Chris grinned in the mirror as he rubbed a bit of gel through his short hair. He proceeded to bounce out of the bathroom, picking Emmi up in his arms and spinning her around. Emmi burst out laughing and shrieking for Chris to put her down.
"Emmiline Valley, my Terri is coming to day!" he announced, giving her a big kiss on the cheek. Emmi wiped the slobber off her face and sighed.
"Chris, you have been counting down to this the past month! We know Terri s coming today, we are all very happy and excited, but would you PLEASE SHUT UP!" Emmi's blue eyes widening with frustration. Chris had been literally letting everyone know exactly how many weeks, days, hours and minutes it would be until Terri arrived. If that wasn't bad enough, the tension between Joey and Anna had become almost unbearable since they had blown up at each other. Most of the time, they didn't acknowledge each other's presence, but when they did, the whole Valley knew about it. And, they were talking about it, constantly. The only time the subject was left alone was to discuss Justin and Shai's relationship, something else the little town knew all about. They had tried to keep it secret from everybody, but somehow, it came out. Justin brought Shai to the farmhouse almost every day, and it was rare that the rest of the group ever saw them. They usually locked themselves in the other small guestroom, or went out to the barn. Emmi was constantly rolling her eyes whenever Shai was in the house, and Lance had had to stop her from making a comment on numerous occasions. Emmi and Lance grew to be great friends, and although they were attracted to each other, neither ever made a move to elevate the status of their relationship. Emmi knew how hard it was for Terri and Nicole to be in a relationship with one of the guys from Nsync, and she heard how heartbroken Symone and Justin were after theirs ended. Emmi felt it was safer this way; she was guarding her heart. She turned back to Chris, who was staring out the window and hopping up and down and let out an exasperated sigh.
JC, emerging from the bedroom, smirked at the look on Emmi's face. "Relax, Em. Once Terri gets here, it will only get better. That woman can control him so well. He is whipped around her." Chris looked at him indignantly.
"I am not whipped, Mr. Hill!" Chris shot back. JC reddened as Chris walked into the kitchen to find some breakfast.
"How is Nicole doing, JC? I haven't heard you mention her lately." Emmi asked, sitting down on the couch.
"Actually, I haven't really gotten to talk to her lately...I've been using my two calls a week for my family and the label." JC admitted. "I will call her soon, though, but we're having some problems with the company and our new CD and it's a big mess, so I really need to keep in touch with them."
Emmi nodded understandingly. "I'm sure it'll be okay."
Terri looked at the sullen girl in the back seat. Ever since they had met in the airport that morning, Symone had been pouting. Terri could understand, since this would be the first time she and Justin had seen each other since the breakup, and Justin didn't even know she was coming. In fact, no one knew that Symone and Krysti were coming with Terri to the farm. Problems had arisen with Asylum Star in the last few weeks. Tony, their drummer had been goofing of with one of the stagehands before a show, and broke his arm. Travis from Blink had been helping them out, but it became too strenuous for him to play drums for 2 and a half-hours straight. They needed a replacement, but only their manager could authorize it. And since they couldn't get in touch with Lance, Krysti and Symone had to come out to talk to him.
"Well, we're almost there." Terri said, as they drove through a quaint-looking town. The ride had been silent, with Symone being upset, and Krysti worrying about what will happen when she and Justin see each other. Terri was worried about that, too; she knew Justin was still hurting a lot, and this might not be the best thing for him.
Terri turned into the long driveway, and saw the farmhouse ahead. As they got closer, Terri could see a figure bouncing around, waving their arms frantically. She stifled a laugh, knowing it was Chris and he had spotted them. She pulled up, and turning off the engine, nearly vaulted out of the car and into his arms. This was the longest they had been apart since the wedding, and they had missed each other terribly.
Symone rolled her eyes at the public display of affection. Ever since IT happened, she hadn't been able to stand anything like that. Touring with Krysti and Tom was getting nauseating, to say the least. While Krysti fawned over the two, Symone grabbed her bag and started inside. She pulled open the screen door as someone opened the inner wood door. Symone was suddenly standing face-to-face with Justin. But, not only Justin. Around his waist were wrapped the arms of a gorgeous blonde.
