****
"Ouch! What the heck was that?" Chris shouted as he held his hand over the spot on his forehead where the hard object had just bounced off.
"It looks like a cell phone to me," Dani said, trying to repress her laughter as she bent down to pick it up. "This must belong to you," she said handing it to Jen as they walked into the toy room at the venue, JC and Justin behind them.
"Thanks. Sorry Chris," Jen sighed.
"That's gonna leave a mark," he said studying his face in a nearby mirror. "I'm telling anyone that asks that Lance's ferret bit me."
"Why?" Justin asked.
"Duh," Chris said emphatically. "Because it's funnier than saying I got hit by a wayward cell phone."
"I don't know about that," JC chimed in. "So still no word from them?" he asked Jen.
"No, and between the three of them I've probably left 50 some messages on their voice mail," she explained as she leaned back against the couch, her arms folded over her chest.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Justin said as he and JC sat down on either side of her on the plush couch. "They can take care of themselves."
"Yes, well it would be nice of them to at least check in and let me know what's going on," Jen huffed. "And I'm sure Johnny will be thrilled when he finds out that I aided in the disappearance of two-fifths of the group when you guys are supposed to be doing sound check right now."
"Okay first of all, they would've left with or without your help," Justin pointed out. "And second of all, Johnny wouldn't be mad at you for doing your job. That's what you're here for, to be at our beck and call when we need trivial stuff like plane tickets and crap like that taken care of."
"You're our beck and CALL girl," Chris laughed, glancing at JC who was finding his joke just a little too funny for Jen's liking.
"None of you guys know why Joey left?" she asked after smacking JC in the back of the head.
"Uh, I didn't say it. Chris did," JC protested rubbing his head.
"Yeah, well he's over there and you're here. And you laughed at it."
"I know why Joey left," Chris said as the rest of them waited for him to continue. "He went to Orlando. Don't any of you people pay attention?"
The rest of the group laughed slightly as Jen spoke again. "I swear, if the three of them aren't laying dead in a ditch somewhere, I'm gonna kill them."
"No need for physical violence. I'm here," Joey said as he strolled casually into the room.
"Where have you been?" Jen questioned as she stood up.
"In Orlando."
"Does your cell not work there or something?"
"Oh, I had it turned off," he said reaching in his pocket and pulling the small gadget out. "Ooh, I have messages," Joey said excitedly as he turned it on.
"Ahhh!" Jen screamed as she charged at him. "I've got a message for you."
Joey placed his hand on the tall brunette's forehead as she neared him, locking his elbow and keeping her at arms length as he spoke.
"What is your problem?" he asked confused, as the rest of the room laughed at the sight in front of them. Jen was now swinging her arms wildly, unable to free her head from Joey's tight grasp. "I said I would be back in time for the show, and I'm here. I even made it in time for sound check."
"Why didn't you answer your damn phone?" Jen questioned angrily.
"I was at home so I turned it off. Why didn't you just call me there?"
"Because I didn't want to worry your family in case you weren't there you fool. I'm sure it would look real cute if someone in your touring crew called there looking for you and had no idea where you were. They wouldn't have worried too much," she said sarcastically.
"I'm sorry. If I would've known you were gonna worry so much I would've checked in," Joey chuckled. "I thought Sam was the worrier, not you."
"Yeah, well she's not here so somebody has to do it," Jen huffed. "Did you get whatever it was you had to do taken care of?"
"Yes, it's all settled. And it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside to know that you care so much," he said, flashing a cheesy smile at her. "Are you calm enough for me to let go now?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?" he teased.
"Yes, now let me go stupid ass!" she shouted.
Joey released his hand and made his way to the other side of the room, but not before Jen slugged him in the arm.
"Oww," he whined, rubbing his bicep as he plopped into a chair.
"She's on the warpath today," Justin laughed. "Just ask Chris," he said pointing to the red mark on his friend's forehead.
"She did that to you?" Joey asked.
"No!" Chris exclaimed. "Lance's ferret bit me," he insisted as everyone broke out into laughter, even Jen managed a smile.
"So I don't suppose you've heard from Lance or Sami have you?" she asked Joey.
"No. Why? Where did they go?"
"Short version, Sam took off, Lance went after her. Nobody's heard from either of them," Jen explained.
"Did they have another fight or something?" Joey asked. "I talked to her before the show Tuesday night and she said that she was gonna explain everything to him."
"I don't really know what happened, but you must have talked to her right before she left, because she was gone by the time the show started."
"They're heeeeere," Chris proclaimed in child-like voice as the sounds of Lance and Sam's laughter echoed down the hallway. "And they sound happy!"
"Um guys, you all see how Jen reacted when I showed up right?" Joey reminded. "And that was just me, don't you think someone should stop her?"
"You've got a point," Justin agreed.
"We're on it," Chris said springing forward and sitting on Jen's feet as he wrap his arms around her long legs. Justin stood behind her and locked his arms around her upper body, leaving her arms pinned at her sides.
"Aren't you gonna help them JC?" Dani asked through her giggles.
"No way," he answered shaking his head. "I'm staying out of this. I'm no dummy. They're gonna pay for that later."
"You bet your ass they will," Jen grunted trying to break free as Lance and Sam entered the room hand in hand.
"See, I told ya honey, the minute we leave all the fun starts," Sam joked with Lance.
"Exactly what are you three doing?" he asked furrowing his brow and tilting his head with a look of amusement.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're both okay," Jen started calmly. "But where the hell have you been?" she screamed. "Do you know how worried I was? Why doesn't anyone answer their damn cell phones anymore? I left you both tons of messages. I had no idea what was going on. I didn't know if maybe you two got in another fight and ended up drowning each other, or if Lance ended up in the ghetto somewhere out of gas and stranded, or maybe some rabid fans spotted him and was holding him captive while charging all their friends five dollars to get a glimpse of him. Why didn't you call? I understand you had some things to work out but…"
Justin silenced her as he placed his hand over her mouth. "Jen, I know you're upset, but let's remember the important things. They're here, they're safe, and it looks as if they're together."
"There is no ghetto near the cabin," Sam laughed.
"Well, I'm the one that gave him directions and you know I can always find a ghetto," Jen said as Justin released his hand. "And you are so dead, ya little afro beast," she warned Justin.
"I'm sorry we didn't call," Lance said. "We didn't answer your messages because our phones wouldn't work up there. I guess I didn't figure you'd worry so much."
"Yeah, well I did," Jen pouted. "Why did it take you guys so long to get back?"
"Well, after we talked and worked things out, we decided to spend the day up there, just the two of us," Sam explained. "I guess we were a little inconsiderate in not letting you know. I'm sorry."
"Under the circumstances, I guess your behavior is understandable. Just don't let it happen again," she scolded. "Now will you idiots let go of me?"
Chris and Justin counted to three and simultaneously released their grips and scurried away before Jen could retaliate.
"So you guys are back to normal then?" Joey asked. "Everything's okay?"
"Yes, everything is perfect," Lance smiled. "It was all just a big misunderstanding," he said wrapping his arm around Sam's shoulder and giving her a tight squeeze.
"It's hard to believe you two were barely speaking to one another a couple of days ago," JC commented watching the pair.
"Well of course they're all smiles now," Chris said knowingly. "They got to do the making up. That's the best part about fighting." The group burst into laughter, as Chris remained stern faced. "I'm serious! Ask Dani, sometimes I pick fights just to get to the making up stage."
"He does. It's sad really," the blonde woman said shaking her head. "I think he was studying psychology so he could analyze his own problems."
"Ooh, now you're trying to start a fight, aren't ya?" Chris asked wiggling his eyebrows as Dani laughed and playfully pushed him away.
Lance and Sam made their way across the room. Lance choose a seat next to Justin on the couch as Sam rested on the arm next to her boyfriend, his arm loosely draped around her waist and hers resting along his shoulders.
"So are we okay?" Justin asked Lance quietly.
"Yes we're fine," he answered sincerely as Sam smiled down at the two of them.
"Hey guys," Tim, their sound guy, said sticking his head in the room. "I hate to break up the party, but now that we're all here," he said pointedly looking at Joey and Lance before smiling widely. "We should get the sound check out of the way."
The five men stood and followed Tim out the door to the stage.
"Chris what did you do to your head?" Lance asked pointing to the sizeable red bump.
"Your damn ferret bit me!" Chris shouted as the other guys laughed heartily.
****
"Okay, your hotel reservations and your flight is all set," Jen said. "You'll probably get into New York before we do actually, but your name is registered with mine on the room so you shouldn't have a problem."
"Uh, you mean I don't get to have an alias?" Mel teased.
"No, not this time. You can think of one for next time if you want to. The guys seem to favor male porn star names, so I'm sure there are a few female ones they could recommend for ya," Jen quipped.
"In that case I'll pass," she laughed. "So how is Sami doing?"
"She's fine. Her and Lance seem closer than ever. We haven't really had a chance to talk today yet, but I know she told him what really happened with her and Scott. Didn't you talk to her earlier?"
"Yes and she sounded blissful, I just wanted to make sure."
"Yep, they're right back at that nauseating level of happiness," Jen joked. "Speaking of which, you didn't say anything about coming to New York when you two talked did you? Because Lance wants it to be a surprise."
"Nope, I didn't say a thing. So do you know exactly what he has planned?" Mel asked.
"Well since we don't have a lot of time because the whole week in New York is just going to be insane, we're just all going out to a club after the show and it'll be a nice small party," Jen explained. "But he said he had something special for her gift."
"What?" she asked excitedly.
"I don't know, the butthead wouldn't tell me," Jen whined. "But I'm gonna go catch the last part of the show. I'll see you soon."
"Oh yeah, I'm gonna make New York my biatch baby!" Mel laughed.
The two friends said their good-byes and Jen made her way to the VIP area to join Sam. The boys were just about to sing "This I Promise You" and were doing their usual banter.
"Where have you been?" Sam shouted.
"Taking care of some work," she yelled back as the stage began to hover above the crowd and the noise level in the venue rose to an unbearable level.
The guys waved and smiled at their fans as the platform made it's way across the floor, all the while singing in beautiful harmony. As the stage stopped at the end of the track in front of the special area reserved for family and friends, Lance made it a point to make sure he was at the end of the floating surface. As he sang the chorus, he and Sam locked eyes and she mouthed the words along with him. Lance's green eyes were brimming with liquid.
"Oh my gosh, Sami can you see Lance's eyes?" Jen asked glancing over at her friend and noticing her own tear-filled brown eyes. "Never mind, you see them," she laughed.
A bright smile graced Sam's rosy lips as she began blowing Lance a fury of kisses with both of her hands. He returned the smile and sent her a playful wink as the stage began rolling backwards to it's original position. Justin witnessed the loving exchange between his two friends and a genuine smile formed on his face as he began to sing the last line of the song.
****
"Can I ask you guys something?" Jen said from her position on the floor, laptop in front of her and loose pieces of paper spread all around her.
"What's that?" JC asked from his seat above her in the large overstuffed chair, he was sitting propped up against one arm with his legs over the other.
"I'm just wondering how you managed to come into my room and take it over, leaving me sitting on the floor."
"Well," Justin started; he was sitting in the other chair in the same position as JC. "When you start cuddling like that with one of us, then you can sit on the furniture," he joked pointing to Lance and Sam who were snuggled closely together on the couch. The five friends had decided on a movie, rather than clubbing or sleep. Joey had elected to go out with his brother Steve and Chris and Dani were spending a quiet evening alone in their room.
"Well if those are my only two choices then I guess I'll stay on the floor," Jen laughed, only herself and JC understanding the true humor of the conversation.
"Besides, somehow you have a bigger room than we do," JC reminded. "Can I ask how that happened? Why do you need a double suite for just yourself huh?"
"Technically, it's Sam's room too. But, I'm glad that you brought it up actually. I've realized lately that it'd make more sense to just book single suites for everyone, since you guys usually bunk together anyway," she said to Lance and Sam. "It'll cost about the same and that way I don't have to worry about making sure Chris has a single suite when Dani comes to visit. Plus, that way no one has to put up rooming with the couples, ifyaknowhatimsayin," Jen giggled, sneaking a sideways glance at JC.
"It makes sense to me," he reasoned, knowing that the arrangement Jen had proposed would make it easier for them to be together without getting caught.
"It's up to you two though," she said turning back to Lance and Sam. "I don't wanna push y'all into shackin' up if it's not something you're ready for."
"It's fine with me," Lance said. "It's not like we haven't been doing it already."
"I'm okay with it too," Sam agreed.
"Good, because that's the way I set it up for Foxboro," she snickered.
"Is that were we're headed next?" Justin asked. "I just drew a blank as far as the schedule is concerned."
"Yep, after tomorrow night's show here again in Philly, it's an off day and then on to Foxboro, followed by four nights in New York starting on the 25th, along with everything else that week, then the charity basketball game on the 29th, straight to Hershey after that, then another off day and then the rescheduled Joliet show on the 1st," Sam rattled off as if it were second nature.
"Good lord! Lance did you program her?" JC teased.
"Nope," he answered shaking his head, a proud smile on his face. "She came like this."
"That's even more frightening," Justin laughed. "Oh hey, did you guys see those girls tonight with the big 'Ruben' sign? I could've sworn I seen them in Pontiac too."
"I saw them tonight, but I didn't see them at the Silverdome."
"I didn't see them either night," Lance said.
"What about you Sami? Did you see them?" Justin asked.
"I didn't see them tonight no, and I wasn't at the other show," she reminded.
"Oh that's right, it's too bad you didn't get to see the show in your hometown."
"Well, its not really my hometown, more like my home state," she corrected. "And it's not like I haven't seen the show almost every other night. Besides, I saw you guys there last year, it's not exactly my favorite place to see a concert."
Justin smiled widely at her before glancing over at a grinning JC as Sam realized what she had just said.
"Don't worry about, he already knew," Jen said nonchalantly, not thinking that she would have to explain how.
"When did you find out?" Lance asked.
Jen held her breath as she waited for JC to respond.
"When we went home for the break and Joey, Mel, Jen and myself got together for dinner I was in Jen and Sam's apartment waiting for the girls to finish getting ready and I was browsing their CD collection. And let me tell ya, these girls gots a lotta *NSYNC CDs," he finished in a comical accent.
"So Joey knows too?" Sam questioned.
"No, he met us at the restaurant," JC covered smoothly as he and Jen exchanged understanding glances, and both breathed a sigh of relief. "So you got to see Justin get stuck during "Sailing" eh?" he asked Sam.
"Yeah, I saw that too, but that was at the Palace of Auburn Hills in March, the Silverdome show was in July remember?"
"Okay, so does anyone else find it extra scary that not only does she know your current schedule better than you do, but she also remembers the things you've done in the past better than you do?" Jen teased as they all laughed.
"I can't help it if I have a good memory," Sam shrugged. "But speaking of things of the past," she said elusively, smiling brightly up at Lance.
"No," he said, knowing what she wanted.
"Please?" she begged, batting her eyes at him.
"I said no, drop it," Lance said firmly as the other three exchanged looks of confusion.
"Fine," Sam huffed.
"Thank you."
"Don't think I don't know how to get what I want," she smirked.
"What are you doing?" he asked as she inched up and began placing delicate kisses on his neck.
"What does it look like?" she responded between kisses.
"Sam!" Lance said through clenched jaw.
"Yes?"
"You know what this does to me," he whispered.
"Uh huh," she said continuing her task as he squirmed beneath her.
"There are other people in the room," he reminded.
"Yep, so you either give me what I want, or everyone else will see exactly how much you enjoy kisses on your neck," she purred.
"Please, Lance, for the love of God, do what she wants," Jen pleaded.
"Thanks for all your help guys," Lance said.
"From where I'm sitting, you're a pretty lucky man," JC shrugged.
"I think I would have to agree with JC on that one man," Justin laughed.
"Fine, if I do it, you'll stop?" Lance asked Sam.
"Are you sure you want me to?" she taunted.
"Since we're not alone, YES!" he screamed. "Either that or we go to my room."
"Hmm, I vote for me getting what I asked for," Sam said smiling brightly as she righted her head and stopped teasing him.
"I still don't understand your fascination with this," Lance said rolling his eyes.
"Do I have to torture you some more?"
"No, I'm getting ready to do it, but this is the last time."
"You said that last time," Sam giggled.
"I mean it this time," he said trying not to smile.
"Uh huh, okay, whatever, do it," she ordered playfully.
"Girl are you alone?" Lance sang his trademark line with that sexy bass voice as Sam giggled with child-like enjoyment.
"Now was that so difficult?" she asked kissing him.
"I think I'm going to toss my cookies," Jen said rolling her eyes.
"Ah, the classic *NSYNC," Justin laughed as Lance pretended to pout.
"So Jen," JC said still laughing, but determined to change the subject. "What are you working on?"
"I'm double-checking the room assignments for Foxboro. Making sure everybody has a room and that there are no unauthorized names registered with the hotel," she explained. "Who is this? I don't recognize the name."
"You know her, she works in wardrobe," JC said glancing over her shoulder at the name she was referring to.
"Oh that's right. She must be the one who paints you into those red pants every night," Jen quipped as the others erupted into fits of laughter.
"They're not that tight," JC said defensively.
"I bet she sprays the paint on you and then Trace throws the little beads or whatever and then they turn the blow dryer on you to dry them to your legs right?" she harassed. "And then you just put your next pair of pants on over those and shower off the red when you get back to the bus. Presto chango."
"That's how y'all change so fast!" Sam exclaimed through her laughter.
"So are those the only article of my clothing that you don't like or are there others?" JC asked, a wide grin on his face.
"Uh oh, now you opened the door. You asked for it," Sam said clutching her side in pain.
"Let's start with something recent, the nightmare known as the MTV Movie Awards," Jen said turning her computer off and closing the lid. "Were you watching "Guys and Dolls" right before you chose your arrival outfit? The hat, the jacket, oh and nice touch with the lightening rod shirt."
"Is that all?" JC asked unfazed.
"I think I finally figured out what the deal was with the lace performance shirt," she said as Sam was still trying to catch her breath. "Your wardrobe people forgot the shirt you were suppose to wear and one of the celebrities left the little lace number behind in a dressing room, but it was originally lingerie and you had Trace sew it into a makeshift shirt real quick," Jen finished her animated explanation.
"Do you have a thing for Trace?" JC quizzed raising an eyebrow.
"EWW! NO! Why would you ask that?"
"Because you keep bringing him into your fashion review."
"That's because he's the only designer I know that would put you in such hideous clothing," Jen explained.
"Wow, you are harsh," Justin chimed in.
"Oh don't make me start in on your choice of outfits at the Movie Awards," she warned. "That crap you wore is what inspired the whole 'Willie Nelson' thing, ya little rhinestone cowboy."
That comment sent Sam falling to the floor in a spasm of laughter, nearly hitting her head on the coffee table in front of her.
"Are you okay?" Lance asked peering down at her. She managed to nod yes as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I think you should stop before she explodes," Lance said to Jen.
"No…I'm…O…K," Sam said sitting up, gasping for breath and holding back the laughter that was still inside of her.
"That's good, cuz I didn't wanna have to start in on your pre-hottie days Lance, ya know the whole fem fatale look you had workin' for ya," Jen cracked, sending Sam back into a boisterous laugh.
"Dude, why didn't you respond to any of her comments?" Justin asked JC.
"Oh don't worry," he said looking down at Jen, a crooked grin on his lips. "She'll pay. When the time is right, she'll pay."