"Invisible Barriers"

"Okay," the photographer said brightly, snapping pictures crazily, "let's see some smiles! Wider boys, wider!" Justin smiled widely while thinking, "This is so gay." Meanwhile, the photographer was hopping around like a bunny on crack, yelling for the boys to grin as if their lives depended on it.

"Oh! Oh! That's great! That's good!" he exclaimed, taking another picture. Justin didn't feel too great. He was moody, his back was cramping up, and worst of all, the room where they were taking pictures sweltered with heat. Justin glanced at the wall wishing a window was there just as the photographer snapped the picture.

"Oh no you didn't!" the photographer snapped. "Justin! Eyes on me always! Don't waste my film!" The photographer let out another wail of agony as Justin rolled his eyes to the ceiling just as he tried to capture another picture.

"He is so fruity," Joey mumbled in a gay voice, his plastic smile still plastered on his face. His comment caused his groupmates to bust up laughing. The photographer, who's name was Carl (but said the guys should call him "Carly"), saw that as a picture perfect moment and hurriedly snapped another picture. "Okay," he shouted, "new positions!"

Chris stooped down on the floor next to Joey as Lance lay down between the two on his stomach facing the camera. Justin and JC stooped slightly behind Chris and Joey and grinned widely. "Lovely!" Carl said, taking two more pictures. "New poses, same position," he ordered.

JC wrapped his arms around Joey's neck and leaned in slightly, whispering in his ear, "I got you, babe." Lance and Chris immediately started to chuckle as Joey pushed JC away. "No!" the photographer gasped. "That was great. JC do that same pose again, and Justin do the same with Chris. Lance, cross your arms on the floor and rest your chin on them. Yeah," he nodded, as Lance did so. "Hold those poses guys!" Carl said. As Carl began to take pictures, Justin sighed softly. "You alright?" Chris asked, turning to look at Justin.

"No no no no no!" the photographer screamed. "Chris, look at the camera! And Justin, for the last time, smile!" He continued to run around taking pictures as JC and Joey tried to hold in their laughter while keeping their fake smiles on their faces.

Carl sighed, rolling his eyes. "I don't know why you guys are making this so hard for me. I mean, I know it's pretty outside and all, but can you please just focus?"

"Sorry," JC said, sending Carl one of his winning smiles. Carl blushed slightly and said, "It's okay. You're not giving me any trouble, JC."

"I know," JC smirked at the guys.

"Hey Lance, what was that word Tammy said JC was?" Chris asked suddenly.

"I think her exact words were 'boot-licking sycophant'," Lance replied with a grin and a cough.

"And what was a sycophant again?" Joey asked, jumping into their little game.

"It's a very fancy word for 'ass kisser'," Chris replied.

Justin sighed again. "Why do you guys always talk about her? Geez, you'd think she was the best thing you'd ever encountered," Justin grumbled. "You gush about her all the time, you'd think she was the famous pop star and not us."

Chris looked at Justin with a smirk. "Don't hate us 'cause Tammy hates you."

Justin glared at him and shrugged nonchalantly, "I could honestly care less."

"I'll bet," Chris snorted.

"If you guys don't mind terribly," the photographer scowled, "I'd like to finish this shoot today." The boys immediately smiled at him, making him giggle like a girl, and posed for more shots. The photographer let out another scream as Lance sneezed into his hands when another picture was taken, resulting in more laughter. Just then, the guys saw Tammy walk up behind the photographer and smile at them. Real smiles immediately surfaced on their faces, resulting in the photographer falling to his knees and thanking the Lord. "Yes!" he said. "I love those smiles! And that look in your eyes is great!"

Tammy smirked and walked over to some chairs, sitting in the one next to Yasmine. She immediately pulled out a pad and started to take notes on the surroundings, the photographer, and boys' different mannerisms as they took pictures. She noted how they really seemed to enjoy each other's company. She also noticed that the pre-set stereotypes about them were shattered. JC wasn't "the serious one" as he liked to say; he jumped around excitedly and did crazy dances. Joey kept everyone laughing with his many voices and impersonations, while Lance for some reason, felt it necessary to put everyone in a headlock, even though he looked tired and sick. By then, the photographer was nearly tearing his hair out with frustration. "That's it!" the photographer cried. "It's time for individual shots now. You guys obviously can't be around each other for too long and stay focused." He grabbed Joey and yanked him into another corner of the room as the others walked over to Tammy and sat down.

"Wassup?" JC grinned.

"Nothin'," Tammy grinned back. "You guys are so immature. That photographer was just tryin' to do his job and y'all gotta make it all hard for him."

"He was high strung," Lance said, wiping his nose with a tissue.

"He was mean," Chris added with a laugh.

"He was gay," Justin scowled. Tammy looked at him as he glanced up, and their eyes connected briefly. Tammy then rolled her eyes to the ceiling, muttering, "Bastard."

JC cleared his throat, trying to alleviate the obvious tension between the two. "So," JC said, "after the photo shoot do we have time to hang out in Atlanta?"

"Nope," Lance answered with regret. "Immediately after this is rehearsals, then a radio interview, and then an autograph signing."

Yasmine whistled. "Wow, you guys have it rough. You wouldn't catch me doin' that shit. Not for any amount of money in the world."

"It's not really about the money, Yasmine," JC started. He looked at the others, who were staring at him with looks that clearly said, 'Really?', then continued, "I mean, the money's nice and all," he blushed, "but we do it 'cause we love it. Same with Tammy."

"Whaddya mean?" Tammy asked. "I ain't no musician."

"But you're a writer," Chris replied. "You make a lot of money off of that, but that's not really the issue for you. You write because you love to. Because it's in you," he finished seriously.

"True," Tammy argued, "but it doesn't take anything for me to write. I just sit down and do it. You guys have to train, and do interviews, and sign autographs. You have to do extra shit besides the actual singing and dancing. I don't."

"Not true," Lance shook his head. "You keep odd hours. You don't go to sleep sometimes until after five in the morning because you're riding the inspiration wave."

"I guess," Tammy shrugged. What she was dying to tell them was that her not going to bed until after five was not entirely due to writing. "I mean," she continued, "I never really thought about it like that." She looked at Yasmine and finished, "Sometimes you just do what has to be done without thinking about how hard it really is."

Yasmine nodded, getting the hidden meaning behind Tammy's words. "It's still hard, though," she added soberly. The other guys glanced at each other, wondering what they possibly could be talking about. They didn't wonder long though, because "Carly" came out to get JC.

Forty five minutes later, the seven of them were exiting the studio with all the body guards and the tour manager. They jumped onto the bus and collapsed in various places. "Finally," Joey sighed, massaging his shoulder blades.

"Don't get too comfy," Lance warned. "We still have to go to rehearsals."

"I know," Chris groaned. "Then a radio interview, then an autograph shoot." He grinned at Yasmine and said in a dramatic voice, "The cycle never ends!" Tammy picked up a pillow and smacked him over the head with it.

"Shut up and quit your whining," she rolled her eyes. But later that day, even Tammy had to admit that she felt their pain. If following them around while they did all that stuff was exhausting, she could only imagine how tired they were after actually doing it. Atleast we don't have to drag our bags back onto the tour bus, Tammy thought, thankful for small favors. She collapsed in her bunk, ready for her first full night of rest in a long time.

Later that night though, Tammy felt someone shaking her awake. "What?" she mumbled, still asleep.

"Tammy wake up," Yasmine said.

Tammy rolled over and opened one eye, determined not to completely wake up.

Yasmine stared at her, then leaned close to her ear and whispered anxiously, "I dreamt about your necklace."

That was enough to snap Tammy back to full consciousness. "What do you mean?" she asked, propping herself up on one shoulder.

"I had a dream about your necklace," Yasmine repeated.

Tammy got out of her bunk and quietly pulled Yasmine into the lounge area. The two sat down at the small table and Tammy arched an eyebrow. "Tell all," she commanded.

Yasmine took a deep breath, then started. "Well, I had a dream that your necklace was falling over a rail into a ravine. I tried to catch it, but it slipped through my fingers. The I saw you crying and I was telling you not to cry, but you just kept going. So I jumped over the rail and into the ravine. As I was about to hit the ground, it all just turned into water, and I started to sink. No matter how hard I tried to paddle, I just kept sinking."

Tammy reached over and held her hand gently in hers. She nodded for Yasmine to continue.

"Then," Yasmine went on, "I started to get scared that I would die again. You know that if--"

Tammy cut her off abruptly. "I know," she said quietly.

"So anyways," Yasmine sighed, "I got scared and started to call for you. But you never came and I understood why. I knew that without your necklace, your talisman, you'd die right along with me. Suddenly, I saw the Elders."

"The Elders?" Tammy gasped, knowing that when the Elders made an appearance, it was for a reason.

Yasmine nodded. "Yeah. They pulled me up out of the water and said that I wasn't meant to die. I had to deliver a message to you. The message was that the necklace was apart of you, and if you lose it and can't find it, it'll find you. They said that you shouldn't be mad at Justin because the necklace is gonna eventually find it's way back to you."

Tammy nodded, getting to her feet. "Thanks for telling me," she smiled. "It means a lot to me."

"No problem," Yasmine replied, getting up also. After giving Tammy a hug, she walked back to her bunk so she could get some sleep.

Tammy sat down on one of the couches and looked out the window, lost in thought. Suddenly, a voice jerked her out of her thoughts.

"You okay?" Joey asked. He was standing over her, a glass of water in his hands.

Tammy sent him a tiny smile. "Yeah," she winked at him, "you know I'ma be alright."

"Ahh," Joey said, sitting down. "I caught that. You said you'll be alright, which means you obviously aren't alright now. What's wrong?"

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Tammy asked.

"I just know," Joey grinned. "We all know."

"Yeah," Tammy had to agree. "You guys always seem to somehow know when something is wrong with me."

"Is it Justin?" Joey asked, his brown eyes full of concern.

Tammy shook her head. "I've just been thinking about a lot of things. Things you wouldn't understand."

"Try me," he said.

"Nope," she replied, shaking her head. "Trust me when I say you wouldn't understand."

"Trust me when I say I will," Joey challenged, mussing up her hair playfully with his free hand.

Tammy was dying to tell him about her and her friends' past, but she knew that he would never get it. No one could. Most of the time, Tammy and her friends didn't get it themselves. She took a deep breath and said, "There's a lot you don't know about me. Like when to quit. Or when to believe me when I say you won't understand something."

"But that's just it," Joey insisted. "There's so much we don't know about you. You're one of our best friends, yet there seems to be this cloud of mystery constantly hanging over you. Why?"

"Joey," Tammy sighed, frustrated now, "I just said you wouldn't understand. Dude, just trust me on this one."

"How do you know I wouldn't understand?" Joey asked quietly, taking a sip of his water.

"Joey," Tammy said with a small laugh, "I know you almost better than you know yourself." With that, she got to her feet and gave Joey a hug. Afterwards, she climbed back into her bunk, determined to get some sleep. Joey on the other hand, stayed in the lounge and thought about what Tammy said to him earlier.

The next morning, Joey woke up to the sound of yelling. "What the hell is going on?" he muttered.

"Dude," a voice that sounded a lot like JC's said from the back, "you can't do that! You're cheating, and I have no respect for cheaters."

"I can so do this! All I did was the cheat code for this game," Tammy responded.

Joey got up and walked stiffly to the back of the bus. Sleeping on the couch left him with a horrible crick in his neck, plus his back felt like it was made of wood. "What's goin' on?" he asked. Tammy and JC were playing a video game as Chris and Yasmine watched, amused smiles on their faces.

"Tammy's cheating, as usual," JC said in mock annoyance.

"Joey!" Tammy exclaimed. "Don't I always do the cheat code for 'Mortal Kombat'?"

"Yeah," Joey shrugged.

"Thank you!" Tammy said, glaring at JC.

"But," Joey continued, "I don't remember there being a cheat code for 'Mortal Kombat 3'."

"See!" JC declared, jumping to his feet. He stared down at her adding, "You manage to cheat on a game that doesn't even have a cheat code."

"JC," Tammy rolled her eyes, "you sound so retarded. Stop overreacting."

"Yeah," Chris smirked. "Don't get mad 'cause you suck at video games." He rolled off the couch and onto the floor, picking up Tammy's game controller. He looked at Joey's pajamas and remarked, "By the way, Joe, Johnny said we're running behind and we're not gonna hit the D.C. hotel until tonight. You know what that means, right?"

Joey groaned. "Don't tell me I have to wash up in that sad excuse for a bathroom."

"Well, we'll be able to take showers tonight," JC offered helpfully.

"I know," Joey said, walking back to the bunk area to get his clothes.

An hour later the bus stopped, and James, the driver, told the group that they could relax and walk around for about twenty minutes.

As they jumped off the bus, Lance asked, "Where are we?" There were fields of grass, shrubs, and small trees in the distance, and an abandoned gas station in the middle of it all. Still, nothing could ruin the picture perfect scene in front of them. The wind swirled lightly around them as they stared at the bright blue skies populated with fat, fluffy clouds.

"North Cackilacky," Tammy answered with a smirk. "Look at those fields," she breathed. "Awesome."

The guys started to walk around and explore. "I don't know about you guys," JC said, "but I'm goin' to take a piss. I've been holdin' it for hours."

"Um JC?" Yasmine replied, "That's what the bathroom's for."

"Have you seen how small our bathroom is?" JC grinned. He turned and walked off towards some bushes. Lance and Justin, on the other hand, started to wrestle playfully on the ground, and Tammy jogged towards the field.

Minutes later, she looked back and saw the bus in the far distance. Figuring she was perhaps a quarter of a mile away from it, Tammy sat down under a tree and allowed herself to once again get lost in her thoughts of what the future held. Her and the girls hadn't had a battle since Shilen, and Tammy was worried about who they might have to confront in D.C. She sighed, wondering for the millionth time why she couldn't just be normal like the guys of 'NSync, or anyone else for that matter.

"What's wrong?" Tammy heard a voice say from over her head. She looked up and saw Chris dangling upside down from a tree branch, his trademark youthful grin plastered across his face.

"You know," Tammy replied with a smirk, "there's gotta be a time when you realize that you're entirely too old for that shit."

"That won't come for awhile," Chris laughed, grabbing the branch with both hands while flipping his legs off of it. He continued to hang on the branch as Tammy got to her feet and stared at him. His feet were perhaps only a foot away from the ground, but Tammy still wanted to be in a position to catch him if he happened to fall. "What's up?" she asked. "Besides your energy level obviously."

"Nothin'," Chris said, swinging slightly on the branch. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"About?" Tammy asked suspiciously.

"You know what it's about," he laughed, jumping to the ground. He sat down on the grass and gestured for Tammy take a seat next to him. "It's about Justin," he said as she sat down.

Tammy groaned in response. "You guys need to quit," she scowled. "Y'all can't stand for anyone to be mad at you."

"Not true," Chris replied. "We just can't stand for you to be mad at us."

"Why?" Tammy asked with a combination of annoyance and bewilderment. "Who cares if I'm mad at y'all? I'm nobody special. Shit, it's not like I'm Justin's girlfriend or anything."

"I know," Chris shrugged, "but it just doesn't seem right for you to be mad at us." He looked at her seriously, "You're always there to make us feel better when we're down, or to boost us up when this life gets us down, so we can't stand to see you down, either." He continued with a smile, "When we make you mad, we feel guilty."

"Why?" Tammy asked, genuinely confused.

"Because you've never made us mad," Chris answered as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. "Anytime one of us is in a bad mood, or feeling irritable, and one of the guys would come getting on our nerves, we'd get mad at them, and with good reason. But with you," he shook his head, not completely understanding the mystery surrounding Tammy, "you always seemed to understand how we were feeling and why we felt that way. You'd be wanting to get on our nerves, but before you did that, you made sure to talk to us and ask us how we were. Then you'd make a little joke to make us feel better."

"You mean to tell me," Tammy asked, unbelieving, "that none of you guys have ever been mad at me?"

"Never," Chris shrugged. "It's weird, I know, but we've never been so much as irritated at you, except for Justin maybe. Worried, yes, but never angry. And that's why we hate for you to be mad at us. That's why Justin feels so bad now."

Tammy chuckled. "That's good. For a second there, I was worried that J was falling for me."

Chris laughed along with her. "You want the truth?"

"Um, if it involves Justin really liking me, then no," Tammy answered.

Chris hit her over the head lightly. "It's not that," he grinned. "Justin doesn't like you like that. But the truth is, at one time, each of us was kind of attracted to you. Not now, of course," he finished quickly.

Tammy looked at him in amazement. "What?" she cried. "Get the fuck outta here! You're kidding!"

Chris shook his head adamantly. "Nope. It was weird. We all actually talked about it during that week when you abandoned us."

"Abandoned?" Tammy repeated. "You are so dramatic."

"Seriously, though," Chris said. "You had all the characteristics that each of us looked for in a girl. You were cute first off, which all of us liked. Plus, you had confidence, which Justin liked. You were fun to be around and kind of wild, which attracted me. You were nice and had no problems talking about God, which Lance loved, and you were also musical, and that appealed to J.C."

"What about Joey?" Tammy asked, amused and flattered.

"You were female," Chris shrugged with a laugh. "What else was there?"

"So how come you guys never tried anything?"

"See," Chris answered, standing up and jumping to grab the branch again, "we saw you as this kind of, ripe, forbidden fruit just hanging on a branch, dying to be plucked. But we knew that if we plucked you, things would never be the same. We could never put you back onto the branch as if we never plucked you."

"What?" Tammy asked, looking up at him. "Chris what the hell are you talking about? You sound like an ass now."

"Okay, bad analogy," Chris grinned down at Tammy. "Let's try this one: To us, you were like this beautiful rose bush growing in the wild."

"Okay…" Tammy nodded, trying to follow.

"We were amazed by how beautiful the rose was, and how it was able to brave the elements and continue to grow. We wanted to be involved in the rose bush's life, you know, prune it and weed it and stuff. But we couldn't."

"Why?"

"Because," he sighed, "in doing that, we would be destroying the delicate bond we had with the rose bush. We could live next to the rose bush, we could talk to the rose bush, and we could even watch the bush grow, but we couldn't destroy the mystery surrounding the rose bush."

"I get it," Tammy smiled. "Our friendship is more important than a relationship. Good analogy, Chris."

"Exactly," he smiled. "Thanks. But seriously, you're like a little sister to us now, and nothing more." He continued, "Still, I'm off the subject. Talk to Justin… he misses you. I mean, you're really important to us. Your friendship is, too, so that's why we can't stand for you to be upset with us."

Tammy got to her feet and brushed off her bottom. "We'll see," she replied, holding out her hand to Chris. He jumped off the branch and grabbed her hand, and the two started to walk back to the bus. Halfway there, Tammy suddenly whipped her hand around, and sent Chris flying to the ground. "What'd ya do that for?" he laughed.

"Ghetto ring around the roses," she replied, hinting at his earlier analogy.

He jumped up and grabbed Tammy's hand, spinning in a complete circle, then letting her go. "Whoa!" Tammy yelled as she flew through the air and hit the ground with a thud.

"You're gonna get it for that," she glared at Chris. "You have a five second head start." Chris took off at top speed, putting a fair amount of distance between him and Tammy, but that meant nothing to Tammy, who could outrun a cheetah if she wanted to. Climbing to her feet, Tammy broke into a sprint, catching Chris when he was five feet away from the bus. Tackling him roughly to the ground, she grabbed his arm and pinned it roughly behind his back. Chris started to scream in a high pitched voice, "Stop! It hurts!"

"Say, 'I'm a bitch and I let inmates fuck me in the ass'," Tammy commanded with a laugh.

"Never!" he yelled.

"What's going on?" JC asked, walking over. He saw Chris at the mercy of Tammy and groaned. "Not again," he said, thinking of all the times she'd beaten them up at one point or another.

"Say it!" Tammy ordered.

"Okay!" Chris conceded. "I'm a bitch and I let… What was the rest?"

"'I let JC fuck me in the ass'," Tammy laughed.

"What?" JC cried.

"That's not what you said at first!" Chris yelled.

"Sure it is," Tammy said convincingly, bending his arm more.

"Okay! Okay!" Chris screamed. "My arm really hurts! I'm a bitch and I let JC fuck me in the ass!"

"No you don't!" JC replied.

"Yes I do!" Chris cried. "Now get offa me!" Tammy got up and laughed at Chris.

Getting to his feet, Chris glared at Tammy, "You are so dead."

The smile dropped off of Tammy's face. "Uh-oh," she said, breaking into a run. JC immediately grabbed her around the waist saying, "I got her, Chris!" Chris calmly walked over to Tammy and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder.

"OW!" she yelled. "You're snagging my navel ring! Plus, your shoulder is really bony and it hurts!"

"Too bad," Chris replied, unforgiving. "I wonder how it would feel if I executed the entire dance for 'Bye Bye Bye'?"

"Noo!" Tammy screamed.

Justin watched from inside the bus at the scene going on outside. Chris had Tammy slung over his shoulder and was jumping around as she screamed. JC stood next to them, laughing hysterically. As Justin watched Chris spin around and around, he sighed, remembering the times when he and Tammy could joke around like that.