn't know what was wrong with JC lately but he wouldn't allow him to mess this up. They'd worked to hard to get back to this. He wasn't going to let anything or anyone stop them from releasing their album.

~*~ May 13th ~*~

"……..The exams are only a week away! I'm so nervous" she ended her story about school and the stress of her exams.

"Chan, get off the phone! He's getting sick of your long nonsense voicemails!" Bryant yelled in the background when he heard she was rambling into the phone and apparently wasn't getting a response. He figured she was leaving a message on Justin's cell phone again. They'd been doing that a lot lately. Since he was working late all the time. First in Orlando and now in New York. They didn't get a lot of chance to personally talk to each other. That's why they left long messages on each other voicemails, that way they could still get in touch.

"No he's not! Shut up Bryant!!" she yelled back before she continued talking into the phone.

"Sorry sweetie I got to go, I got to kill my brother. I'll talk to you soon. Bye sweetie"

"Bryant you little brat!" she yelled after throwing the phone on the table and she started chasing Bryant around the house. Finally he gave up and she threw the pillow, which she picked up on the way, at him hitting him hard.

"Ouch" he said while rubbing his shoulder and giving his best pout.

"It was your own fault" she said satisfied.

"Alright fine" Bryant said a little angry.

"Ah you're such a baby!" she commented.

"I"M the baby? Who's the youngest here?" he said confidently crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well technically I am but you're just a kid at heart"

"HA you're funny" he said sarcastically.

"Anyway I'll let the baby play with her toys, me the mature one, is going to talk to our beloved father" he said rolling his eyes when he mentioned Craig.

"Wow that's really fast EVEN for you! How long has it been, like… what….a month?" he gave her a fake smile before he turned and made his way to their dad's study room.

"Yes of course" Bryant heard his dad talking in hushed tones when he reached the study room. He doubted whether or not he should go in but he decided to wait.

"You'll get it as soon as possible, I promise" his dad said.

Silence.

"Yeah I know I'm kind of late but you'll get it. You have my word"

Silence again.

"I know you….." he stopped mid-sentence.

"You'll get it. Uh-huh yeah…"

"This can wait" Bryant thought while he turned to leave. 'What is he up to now?' Bryant wondered while he walked away. He didn't feel comfortable listening to his dad's private conversation which he obviously didn't want them to know about.

Chantal closed the front door and went over the grass to her car. She ruffled through her bag in search of her car keys. Getting closer to her car she heard a strange noise. A sound that increased with every step she took. She looked up at the car and the area around it. Nothing. She shrugged and dug into her bag once again for the keys. *Snap snap* There! She heard it again.

'What's that sound?' She though to herself while she walked around the car. Finally she got out her car keys. She unlocked her car door but stopped halfway when she heard a slight movement in the bush behind her.

'What now?' she thought while she turned and stared at the bush. 'It was probably a bird!' She told herself when nothing happened. *Snap snap* There was that annoying sound again and it was much louder this time. She turned once again thinking it came out of the bush behind her. She stared at the bush and then she saw something shining in the sun. Her eyebrows furrowed when she saw something hidden in the bush that looked like a hand.

'Ooh my God there's a dead guy in the bushes!' was the first thing that crossed her mind but then she saw the hand was very much a live. It was moving!

"Hello?" Chantal said. When she didn't get a response she pushed the branches aside and stared onto the floor beneath the bush where a man was lying on his stomach. The camera that was hanging around his neck went unnoticed.

"Could you get out of the bushes? I'd like to talk to you face to face. People will think I'm a nutcase when they see me talking to a bush"

"Sir what were you doing there?" she asked the guy who'd crawled out of the bush in front of her just moments before.

"You lost something? Like your mind?" she said sarcastically putting emphasis on the last word of her sentence. The guy didn't say anything but now she spotted the camera in his hands and she understood what he was up to. Although it didn't hit her right away, suddenly the conversation she had with Bryant a week ago came back to her and she put the two together.

"I'm from the bush inspections and I was just inspecting…" the man in front of her said slowly while forming the explanation in his head at the same time.

"The bushes?" she said completing his sentence with a disbelieving tone in her voice. She crossed her arms over her chest waiting for an answer. He nodded his head in response thinking she'd actually go for the lame excuse he just gave her.

"Get off my property!" she said agitated while she pointed towards the street.

"Go inspect some bushes there. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to have you since they get abused a lot by stupid reporters who want to use them for hide out place!" she said sarcastically before she watched the guy stumble away. When he was completely out of sight she got in her car and drove off while thinking 'What an idiot'

~*~ May 14th ~*~

"Alright let's take a break" Chris exclaimed happily when he recorded his part.

"Chris we got a lot more to do" Joey interrupted Chris who was teasing Justin by pulling his hair. He sneaked behind him and pulled on a curl.

"Ouch!" Justin yelped. Chris let go and took another curl and pulled at it.

"STOP IT!" Justin yelled irritated. Chris giggled like a two year old and continued like he didn't even hear Justin yell at him.

"If you do that again, I'll yank out all of your hair" Justin threatened but Chris didn't care and once again pulled on one of Justin's curls.

"Ok THAT"S IT! YOU"RE DEAD!!!" Justin yelled while he turned to grab Chris. But Chris saw it coming and already made his way out of the recording room, shrieking. Justin chased after him followed by Joey.

"Guys, get back here! We need to go back to work" he yelled into the hallway.

"Come on dudes…" the voice faded away when Joey left the room and the door closed behind him. JC sighed.

"Everything ok with you?" JC was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Lance's question nor did he see the concerned look Lance was giving him.

"Huh? Ooh I'm fine" he reassured his friend who was looking up and down the length of him.

"You sure?"

"Yeah…" he said trying to convince Lance as well as himself. "but what about you, are you ok? You've been so quiet lately" JC asked him, he forgot about his problems and focused on his friend.

Lance had been quiet for a while now and although that wasn't something new, since Lance was always quiet, he was quiet differently. Usually he didn't say that much but at least he laughed with them whenever Chris made his umpteenth joke or Justin pulled a prank on unknowing Joey. He didn't laugh with them, he hardly ate anything and he barely said anything.

"Yeah sure" he said avoiding eye contact since Lance's eyes always revealed what he didn't want to say.

"Come on Lance…" JC started while he lowered his head to catch Lance's gaze who was focused on his shoes. JC saw that Lance was struggling with something.

"Jace?" Lance slowly started.

"Yeah?"

"What would you do if you felt like your girlfriend was slowly slipping away from you?" JC stared down at the floor and unintentionally his mind raced to Julie and Lianne, the girl who he had falling in love with. He hadn't noticed Lance was looking at him, with a gleam of hope in his eyes.

"Never mind" Lance said quietly when he saw JC wasn't really paying attention or at least thinking of something to say to him. Lance saw that JC was deeply in thought himself and he didn't want to bother him with problems that would probably solve itself, at least that's what he hoped. He lowered his head before standing up to leave. JC realized the message he was giving his younger friend who obviously wanted to talk to him and quickly stood up while he grabbed Lance's upper arm to stop him from leaving.

"I'm sorry. I was a little distracted, I'm sorry. Common tell me what do you mean?" JC said while he urged Lance to sit down again.

"We were so good together and now…." he swallowed hard before he sighed deeply. JC put a reassuring hand on his friends shoulder to encourage him to continue.

"I just feel like I'm losing her. We hardly ever see each other and when we do we're always fighting. I don't know what to do" he said desperately dropping his head in his hands.

"Maybe you two just need some time, everybody goes through phases. You just got to get through it together and give it some time. You're probably just tired from working and so is she. You're irritated and you fight easily" Lance listened to JC and nodded his head occasionally.

"Why don't you call her? Ask if she wants to come and you two could spend some time together away from everything, huh?"

"Yeah that might be a good idea, we got tomorrow night off…" Lance said enthusiastically. Then he reached for his cell phone and before he dialed her number he said gratefully.

"Thanks Jace"

"You're welcome, now call her! I'm going to get a drink" he said smiling before he walked away.

Once JC was outside he also grabbed his cell phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hey"

"Hi!" Lianne exclaimed happily.

"I miss you" JC said while he took a seat on the edge of the pavement.

"I miss you too"

"I was wondering if we could meet up, say Friday? We'll fly back tomorrow night so I was wondering if I could come to watch your musical. That is if I'm still invited...." she smiled happily, glad he brought it up. Although they'd seed each other quite a lot lately he never mentioned the musical again. She assumed he forgot, glad that he didn't she said,

"Of course you're still invited"

"Great, what time does it start?"

"8pm"

"What time do you have to be there?"

"At 6"

"I could pick you up, we could drive to school together"

"Yeah, I'd like that. But you'll have to wait a long time before it'll actually start"

"I don't mind. So what time should I pick you up?"

"6 is fine"

"Alright, see you then"

"Yep, see you on Friday" Lianne hung up and called Jamie. Jamie was supposed to drive her but she couldn't get herself to tell JC that. She called Jamie and made up an excuse that her dad would drive her. After she put down the phone she grabbed the script and practiced her role, which she already knew perfectly, once more.

"Hey sweetie, how are you?" Lance asked once Lynn answered the phone.

"I'm ok, I guess" she sighed frustrated with the situation. They were always fighting these days and it bothered her as well. She didn't know how long she could keep up with it.

"I was wondering if you could fly in. We could relax and have fun. Just get away" he offered but instead of a happy voice he got an angry one in return.

"Ah I see. So once again I should just drop everything right now and join you? Where I can do absolutely nothing but watch!"

"No!" he yelled back. "I said we got the night off, you wouldn't have to wait!"

"Yeah right! Where have I heard that before?" she snapped.

"Things will take longer than planned and our night goes down the drain" she complained, it wasn't like it hadn't happened before but Lance told her these things could happen. She knew she had to consider it but she just couldn't take it anymore. She was tired of waiting for him to come home, always adjusting her schedule to his and think about plans so they would fit in with his.

"I told you a million times that I'm sorry about that but it isn't my fault and there is not much I can do about that. Those things happen alright!" Lance said getting angry.

"Yeah sure but don't let me come to you when those things happen!" she said mimicking his words. When Lance wanted to yell something back he was greeted by the dial tone.

"She hung up! I can't believe she hung up!" he said in disbelief. He threw his phone on the nearby desk and dropped his head in his hands.

A few minutes later he slowly raised his head at the sound of his cell phone ringing. He reached out to grab it and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he said waiting for a response.

"Hello?" he said again when he was greeted by silence.

"Baby, don't hang up ok?" a familiar voice pleaded.

"Of course I won't" he said sweetly, already forgetting their last phone call. He was too easy, always giving in too quickly. He just didn't want to stay mad at her, he loved her.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you. I want to see you but I'm just really busy and stressed. I got so much work that I need to do, I really can't come. I'm sorry" she apologized.

"I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have yelled. It's just really stressful around here and I shouldn't have taken it out on you" Lance apologized as well.

"Let's just calm down and we'll talk when you'll get back alright?" she said waiting for a response.

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you soon ok?"

"Yeah bye" she said sweetly. He put his phone down with a sigh and rubbed his hand over his face.

"Things still aren't ok, maybe they'll never be again" he thought to himself and let his minder wonder. He didn't have much time though, Joey had finally gathered everyone to go into the recording booth for yet another song.

~*~ May 15th ~*~

The first beams of light fell through the half open window. It was peacefully quiet but a shrill noise of a phone ringing interrupted the silence and the girl who was sleeping on the bed in the middle of the room. Causing her to roll over onto her side so she was facing the phone. She groaned a little as she pulled away the blanket so she could reach for the phone.

"Hello" she said half asleep rubbing her face with her free hand.

"Hey it's me"

"Justin? Hey!" she said while she sat up straight.

"Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah but I had to get out anyway"

"Sorry. How have you been?"

"I'm fine, tired though" she chuckled. "how are you?"

"Good! I feel good now we got the album almost finished and it is sounding great!"

"That's fantastic!" she said happy for him.

"Thanks for the voicemail" he said smiling at the memory.

"Ha-ha sorry about that"

"No it made me laugh, you're nuts you know that" he chuckled.

"Yeah well it runs in the family" she joked around.

"So I was wondering if we could make a date… um Friday?" he said a little more serious.

"Tomorrow is Friday right?"

"Ooh yeah that's right. I totally lost track of time" she smiled while she pondered the question.

"No, I can't tomorrow" she said suddenly when she remembered Lianne's invitation.

"Why not?"

"Because Lianne invited me for the school musical, she's starring in it"

"Cool!"

"You can come with me…. or don't you think that's a good idea?" she said hesitantly.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because it's at school…." she started but suddenly changed her sentence completely when she started to sum up all kinds of solutions instead of telling him the problem. "But it's a big auditorium, with a lot of people and if we'll sit in the back. They won't notice you and…." Chantal was cut off by Justin.

"I don't care if they recognize me. I'm not going to let people stop me from going where I want to go and right now I want to go with you to your friends musical!" he stated. She was overwhelmed by his reaction.

"Alright.." she said slowly.

"Sorry" he said when he realized his words came out stronger than he meant.

"It"s okay and I would love it if you came with me tomorrow"

"Me too, what time does it start?" …….

~*~ May 16th ~*~

"JC!" Lianne yelled frantically. JC was looking at the set up of the stage but turned quickly when he heard Lianne's voice.

"I don't remember any of my lines!" she shrieked.

"Sure you do" he comforted.

"JC when I say I don't remember them, I DON"T REMEMBER OK" she hissed while she grabbed his arm and squeezed harder with every word.

"Ok, ok" he said wiggling his arm out of her strong grip.

"Listen you're just nervous. Just relax alright. Close your eyes" he ordered.

"JC! I don't have time for that! I only have 30 minutes left" she panicked.

"Just trust me ok?" he said urging her to close her eyes.

"I'm speaking from experience here" he said thinking about Nsync's first performances and the Mickey Mouse Club. He'd been too nervous to move let alone sing. A friend helped him control his nerves and now he would help Lianne with hers.

"Close you eyes, take a deep breath ad think about the great feeling you get when you're on that stage…" he noticed her smiling at the thought and he smiled with her enjoying the sight of her face completely lighting up in front of him. ".. the people enjoying your singing and the smile on their faces...." he trailed off when he saw it was working. Lianne relaxed visibly and when she opened her eyes slowly she looked gratefully at the JC.

"Thanks" she smiled while she hugged him closely.

"You're welcome, now go and knock them dead" he said while pulling away from her hug and grabbing both of her hands. He brought her right hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it gently before letting go. He wanted to kiss her lips but he knew that was a bad idea. Lianne was struggling with the same thing and walked away slowly to prevent herself from kissing him, glancing back on more time before she disappeared backstage. The auditorium started to fill slowly and JC took his seat on the second row. Waiting for the musical to start.

A while later Justin and Chantal walked in holding hands. They were left alone except for Stephanie who couldn't help to stop by.

"Hey you too. Remember me?" Stephanie said appearing in front of his face.

"How could I forget you?" he said charming while she shook his hand.

"This has been fun. Excuse us" Chantal said sarcastically while she stepped away from Stephanie. Stephanie got the hint and let go of Justin's hand. He joined Chantal again.

"She's weird" he chuckled slightly. Chantal who was a little irritated laughed with him while she scanned the auditorium for familiar faces.

"Hey what is JC doing here?" Chantal asked when she spotted JC.

"What?" Justin asked while he looked in the direction she pointed.

"Hey C, what are you doing here?" Justin asked when he walked up to him.

"Um… Lianne… um… she… invited me" he stuttered. He felt like he was busted. He hadn't told anyone that he would be here tonight. He could kick himself for not thinking about the fact that at least Chantal would be here too and that she would probably bring Justin as well.

"I didn't know you were coming" Chantal said while she took a seat next to JC.

"It was kind of sudden" he lied.

"I'm going to get a drink, you want anything?" Justin asked while he scanned the auditorium for a bar.

"Coke please" Chantal answered.

"And the bar is that way" she added when she saw what Justin was looking for. He smiled at her and said to JC,

"Can I bring you something?"

"A beer please"

"Alright be right back" Chantal watched Justin walk away then focused her eyes on JC.

"What?" he asked when he noticed she was staring at him.

"Nothing" she said while she shook the feeling. The feeling that he didn't happen to be here. The feeling that there was definitely something going on between JC and Lianne. The last few weeks Lianne had been very sneaky about everything. When she was talking to someone on the phone she suddenly hang up when Chantal got closer, she suddenly ran out with a simple excuse that she wasn't feeling well when just half an hour earlier she had been bouncing off the sealing when she saw she got a message. Lianne was never sneaky about anything! She'd always tell her everything and Chantal felt a little cut out. She had a strong feeling Lianne was getting herself into a lot of trouble and there was nothing she could do to help her. Her thoughts were interrupted by Justin who came back with the drinks. He took a seat next to Chantal, and then it was time for Lianne to enter the stage. The lights went out and the curtain opened. Everyone applauded and the first tune filled the room.

"Hey very good show!" Chantal exclaimed while she ran up to her friend and gave her a hug.

"Thanks, you enjoyed it too?" Lianne asked Justin and JC, the twinkle in her eye when she looked at JC went unnoticed.

"Yeah it was very cool!" they said enthusiastically.

"Good. Ooh Jamie let me introduce you: Jamie this is JC and Justin. Justin, JC this is Jamie" she couldn't say boyfriend. She just couldn't get it out not in front of JC. They shook hands while Chantal eyed Lianne. Her suspicions grew, she noticed Lianne didn't introduced Jamie as her boyfriend.

'What was up with her?' she asked herself.

"What is that guy doing here?" Jamie asked referring to JC when they were alone.

"I don't know. I think he came with Chantal and Justin" Lianne said trying to sound nonchalant about it.

"Ooh alright" he accepted, hugging and congratulating her for the millionth time. Not noticing the glances which were being exchanged between Lianne and JC who was standing on the other side of the room waiting for Justin and Chantal. Jamie let go of Lianne, kissing her before he pulled her close to him once again. JC saw it and felt extremely jealous trying to look the other way but he just couldn't. When Lianne noticed him staring she gave him an apologetic look, he gave her a weak smile in return before he left with Chantal and Justin who'd arrived with their coats. Lianne sighed inwardly 'What am I going to do?' she asked herself while she watched JC leave.