The next two days were hell for Lance. The group had most of the time to themselves, and he had locked himself in his room. He only reappeared for interviews, or their one photo shoot. The rest of the guys were doing their own thing. Justin went off with Rochelle, who he really seemed to like, to all the places that the contestants were scheduled to be. JC hung out with Shea, because Mackie was obligated to be on the tours as well, and Shea was not authorized. Joey and Chris hung out together, trying to come up with a plan to get Angela to leave him alone. She was starting to get a little freaky. Lance had the whole penthouse to mope around, and all he did was lay on the couch or his bed and replay the conversations with Mackenzie and Shea.
“She wasn’t upset that you said you loved her. It was how you said it.”
“You are so amazingly beautiful Macks. I couldn’t take my eyes off you all night. I don’t know what’s going on with me, but it’s like since I saw you this afternoon, nothing else has been in my mind but you. I think…I think I fell in love tonight Mackenzie.”
“I…I love you James! I’ve loved you forever, and I will love you forever, but this is too hard. From now on, just leave me alone.”
“I think I fell in love tonight Mackenzie.”
“I’ve loved you forever, and I will love you forever, but this is too hard.” All of a sudden, the realization hit him like a brick wall.
“I think I fell in love tonight Mackenzie.”
He had said that. He had told her how beautiful she was, and then, he said he had fallen in love with her that night. “Oh, God! What have I done?” He did love her, he was sure of that. But, Mackie thought that he only loved her because of what she looked like. Nothing could be farther from the truth. He had to find her. To tell her. He looked at his watch, and his heart fell. Tonight was the pageant, and the contestants had to be at the venue an hour earlier. And, because he was so dense, he didn’t come to this realization sooner. The guys had to leave soon, as well, in order to get there on time for their bit, and he had to figure out a way to talk to her. He sat and wrote…he kept writing until JC came into the room and told him that the bus was waiting downstairs for them. Lance signed his name, and followed JC out of the room.
On the bus, Lance informed the guys of what was going on. And that he needed the bus to be empty at midnight. They all agreed, hoping that the talk with Mackenzie would bring back the old Lance.
They arrived at the Essex Civic Center, and made their way backstage to their dressing room. They warmed up their voices, and soon, it was time to begin. They had decided to perform one song off of their first album, and one off their second. The more upbeat song, for the dance number that included all of the girls, was “Tearin’ Up My Heart.” They got through it flawlessly, although Lance never managed to catch Mackie’s eye. Ten finalists were selected, and the guys were overjoyed when Miss California and Miss Mississippi were called. And Joey was elated that Miss New Jersey wasn’t. They weren’t on stage for the bathing suit competition, and while the guys watched on the television in their dressing room, Lance took the opportunity to put on his clothes for the evening gown portion, and slipped out of the room. He found Shea backstage, and handed her the letter.
“I figured out what I said wrong. Will you make sure she gets this?” He asked.
“Yeah, I can do that. You really do love her, huh?”
Lance sadly smiled. “Yeah, I really do. I just hope I can fix this.” He started to walk back toward the room.
