"Down Time"

"'Bye, you guys!" Tammy grinned at her four friends, who were about to enter the boarding gate. "I'll miss you guys so much!"

"Same here," Isabella grinned, wrapping her in yet another hug. As she hugged her, she whispered in her ear, "I don't know how I can ever thank you for saving me, and never losing faith in me. And I don't know how many times I can apologize for the stuff I did."

"So don't bother," her friend grinned, dropping a kiss on her cheek. Turning to Yasmine, Serena, and Michelle, she laughed, "I'll be glad when y'all come back."

"No," Yasmine laughed, "you won't. We'll start gettin' on your nerves in no time."

"Besides," Michelle added quietly, glancing at the boys of 'NSync, who were approaching, "you need to spend some time with 'NSync. Just you and them, ya know?"

"What am I gonna do all alone with 'NSync?" Tammy frowned slightly. "I feel like after all the shit us girls have been through, I'm on a whole 'nother level than them."

"Just get to know them better," Serena shrugged.

"Better yet," Isabella asked, "let them get to know you. I mean, how much do they really know about you? Let them get to know a bit of the Tammy we know."

Tammy nodded, then waved as the guys approached. "Hey there," she grinned.

"Wassup?" Justin asked, returning her grin. He glanced at Serena and said, "So y'all are leavin', huh? As usual, I'm gonna go crazy 'til y'all come back."

"Ditto," Chris added with a nod.

In response, Serena and Michelle rolled their eyes. "Y'all are already crazy," Michelle stated.

"Yeah," Serena chimed in, "now stop trying to flatter us."

As they spoke, Justin looked at Isabella, who averted her gaze to the floor. Perplexed, he said lightly, "Aren't ya gonna miss me, Bella?" Justin himself had no recollection of his sexual escapades with Isabella, (nor of the whole graveyard scene, for that matter) even though everyone else did, including the other members of the group. The night before, Tammy had pulled them aside and had a long talk with them in private. In a nutshell, she told them not to talk to Justin about what had happened with Isabella, since he was uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"He didn't seem to be," JC had commented at the time.

"Still," Tammy had pressed, "it would be polite not to talk about it or stir up the waters. Get it?"

"I don't know," Chris had said, "I mean, J's our best friend and we can talk to him about anything. Even this."

Once Tammy realized that her words were having no effect on them, she feared that they may still talk to Justin about it, who wouldn't remember any of it. As a way to keep their secrets and powers safely hidden, she called in Isabella to implant a suggestion in their minds to never talk about the Isabella/Justin situation ever again. Watching them in the airport, Tammy decided that the implant had taken effect and was working.

"I'm gonna miss you, Belle," Justin said, enveloping her in a big hug, then looking confused as she tensed up. Isabella didn't have a full recollection of her intimacies with Justin, but she trusted what her friends said, and the thought that she had been with him like that made her feel weird inside.

"Yeah, I'll miss you too," she mumbled, not looking in his face. In a loud voice she said, "Well, looks like we should be going now." Hugging everyone else, she said her good-byes and waited impatiently for the others. Much to her immense happiness, the three girls finally were satisfied with their good-byes and joined her.

As they walked through the gate, Justin said, "Isabella was kinda distant to me. Have I done something to insult her, Tammy?"

Tammy thought back to all the carnal pleasures Isabella and Justin had enjoyed together, and struggled to keep a straight face. "Not at all, Jumanji," she shrugged. "Atleast, nothing I can think of."

Later that night on the bus, Tammy curled up on the couch and started to read a book she'd read numerous times in high school. As she laughed at a funny quote in the book, Justin and Joey walked in and sat across from her.

"Whatcha readin'?" Joey asked, kicking his feet up.

"A book," she grinned, chuckling slightly at how easily he set himself up for her sarcastic retorts.

"So I noticed," he rolled his eyes good naturedly. "But what's it called?"

"The Canterbury Tales," she replied finally, setting down the book and looking him in the eye.

"That's cool," Justin nodded. "I'd always wanted to read that, but never had the time." He looked at Tammy slyly and said, "You wouldn't mind reading a few passages to us, would ya?"

"I would mind," she replied with a haughty smile, then burst into giggles. Nodding her head she relented, "Ya, I'll read some stuff to ya. I just hope you kids won't be offended by the sexual references."

"Not me," Joey grinned with a swift shake of his head.

"Me neither," Justin said with a wolfish grin. "Is there lots of sex?"

"Trust me," Joey answered for Tammy, "I've read the book. It's like a porn novel from the Middle Ages. Go on, T."

Tammy launched into the funny, yet morally packed tale of the old clerk, his young and unfaithful wife, and his lustful boarder, who was carrying on an affair with the clerk's wife. As she continued to read, changing her voice to match the personalities of the characters, JC, Lance and Chris wandered in and sat down.

"What are you doing?" Chris asked. He was instantly shushed by Justin and Joey, who were entranced by the tale. Seconds later, Chris and the others were also fascinated by the story. By the end, they all were holding their stomachs with laughter as they envisioned the deceitful boarder being burned in the butt by a hot poker. When Tammy finished, they all applauded.

"That was awesome," JC laughed. "I never knew that this book could be so interesting."

"Me neither," Lance gasped, wiping a stray tear from his face. "I thought I would die laughing."

"Yeah," she smiled softly, "it is a good book. It helps me remember how much I love to write."

"What do you mean?" Joey asked while leaning forward, anxious to hear more about Tammy.

"I mean," she grinned fully, "that this lets me know that there will always be a need for writers. Books are timeless, ya know? And if we can derive pleasure from a book this old, then there's no telling what pleasure we can get from stuff in the present."

"When did you first realize you wanted to write?" Chris asked as he settled back in his seat, making himself more comfortable for her answer.

"I guess the end of my sophomore year," she shrugged. "Blew me away, too, ya know?"

"Why?" JC wanted to know.

"'Cause up until that point, I had been training and basically telling myself that I was gonna be a doctor. Then," she smiled wryly, "just like that, BOOM! I write one story and realize that God had been grooming me from jump to be a writer."

"Wow," Lance whispered. "That's awesome. How'd you know you had been grooming for something like that?"

Tammy laughed lightly. "Anything I did involved me writing a story in some way. Even as I look back on my life, I realize that the love of writing had always been there. As a matter of fact," she chuckled, "I can even remember the first story I had ever written."

"What was it?" Justin asked interestedly.

"I was in the first grade," she reminisced, her eyes taking on a dreamy look, "and we had this dumb assignment to test our listening skills or something, I guess. I was paired up with the smartest girl in the class, but she lacked any type of imagination. I dictated a story about a skunk who made millions off of a line of new cologne, which actually was his scent. I guess I was thinking of Pepe Le Pew or something."

The guys laughed as she continued, "The girl was like, 'That's so stupid! How can an animal make money? Or even use it?' I was just like, 'Shut up and write the story'. I wasn't tryin' to hear nothin' she said."

"Good," JC nodded. "If not, you might not be the awesome writer you are today."

"So how'd your mom and dad feel about it once they found out you were skipping college to go out to Hollywood?" Chris asked, his mouth curving up slightly.

"They flipped," she laughed. "Well, my mom tried to understand, but my dad just made a compromise with me. I can make all the trips back and forth to L.A. that I want, but as long as I applied to a college in October and enrolled by January." She shrugged, "I agreed, but I was just tryin' to make something happen quickly so I could avoid college. I hated school."

Justin nodded, then remarked, "I bet they're proud of you now… and glad that they didn’t force you into a college."

Tammy's smile faltered a bit. "Well," she said quietly, "my mom's proud… I'm sure my dad is too, wherever he is."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Joey asked, the concern evident in his voice.

"He died last year," she shrugged. "It's no biggie, though. I mean, he was so happy for me when I first signed with New Line Cinemas. Atleast he died happy."

"I'm sorry, T," JC said, putting his arm around her.

"Yeah," Chris nodded, "I know how terrible it feels to lose a father. I still haven't gotten over it."

"You will, though," Tammy nodded. "I mean, I miss him, but I look at it like this: where he is, he's happy and feeling no pain. And I'll be there soon enough. But right now," she forced a grin on her face, "I have things to do. Tasks to complete." She smirked at the boys and added, "Lives to save."

Early the next morning, Tammy woke up and went up to the window of the hotel. "Where the hell are we?" she asked outloud. She didn't even remember stumbling into the hotel the night before. The only thing she remembered was typing out the beginning of a story involving the boys, then having Lance wake her up, for she was still slumped behind her laptop.

"Los Angeles," JC answered from the bed. He turned over and waved sleepily at her. "Morning, girl."

"Hey there," she grinned. "Do you ever get tired of being tired?"

"Not at all," he yawned, climbing out of his bed. "Why? Do you ever get tired of hearing me snore?"

"Nah," she snorted with laughter. "It's kinda cute now."

"You know," he remarked casually, "since you seemed to have woken me up nearly two hours before we're scheduled to get up, why don't we go somewhere?" Glancing at the clock he continued, "It's only five-twenty seven in the morning. Let's go for a walk on the beach."

"Cool," Tammy chirped, pulling on some baggy jean shorts over her boxers. "We'll just come back and change, right?"

"Yeah," JC yawned again, pulling on some pants. After he was dressed he got up saying, "Let's get out of here."

After catching a cab to the beach, the two sat in the sand and watched the sun rise. "I love this," JC sighed, laying back and closing his eyes.

"Oh no, you don't!" Tammy exclaimed, pulling him back up into a sitting position. "You are not going to sleep on me, J!"

"I'm not," he laughed, tossing some sand on her playfully. "I'm woke, seriously." Glancing at her he continued, "I'm glad I got some time alone with ya."

"Why?" she smiled suspiciously, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"I dunno," he shrugged. "I just like being around you. After always being around the others so much, you're like a breath of fresh air. I mean, look around," he gestured to the unoccupied beach, "here we are, two incredibly well-known people, and we're just chilling at the beach like we're normal."

"We are normal," Tammy pointed out.

"You're more normal than me," he remarked, sighing. "I mean, I can't even go to the store anymore, let alone the beach. I'm that well-known. Sometimes I wish I was like you, ya know? Normal. I mean, you have your fair share of fans, but the fans of actors tend to be generally cooler than those of musicians, ya know?"

"Please," she rolled her eyes, "you can be normal if you want. Just act normal. If you don’t carry yourself with the persona of a big, glamorous star, then people won't treat you like one. That's just what I believe."

"You don't understand," he complained, "you have no idea what it's like to be different. No idea."

"I don't have an idea?" she asked incredulously. "Joshua, all bullshit aside, please spare me. You have no idea what it's like being me. Many times I wish I could be normal… like you. But I'm not. I'm more different than you think, and you'll never have any idea of the complexities of it."

JC gazed at her, his gaze turning sympathetic. "I forgot you were a lesbian. Sorry."

"Huh?" Tammy looked at him in confusion, then remembered the lie she had told him in order to save her friends' identities. "Oh yeah," she muttered, "whatever. But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about something else."

"Oh?" he asked, playing with the sand, "what's so different about you? Is it 'cause you're black?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Way more complex than that. You'd never understand it."

"I doubt it," he said. Laying on his side and looking at her he continued, "You know what I think? I think this all does go back to the whole lesbian thing. You're just feeling sensitive about it, and you feel weird about it. Are you worried about what the others will think? If so, don't worry, 'cause I haven't told them, and I'm not planning to."

"Thanks," she grinned, rolling her eyes inwardly, still unable to believe that he thought she was gay. "But let me ask you something."

"Shoot," he asked, locking his clear blue eyes to her dark brown ones.

"When I told you that, how did you feel?"

He shrugged. "I don't know what you mean. I didn't feel weird or anything, if that's what you wanna know. If anything, everything else made sense. The whole mystery surrounding you had a new sense of clarity."

"Did you see me any different?" Tammy asked, laying on her stomach and propping herself up on her elbows.

JC shook his head. "No. To me, you were still Tammy. No different at all."

"You sure?" she asked, still skeptical. "I mean, you saw me one way and grew to know me under that illusion. Then you see that I'm not what you imagined. That didn't change your perception of me?"

JC laughed, shaking his head. "Tammy, I know you're expecting me to say yes, but I swear, nothing about my perception of you changed. Just 'cause you like girls, does that change anything else about you? No. You're still the same strong, spunky, headstrong, funny, sexy, and smart Tammy we grew to love."

"So what if you found out a deeper secret about me?" she asked, going in for the kill. "One that would just… I don't know, blow you away?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "I mean, I can't imagine anything being that bad, and even if it was, you'd still be Tammy in my eyes. Your lifestyle doesn't define who you are as a person."

"Swear?" Tammy asked, on the verge of telling him her secret.

"Why?" he scrunched up his face in confusion.

"I wanna hear you say it," she insisted. "Swear to me that whatever you find out about me, your perception of me won't change and I'll still be Tammy to you."

"I swear," he said softly, frowning at her slightly. "What's this all about, Tammy? Are you about to come out about your lifestyle to Hollywood?"

"JC," she sighed in frustration, "I'm not--" She broke off, suddenly wondering for the second time if she should tell him that she wasn't gay, that in fact she was sent back by God to protect someone very important.

"You're not what?" he asked. "You're not coming out?"

"No," Tammy said, deciding to go along with the façade yet again. "I'm not coming out yet."

"One question, then," he asked, flicking a bit of sand on her. As she raised her eyebrows in expectation, he continued, "You say all five of y'all are gay, right?"

"Er… yeah," she said slowly. "We're all different."

"So," he continued with a confused shake of his head, "why don't y'all act like it? I mean, Isabella was having sex with Justin for a good week, Yasmine flirts with Joey constantly, and you even kissed Lance before."

"Hold it!" Tammy cut in, holding up her hand. "Correction. Lance kissed me, and that was way back when I first started touring with y'all. And," she continued with a smirk, "he suffered grave consequences for that."

"But that's just it," he shrugged, "you still told Justin later that he was a good kisser, and that you wouldn't mind doing it again. I mean, it just doesn't make sense."

"What doesn’t make sense?" she wanted to know. "What are you getting at, JC?"

Looking slyly at her, he smiled softly, "Do you think that perhaps you guys aren't gay, just confused?"

At that, she burst into laughter. "JC, do me a favor and let's drop the subject. I don't feel like talking about this anymore. It's stupid." Especially since I'm not gay, she finished silently.

"Fine," he grinned. "This convo is too intense anyway."

Tammy lay back on the sand and closed her eyes, starting to sing a song that reminded her of a past love. "Hey lady," she sang, "let me tell you why I can't live my life…. without you. Everytime I see you walking by I get a thrill. You don't understand but in time you will. I must make you understand…"

"I wanna be your man," JC sang with her. The two continued to sing the R & B song that was popular in the late eighties called "I Wanna Be Your Man". When they were done, JC said, "Did you ever sing that to a girl?"

Tammy laughed, her eyes still closed. "Nah, my boyfriend used to sing that to me when we first met." Noting JC's silence, she opened her eyes, realizing her stupid mistake.

"Your boyfriend?" he asked, staring skeptically at her.

"Well," she stammered, quickly backpedaling, "my ex-boyfriend. We're not together anymore, but he was my first love."

"You're not gay," JC grinned. Putting his hand on Tammy's mouth to shush any comments, he continued, "I'm not gonna judge you, 'cause your lifestyle is your business, but based on everything we've talked about, I get the feeling that you'll come around and realize that you're not gay."

"What makes you so sure?" she smirked, relieved that he still hadn't picked up on anything.

"I can just tell that deep down inside, you like guys," he said smugly, sure that he was right.

"Ahh…" she moaned, burying her head in her hands, "why are you so interested in my sexuality? You have a girlfriend."

"Indeed I do," he chuckled, "but the minute we break up, I'm goin' straight for Serena."

Tammy laughed, then looked at her watch. "It's time for us to get back and change. Let's go." The two got to their feet and wiped the sand off of each other. As JC gazed at Tammy's face, he couldn’t help but notice the slight blush and small smile she had as she brushed the sand off of his chest, back, then butt. "Oh yeah," he thought to himself, "if she likes girls, then Eminem likes 'NSync."

Playing video games with Lance and Joey later that day, Lance happened to bring up a question. "T?" he asked. "Are you happy?"

Tammy nodded absently, concentrating on beating the crap out of his character. After her inevitable victory, she dropped her controller. "Why do you ask?" she wanted to know.

He shrugged. "I just wondered. I mean, sometimes you seemed so worn down and emotionally drained. I didn't know why. I thought it might have been 'cause of us."

"Never," she shook her head. "You guys give me strength. Like when Isabella and everyone is gone and I'm feeling sad 'cause my friends aren't here, you all cheer me up."

"How'd you meet them, anyway?" Joey asked, taking her controller.

"We met at the boardwalk back in VA," she grinned. "You could call it fate. We all just clicked, and ever since then we've been best friends."

"Do you have any favorite qualities about them?" Joey asked, taking his eyes briefly from the game to look at her.

"I enjoy Yasmine's impulsiveness," she said thoughtfully. "And her mischief. It's one of her best qualities. I admire Serena's straight forwardness and that kind of dry, sharp wit she has. Michelle's quiet power always intrigues me, as does her ability to bring a certain coolness to any situation. I like the way she's able to see things from a point of view that no one else can. And Isabella, of course," she rolled her eyes affectionately, "she's just awesome. She has this certain… I don't know, child-like energy and excitement that I love. She has a love for life that I just can't mimic. Everything is an adventure to her."

"And you?" Lance asked with a cute grin.

"What about me?" she replied, returning his grin.

"Do you have a favorite quality about yourself?" he wanted to know.

"I can't have a favorite quality about myself. No one can. But," she looked at him, "you can have one about me. So what is it?"

"Your ability to control any situation," Lance said without hesitation. "It's so cool how you can dominate a situation without even thinking about it. Hell, without even knowing that you're doing it. And you do it without coming off as cocky or bossy. I had a dream one time," he continued, a thoughtful look entering his emerald colored eyes, "that you and Isabella were in an old abandoned junk yard, and y'all were having a fight with this guy. I mean, he was huge. We were all watching from the bus and were worried to death about you, but we couldn't leave. It was like we were frozen there. Our worries were kind of in vain though, because you and Isabella were whuppin' some ass. But even then, in that situation, you were in total control. Isabella followed your every lead, and you were the commander of the fight."

Tammy nearly passed out when she realized that what Lance had been dreaming was no dream, but a faint recollection of her and Isabella's battle with Gentro. "That's cool," she croaked. Getting to her feet she said, "I need some water."

As she chugged down her third glass of water, Justin came up behind her. "Hey you," he grinned poking her in the side, resulting in water shooting out of her nose.

"Charming, Jupiter," she coughed, using another one of her many nicknames for him. "What do you want?"

"To annoy you," he said obnoxiously, grinning the entire time.

"Mission accomplished," she remarked, plopping onto her bunk. To her mild annoyance, Justin sat down on the floor next to her bunk and continued to grin. "Okay, what?" she sighed, propping herself up on one elbow.

"Nothing," he shook his head, still grinning idiotically. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes," she said.

"Can you hear me now?" he said, lowering his voice ever so slightly.

"Yeah," she rolled her eyes.

"Can you hear me now?" he said, lowering his voice again.

"Yeah," she snapped, sighing loudly.

"Can you hear me now?" he grinned, lowering his voice.

"Okay," Tammy said, "enough is enough." Touching his arm softly she cooed, "Does this feel good?" After he nodded, she planted a hard punch on his arm, smiling as he winced in pain. "Does that feel good?" she asked.

"No," he scowled, rubbing his arm.

In response, she looked him sweetly in the eye, then gently removed his hand from his arm. This time, she punched him three times harder than she did the first time, enjoying his cry of pain. "Does that feel good?" she asked again.

"No!" he said, trying to laugh it off, even though Tammy knew that his arm was now killing him. A huge purple lump had developed on his arm, and it looked like it was painful.

"Here," Tammy said, reaching out to him, "I'll massage it for you." She laughed as Justin recoiled from her touch. "Trust me, J," she grinned, "I'm not gonna hit you again." He hesitantly offered his arm, and Tammy placed a cool hand on the welt. Rather than massaging it, she applied a gentle amount of pressure to certain parts of the bruise, resulting in it decreasing in size considerably. As a matter of fact, the purple welt even lightened to a mere beige color.

"Wow," Justin whistled, looking at his arm. "How'd you know to do that?"

In response she cracked her knuckles, saying, "I know a little bit about a little bit of applied pressure and massage techniques. Somethin' I picked up from the 'hood." She cackled as she finished her sentence.

"Well, it felt great," he replied. "You gotta teach me that sometime."

After he walked towards the back of the bus, Tammy closed the curtain of her bunk and lay back, thinking about certain important facts. She'd had a quick chat with Serena and Michelle on the phone, and after a quick meeting on the spiritual plane, the five girls had devised an all-new, gung-ho, fail-proof plan to find Rakshiki once and for all. Tammy was determined to carry out this plan without a hitch, and was confident that everything would work out this time.

As she continued to think, her thoughts strayed to 'NSync again. "They're so retarded," she chuckled to herself, remembering Justin's earlier antics, something she often had to deal with when he was bored. She was glad that she was setting time aside to let them get to know her, and wasn't going to mince any of it. Fail-proof plan or not, she was having fun. "Yeah," she thought to herself, turning over and drifting off to sleep, "the world can wait. It's down time now. Plus," she murmured as an afterthought, "I still have a script to write."