"Thank you and stay NSYNC!" Justin cried.
They ran off stage, sweat pouring from their bodies.
"Come on, we need to get out to the van before fans find it and we get mobbed." Lance said to the girls.
"Mom, Dani and I will come pick up Noah later tonight at your place, ok?" Joey asked hurriedly.
"All right, have a good time!" Phyllis cried.
The guys ran out the back entrance, the girls close behind, and hopped into a grey van. They wouldn't be needing the bus for the next month, and so were using the wav as their mass vehicle.
"So, where we going?" the driver, Lames, asked once everyone had hopped in and gotten settled.
"Some place out of the way." Justin said from the from seat next to James.
"Yeah, do you know any diners or anything?" JC asked from the far back seat where he sat squished next to Katie, Brittny, and Lance.
"There's a place called Betsy's not to far from here that most people haven't heard of." James replied.
"Let's go there then." Brittny said.
"Maaannn." Joey groaned. "I thought we were gonna party."
"We can't party. If we go out we'll get mobbed. It's okay when we're not with anyone, but, we wanna hang out with our girls." Lance reasoned.
Brittny grinned at the reference.
Joey sighed.
"Wow, look at this traffic." Katie said.
"It's always like this after a show." JC mumbled.
"That's gotta suck."
"Hey, JC!" Justin called.
"What?"
"Pass me the gym bag. I wanna change out of this nasty shirt.
"Sure thing." JC pulled the gym bag out from under his seat, and passed it up to Justin.
Danielle watched him as he pulled the black wife beater over his head, and threw it on the floor as he rummaged through the bag looking for a shirt.
She bit her lip as she starred at his muscular stomach. She couldn't believe that after all that had happened he still turned her on.
"Dani?" Chris asked.
"Huh?" Danielle snapped out of her trance.
"Are you paying any attention?"
"Sorry, I was thinking about something."
"Yeah, Justin's body." Chris snickered.
Justin looked up, amused.
Danielle's face reddened. "I was not!"
"Then why is your face as red as a fire engine?"
"It isn't!"
Justin pulled a baby blue FUBU jersey over his head, concealing the smiled that played with his lips.
"Uh huh. Suuurrrreee."
"You were probably the one starring at him." Danielle said. "I've always thought you were into that kinda stuff. . . I mean, come on. .. nearly 30 and in a boy band. . . "
Joey grinned. "Ya know, I have noticed you hanging out with Justin a lot more recently."
"Ya. You guys are on the bus together for months at a time. You gotta have a little something going on there." Danielle joked.
Brittny rolled her eyes. "Those three are always teasing eachother." she explained to Katie.
"The three musketeers!" Chris shouted.
"The three little pigs is more like it." Brittny said.
"Your just jealous." Danielle said.
"Of what?"
"That your not as cool as us."
"that must be it." Brittny said sarcastically, shaking her head. "I'm jealous because you three are just too cool."
"That's right." Joey said.
"We're here!" James announced, pulling into a parking space in the nearly empty parking lot in front of Betsy's.
Everyone puled out of the van, and walked inside. It was a seat yourself kind of place, so, James took a seat at the counter, while Brittny, Lance, Chris, and Justin piled into one booth, and JC, Katie, Danielle, and Joey into another.
An old man sat at the counter drinking coffee, and a couple was cuddling in a booth. A busty woman with big blonde hair, in a pink waitressing uniform walked out from behind the counter.
"Hello," she said with a think southern accent to Brittny's table. "I'm Sure. What can I get for ya'll this evening?"
"Um. . . " Lance scanned the menus. "I'll have a burger and a coke."
"Fries and Pepsi." Brittny said.
"I'll have a cheeseburger." Justin said.
"And I'll have a milkshake, a burger, and fries." Chris said.
"Hungry much?" Brittny asked.
"I'll be right back with your drinks." she said. She moved onto the other table. "Hello. I'm Sue. Can I take your order?"
"Milkshakes and cheeseburgers all around." JC said.
"All right, I'll be right back with that." Sue turned around, snapping her gum, and left them alone.
Danielle grabbed a stray straw that had been left behind on the table, ripped off the tip of the paper, and blew it at the back of Chris's head.
Danielle and Joey burst out laughing and exchanged high five's.
Chris immediately turned around, grabbed hold of a piece of Danielle's long golden brown hair, and yanked, as hard as he could.
"Owie!" Danielle whined, slapping the back of Chris's head. "That hurt!"
"Gee, I wonder why." Chris said sarcastically.
"Jo-ey! Chris hurt me!"
"Oh, grow up." Brittny said.
Danielle and Chris simultaneously stuck they're tongues out at Brittny.
"Danielle?" Justin asked. "Can we-ya know?"
"Oh, Justin saw that tongue and immediately wants to 'ya know' with Danielle" Chris joked, imitating Justin's tone at one point.
"Shut up, Dred Head. Sure, Justin. But I thought it would be better if we were. .. alone." Danielle answered.
"I think it would be better if you were alone, too. I don't wanna watch you 'ya know'."
"Chris, if you don't shut up. . . " Danielle warned.
"Sor-ry, Ms. Mood-swing."
"We could go outside." Justin suggested.
Danielle nodded. "Go on, I'll be out in a minute."
"All right." Justin slid out of the booth, glanced at her, and walked outside.
"What exactly are you doing?" Joey asked.
"Being grown up." Danielle mumbled.
Part Sixteen
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