Lance stepped onto the elevator once again, pressing the penthouse. The guys would most likely be up there, getting ready for their “hot dates.” Lance decided that he would also change into something different.

Change. Different. Those were probably the two most prominent words he would use to describe Mackenzie-aside from beautiful, and all its synonyms, that is. But, this change, it wasn’t just physical. She was putting up a front. He had seen her do it to so many people, and now he was watching her do it to him. Mackie had never been very good at lying, and lying to him had been utterly impossible. She was getting better at it, though. Had Lance not continually looked her in the eye, he might have missed it. But, as soon as her navy eyes connected with his, he saw that she had put up a wall. She wasn’t happy with this new teen queen persona, and he wondered exactly what compelled her to become involved in a world that was the exactly the opposite of everything she had ever been before. Seeing Mackenzie close herself up, knowing that she was holding something deep inside that she didn’t feel that she could share with Lance made him feel helpless. He decided then and there to make Mackie trust him again.

He walked into the room, and sure enough, there was a scurry of activity. Justin was in the shower, which was made known to all by his off-key rendition of 112’s “We Can Do It Anywhere.” Joey was trying to decide between two shirts.

“Hey Lance, which looks better?” Joey asked, placing a dark blue sweater vest in front of his bare chest and then a black collared dress shirt.

Lance looked at both briefly. “Uh, go with the black one. Blue clashes with your hair.”

“Thanks Scoop.” Joe replied, unbuttoning the shirt and pulling it on.

Lance walked into the bedroom he was sharing with JC. Josh was already dressed, and had sprawled out on his bed, watching TV. He looked up when Lance entered the room.

“Hey, I heard your long lost best friend found her way home.” he said.

Lance immediately smiled. “Yeah, she did. Mackie and her friend Shea are coming out with us tonight, so you guys finally get to meet her. I can’t believe that I’m finally seeing her after all these years. I didn’t realize just how much I missed her.”

JC looked wide-eyed at Lance. “You didn’t? We sure as hell did! You talked about the girl non-stop for the last…for as long as any of us have known you, for crying out loud!”

“I guess I have.” Lance replied, goofy smile still engulfing his face. “She’s changed a lot, though.

“God forbid! Dude, last time she saw you, you were this two-steppin’ 16 year old kid from…” JC put on his best southern accent. “Clinton, Mississippi, yeehaw! Now you are an international pop star. 5 years does a lot to people. Last time you saw her, she was 13-years-old. Face it Lanceten, your little Mackie is a woman now. And if what Justin tells us is correct, she’s also a hottie.”

Lance threw a sock at JC’s head, and resumed getting dressed. “Yeah, I noticed that too.”

JC looked up quickly, seeing the flush in Lance’s face. “Oh, you’ve got it bad!”

“What? I do not!” Lance got extremely defensive.

JC thought it was better to just drop the subject. “Whatever, man. You ready?” he asked, glancing at Lance’s Dockers and forest green dress shirt.

“Yeah, let’s head down to the lobby and wait for the girls.” The pair made sure they had everything they needed, including making sure security was waiting downstairs. They rode down to the lobby, and sat on the couches, with their backs to the bank of elevators. Every time there was a ding, indicating a person arriving on the ground floor, Lance looked over his shoulder. JC almost laughed out loud at how anxious his friend was acting.

“Lance, chill out. Looking back every 5 seconds is not going to get her here any quicker.”

A female voice came from behind, startling both of them. “Yeah James, didn’t you ever hear that a watched pot never boils.” The guys looked up, and at Mackie and Shea. Lance’s jaw dropped at the sight of his best friend. ‘When did she become so damn attractive?’ he thought. She wore a long navy blue dress, covered in a light green vine pattern. Her hair was swept away from her neck, and she had little use for make-up on her perfect face.

JC noticed Lance staring, and decided to snap him out of it before he embarrassed himself. “Hey, Lance, aren’t you gonna introduce us?”

JC’s trick worked like a charm. “Yeah, sorry, JC Chasez, this is Mackenzie Deal and Shea Byer.”

Mackie shook JC’s outstretched hand. “It’s really awesome to meet you. I’m a huge fan…wow, that sounded a little cliché, didn’t it?” She seemed nervous, star struck.

“How come you didn’t get all flustered when you met me?” Lance asked, playfully as JC exchanged pleasantries with Shea.

“Easy. JC is my favorite member of ‘N Sync.” Mackie slyly smiled.

“Oh, really? Want me to hook you up with him?” Lance asked playing into the game.

“Nah, Shea would kill me! She has got a killer crush…I told her it could never work though.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, lets see…” Mackie said, smiling. “If, by any chance they did happen to fall in love and want to get married…Shea Chasez? I don’t think so!” She didn’t realize that JC and Shea were now listening, and laughing along with Lance.

“Wait a second Mackie…that could be Andrea Chasez, thank you very much!” Shea replied. That was another of her similarities with Lance; the general population called them by their middle name.

Mackie scoffed. “Yeah, like you would start using your real name for a guy!”

Shea smiled flirtatiously at JC. “Depends on the guy.” Then she stuck her tongue out at Mackenzie to lighten the mood.

The other guys joined them, and a few minutes later, found Chris and Shea bantering back and forth like a couple of old friends. Justin’s date, Rochelle was actually nice, down to earth, just like Shea and Mackie. Joey’s, though was a typical beauty queen…stuck up and snotty. They all hopped in a van, driven by one of the bodyguards, and took off for a nearby restaurant.