(The Next Morning)
“Ok I think I’ve got everything,” Kayla said checking her bags once more. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips, looking around the apartment and finally letting her eyes rest on Bryce and Casey sitting on the couch, watching her. “What?” she asked.
Bryce shook his head, “Nothing.”
Kayla smiled and walked over, plopping down between them. “I’m gonna miss you guys.”
Casey crawled into her lap and hugged her around the neck.
“We’re gonna miss you too,” Bryce said wrapping an arm around her. “Promise you’ll call.”
Kayla grinned, “Yes mommy.”
Bryce laughed and winked, “Remember to be a good girl.”
Kayla nodded her head and hugged Casey. “I will.”
The intercom came on and Kayla jumped from the sudden sound.
“Kayla you up there?”
Kayla stood up, placing Casey back on the couch, and walked over to the intercom, “Yeah I’m here.”
“You ready?”
Kayla pressed the button again, “I’ll be right down.” She sighed and turned around to face Bryce and Casey. “Well this is it.”
Bryce stood up and picked Casey up with him, “Have fun.”
Kayla nodded her head and picked up her bags with a small grunt.
“You sure you can handle all that?” Bryce asked.
“Yeah I’m sure,” Kayla said quickly.
She didn’t want Alyissa to know about Bryce and Casey, so far she had done a pretty good job at keeping them a secret from people at work or anyone else for that matter. Tracy had almost blown her cover, but she was relieved when Lance suggested they were her roommates, after all they were. No one asked anything about how old they were or WHY they were her “roommates”.
“Well I’m off, I’ll call soon,” Kayla said opening the door. She walked over to Casey and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Be good,’ she signed. ‘I love you.’
Casey smiled and signed back, ‘I love you too.’
Kayla looked back up at Bryce, “Thank you so much.”
He nodded his head once and smiled, “No problem.”
Kayla took one last look at the two of them and walked out the door to head to the lobby.
“Where’s Alyissa?” Justin asked, searching the busy crowd of people for his girlfriend.
“She’ll be here,” JC assured him. “She had to pick up Kayla.”
Justin looked back down at JC and fidgeted, “But she should still be here by now.”
“Come on Curly, when is a girl ever on time?” Chris asked.
“I take offense to that!” a voice said from behind.
They all jumped and turned around to find Kayla and Alyissa standing there.
Chris blushed and gave a small wave, “I was talking about...I meant...” he stuttered.
“I know exactly what you meant,” Kayla said placing her hands on her hips. She broke into a grin and laughed at Chris’ expression. “I’m gonna let this slide, but remember you spending two weeks with me, so be careful.”
“Oh damn Chris, she’s already making threats!” Justin laughed.
“Shut up,” Chris mumbled, eyeing down Kayla.
She winked and flashed a playful smile. Chris couldn’t help but break into a smile and walked away to find his mom and sister.
“So where am I supposed to go and what am I supposed to do with all my stuff?” Kayla asked, looking down at her bags.
“Luggage goes over there and your busing with all the other girls on this trip, so just follow Alyissa when it’s time to leave,” JC said pointing to where guys were loading all the luggage.
Kayla picked up her suitcase and dragged it over to the large pile of bags forming, waiting to be packed in. She made her way back to the three talking and joined in on their conversation.
“Hello Miss Dudley,” Mr. Collins said, walking up behind Kayla.
Kayla jumped and spun around, “Oh! You scared me.”
“Sorry about that,” he smiled.
“No problem, what can I do for you?” she asked smiling in return.
“Well I just have to go over a few rules with you about this tour before you leave,” he said calmly. “First off, you will be busing with the other females on this tour because of tabloid rumors that can pick up very easily in this business.”
Kayla nodded her head, “Understandable.”
“Next you must make yourself very scarce when your not on the buses, if you go out with these gentlemen then make a point to try and stay a safe distance in public, people can and will assume anything their imaginations will let them, which might I add, can be pretty crazy and turn into something gruesome for the group’s reputation’s and your own.”
Kayla thought it was kind of dumb to have this rule, after all she was only friends with these guys, but she didn’t want to disobey any rules or regulations. Besides if it was their reputation and image at stake, she was the last person to step in and ruin it.
“Also please check in with me frequently, don’t worry about the phone bills, the company will have that taken care of, unless you make personal calls I’m afraid your going to have to pay for them yourself.” He paused and looked down at Kayla, “Do you have a cell phone?”
Kayla’s eyes widened a little and she shook her head, “No.”
“I didn’t think so,” Mr. Collins said, pulling out a phone from his pocket. He handed it to Kayla, “You can use this one for the trip, but you must return it to me when you come back.”
Kayla stood there dumbfounded, “But it’s not mine...and I couldn’t...”
“Nonsense, you can and you will, just have it with you at all times, in case of emergency and so I can reach you,” he insisted, trying to give her the phone again.
She took it and studied it as if it would break right in her hands. She held it gently and finally placed it carefully in her purse.
“One last thing,” Mr. Collins said.
Kayla looked up, “Yes?”
“Try and have some fun,” he winked.
Kayla smiled and nodded her head, “Yes sir.”
“Good,” he said.
He smiled once again and walked over to the group of body guards, watching the whole packing scene going on.
Kayla turned around and stared at the people around her. Here she was, going on tour with one of the hottest singing groups around. She wasn’t really sure how she got there and for that one moment she didn’t care. The next two weeks were her time to make up for some of the time she had lost after her parents died.
She gazed around and her eyes settled on Lance, who was talking to and older woman and an older man, she assumed they were his parents. You could really tell the resemblance between Lance and his parents. Her eyes drifted and she saw a young looking blonde girl standing by Lance. Kayla’s heart sank. His mom was touching his face and hugging him. His dad was patting him on his back and gave him a hug. He was starting to give his parents hugs and finals kisses good-bye. The blonde haired girl was standing by and Kayla couldn’t bear to watch him kiss her good-bye, so she turned away and focused her attention to JC and his family. She was surrounded by these guys and their families, saying their last good-bye's and watching their parents wipe tears away. She bit her lip and swallowed, walking over to the side of the bus and leaning her back against it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“You feeling ok?” a deep voice asked.
Kayla opened her eyes to find Lance standing in front of her with a soft smile. Kayla relaxed and nodded her head.
She caught his gaze and looked away quickly, not wanting to look at him. She cleared her throat, “Just nervous I guess.”
Lance nodded his head and noticed her uneasiness, “Don’t be, it’ll be fun and you’ll fit in just fine.”
Kayla didn’t say another word, just stared at the ground. They were both stuck in an awkward silence and neither of them knew what to say.
“Kayla! Lance! Time to go!” Joey called, motioning for them to head towards the buses.
“Well see you when we come to our first stop,” Lance said.
“Uh huh, see you,” Kayla mumbled, walking away.
Kayla walked away quickly and boarded her bus. Lance watched after her and sighed, he wasn’t sure what he did wrong, but he could tell something was bothering her and he had a feeling it was somehow his fault.
“Kayla what’s wrong? You’ve been moping around for the past hour!” Alyissa said staring at Kayla.
Kayla looked up and shrugged, “Nothing really.”
“That’s not true, you can’t lie to me, you already tried and it didn’t work,” Alyissa grinned.
Kayla couldn’t help but smile, “Oh yeah I forgot.”
“Come on girl, tell me what’s on your mind,” Alyissa urged gently.
Kayla sighed, “I just...no it’s stupid...I shouldn’t even be...”
“Spit it out girl.”
“I saw Lance with some pretty blonde before we left. He was with his parents and he was saying his good-bye’s and I turned away before he could say good-bye to her, I guess I’m a little jealous...but I don’t really have a reason to be because I don’t like him romantically and he doesn’t like me in that way, we're just friends...” Kayla babbled.
“Whoa...ok breath,” Alyissa said placing her hand on Kayla’s shoulder. “Did you say blonde girl by Lance and his parents?”
Kayla nodded her head, “I’m assuming it’s his girlfriend.”
Alyissa stared at Kayla for awhile before breaking into laughter. Kayla looked at Alyissa like she was crazy and wondered what she had said that was so amusing.
“What’s so funny?” Kayla asked.
“Th-th-that blonde...” Alyissa managed to get out. “That blonde is Lance’s sister,” she finally blurted out.
Kayla turned a bright red and covered her hand with her face from embarrassment.
“Though you never know, he IS from Mississippi and that kind of thing is common down south,” Alyissa laughed.
Kayla couldn’t keep in her laughter and finally let out a burst of giggles. “I can’t believe I...oh man I’m never gonna live that one down.”
Alyissa laughed even harder, “This will be our little inside joke.”
Kayla nodded her head, “Thanks.”
When they both caught their breaths and calmed down, Kayla was in a much better mood and had her old smile back.
“I needed that,” she said.
Alyissa nodded her head. “Now back to something that I noticed before,” she said slyly.
Kayla looked at her cautiously, “What did you notice?”
“I noticed you said you were a little jealous, is there a specific reason WHY you were jealous of seeing Lance with another girl? Because after all...you two are just friends right?” she asked grinning.
Kayla paused and thought about how she wanted to word what she was going to say next and how much she wanted to tell.
“Well...I was...” she started.
Alyissa leaned in closer, “Yeeesss?”
Kayla sighed, “I don’t know why I got jealous, just something stupid I felt.”
Alyissa wasn’t satisfied with that comment, “Any other reason? A crush maybe?”
Kayla shook her head immediately, “No crush.”
Alyissa studied her face and tried to find something else there, but couldn’t determine if Kayla really meant it or not. She decided to let the subject rest and shrugged her shoulders and leaning back on the couch.
She cracked her gum and picked up a magazine to flip through, “Whatever you say Kayla...whatever you say.”
Kayla was woken up by someone shaking her gently. She stirred and rubbed her eyes, looking around at her settings.
Alyissa was leaning over her, “Come on Kayla get up.”
“Are we there already?” she asked in a confused tone.
Alyissa laughed, “I wish...no we’re at a rest area to get something to eat and use the bathroom, let’s go.”
Kayla nodded her head and sat up, running a hand through her hair to get all the knots out. She finally got up and grabbed her purse, walking off the bus into the bright sunlight. She slipped on her sunglasses and tried to shield any possible light that peeked into her eyes.
She followed the crowd of people into a McDonald’s and headed straight to the bathroom. She used the facilities and walked up to the big sinks. She took a good look at herself in the mirror and almost jumped from her reflection. She managed to get her hair under some control and decided to not care about the rest of her appearance, she wasn’t quite awake yet and she was only going back onto the bus where no one of real importance would see her.
She slung her purse back over her shoulder and walked out into the busy rush of people trying to get something to eat and get back to their cars. She walked over to the line and spotted Alyissa ordering food. She walked up next to her and Alyissa turned to look at her.
“What do you want to eat?” she asked.
“Umm...a number 6,” Kayla said staring at the menu.
“And a number 6,” Alyissa told the register person.
The girl at the register gave Alyissa a surprised and weird look.
“I’m not eating all of that...please!” Alyissa said to the girl.
“Eating all what?” Kayla asked.
“You’ll see,” Alyissa said quietly.
A few minutes later the girl came back with at least 6 bags full of food and two trays full of drinks. Kayla’s eyes widened and she stared at all the food.
“Last time I checked, you only got 6 chicken nuggets with a meal...this looks like I got 200 of them.”
Alyissa laughed and grabbed three bags of food. “The majesties on the other bus requested food and who gets stuck bringing it to them but me!” she said sarcastically. “The lucky one.”
Kayla nodded her head and laughed, picking up the rest of the bags and balancing a tray of drinks in her free hand. Her and Alyissa weaved their way back outside, hands full of food and drinks. Alyissa led Kayla back to the buses and onto a different one they had been traveling on.
Kayla followed Alyissa up the bus steps and looked around at the bus. She could definitely tell the difference between the two buses. Things were thrown around, papers scattered and shoved into bags. Cards left in a big pile on the pull out table, music blaring, and people lounging around comfortably on anything they could sit on.
“FOOD’S HERE!” Alyissa shouted over the loud music.
All at once the music died and you could almost feel the bus start to shake. The back room door opened and all five guys tumbled out at once, tripping over each other.
Alyissa stepped back a few steps and waited for them to all get up and finally rush over to the table.
“Siiiiit,” she said playfully. She held up the bags in the air, “Good boy...yeah, who’s a good boy?” she teased in a childish voice.
“Woof,” Justin grinned, playing along.
Alyissa giggled and finally put the bags down on the pull out table. Once her hands let go all five of them dug into the bags, practically ripping them apart.
“Damn boys, don’t they feed you on this bus?” she asked placing the drinks down.
Kayla placed the bags down and snatched her hand away, afraid she was going to get bitten. She placed the drinks down and waited for them to stop digging through all the food, so she could find her food.
“AHEM!” Alyissa cleared her throat.
They all stopped what they were doing and looked up.
“What do you say?” she asked.
“Thank you!” they shouted in unison.
Alyissa giggled, “That’s more like it...now move and let me get my food, I’m hungry!”
They had all received their food by then and were munching away happily. Alyissa gathered up her and Kayla’s meals and brought them over to the couch. Kayla sat down beside Alyissa and started eating.
“So what you boys been doing while we were on the other bus talking about you?” Alyissa asked chomping on a fry.
“You were talking about us?” Chris asked curiously.
“What were you saying?” Joey asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Better be good stuff,” Justin said eyeing Alyissa.
“And what if it wasn't?” Alyissa challenged.
“Then...you’ll pay,” Justin grinned.
“Oooh...you got me real scared now,” Alyissa said, rolling her eyes playfully.
“Some stuff was good and some was bad,” Kayla cut in with a sly grin.
“Oh your learning very well,” Alyissa said with a small laugh.
Kayla grinned again and raised an eyebrow, “I learn from the best.”
Alyissa placed her hand on her heart and batted her eyelashes, “Yes...well...that’s me...”
Kayla and Alyissa broke into giggles. The rest of the guys watched them with amusement.
“I think you’ve corrupted her,” Chris said shaking his head.
“I did no such thing!” Alyissa protested. “I prefer the term ‘blessed’.”
Both girls started giggling again.
JC shook his head and smiled at what he was seeing. Lance watched Kayla laugh and all he could do was smile himself. He stopped eating for a second and watched Kayla talk, laugh, and move. He was fascinated by her and hoped that these next two weeks would be a good time to get to know her better.
He broke his gaze away when JC nudged him, “Your staring.”
“Huh? Oh...thanks,” Lance blushed.
He went on eating his fries, looking back down at his food. Kayla looked over at him and smiled, watching him try to wipe ketchup off his chin. She couldn’t resist his warm smile and his voice made her feel at such ease she wished he would keep talking forever. She still felt foolish about how she had automatically assumed Lance’s sister was his girlfriend. She blushed to herself for jumping to conclusions and shook her head. Now she realized how hard it really was for them to have female friends, after all, even she assumed things. She broke herself out of her thoughts and went back to eating.
They arrived in their first town and Kayla was squirming with excitement. This was it, tonight was the night. She was going to actually attend one of their concerts and she was going to watch them perform. She was going to experience the rush the fans get when they start to sing, she was going to live through the power of music and by one of the best musical groups around, *N SYNC. She felt honored to be there.
When everyone was checked into their hotel rooms and everyone was settled, Kayla found herself restless. She decided to call Bryce and Casey to check up on them and see how they were doing. She took out the cell phone she had been given and punched in the number.
A few rings went by before someone finally picked up, “Hello?”
“Hey how you doing?” she asked softly.
“Hey honey, I’m doing fine, how about you?” he asked.
“Great, this is so exciting,” Kayla said with enthusiasm. “Tonight is the first show and I’m really nervous because I don’t know what to expect.”
Bryce laughed lightly, “I’m sure you’ll be impressed...how was the road trip?”
“Oh fine...these buses are HUGE! I’ll take pictures of everything.”
There was a knock at Kayla’s door and Alyissa was in the bathroom.
“Can you get that!?” Alyissa shouted through the closed door.
“Yeah!...hold on Bryce,” she said covering the phone.
She walked over to the door and swung it open to find Justin and Lance standing there.
Justin was grinning and peeked into the hotel room, “Is ‘Liss here?”
Kayla nodded her head, before she could say anything else Justin burst into the room and looked around.
“Come on in Justin,” Kayla said rolling her eyes. She grinned and turned back to Lance, “Well you might as well come in too.”
Lance smiled, “Thanks.”
Justin flopped down on the bed and laid on his stomach, stretching out. Kayla almost forgot the phone in her hand until she was about to put it back into her purse.
“Bryce you still there?” she asked in a low tone, turning her back to Justin and Lance.
“Yeah I’m still here,” he replied.
“Look I have to go, but I’ll call soon, miss you lots and tell Casey I love her and miss her too,” Kayla said quickly.
“Ok, talk to you soon, have fun,” Bryce said.
Kayla smiled, “I’ll try, bye.”
With that she hung up the phone and shoved it back into her purse. Alyissa walked out of the bathroom with a robe on and her hair wrapped into a towel. She jumped and let out a small scream that caused everyone in the room jump from surprise.
“What are you doing in here?” she asked, clutching the top of her robe.
Justin got an evil grin on his face and shrugged, “Just wanted to stop by.”
Alyissa shot him a look and walked over to her suitcase. She grabbed clothes to change into and walked back into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her.
Justin flashed another sly grin and scooted to the end of the bed.
“Why exactly did you come here?” Kayla asked, watching Justin.
“We were going to pick you guys up so you can come to our sound check,” Justin said casually. “I know ‘Liss already knows how boring they are, but I thought you might want to experience it for yourself.”
Kayla laughed lightly, “How thoughtful.”
Lance walked over to her and smiled, “You really should come, their not as bad as he makes them sound.”
Kayla’s breath stopped and she froze in her spot, “I...uh...I mean...umm...sure,” she finally managed to get out.
Justin watched the two of them and raised an eyebrow. He didn’t want to say anything and ruin the moment they were both caught in, but noticed the small spark between them.
“Why don’t you two go ahead and I’ll wait for ‘Liss,” Justin said, cutting into their thoughts.
They both looked up at him in a daze and gave a confused look, “Huh?”
“Go ahead to sound check, ‘Liss and I will catch up with you later,” Justin repeated.
They both finally nodded their heads and turned for the door. When the door was shut behind them, Justin immediately walked over to the bathroom door and started knocking.
“Whaaaat?” Alyissa said through the door.
“’Liss come out here, I gotta talk to you about something.”
“Hold on Justin, I’m still getting ready,” Alyissa replied.
“No come on, you can put your make-up on out here,” he whined.
“How do you know I’m putting on my make-up?” she asked.
“Because only I can take that long getting dressed, you spend more time on your make-up,” he said.
There was pause and the door finally opened, letting out a cloud of steam from the warm shower Alyissa had just taken. Justin stepped back and let Alyissa pass. She walked by him with a small bag in her hand and made her way over the dresser.
“Now what is so important you couldn’t wait another few minutes?” she asked, digging through the small travel bag.
“Have you seen Lance and Kayla?” he asked, getting excited.
Alyissa nodded her head, “Duh. Am I the only one who noticed the way they act?”
“No I noticed...they went out to lunch together awhile back, but after I had teased Lance about it I let it go, now after the way they were staring at each other I know there’s something going on between them.”
“Uh huh...well what do you expect me to do? Get excited?” she asked applying eye liner to her eyes.
“No...well a little...think about it little Lansten and Kayla...aww how cute,” he gushed playfully. “We have to help them out a little.”
“No we don’t...if their meant to be together then they’ll end up that way, otherwise leave them be Justin,” she warned. “They don’t need any help, especially from you.”
“Aw come on...just a little?”
“NO!...promise me...you’ll let fate take it’s course and leave them alone,” she said, turning to face him. “I’m sure they’ll be fine on their own.”
Justin stared for awhile, “But...but...”
“Justin...” Alyissa warned.
He sighed, “Fine,” he mumbled. “No fun...no fun at all.”
“I’m plenty of fun,” Alyissa protested. “Now let’s get to sound check before people start to think things and I get in trouble for making you late,” she said walking towards the door.
She grabbed Justin’s hand and started to lead him towards the door.
“We don’t have to go right away,” Justin grinned slyly.
Alyissa rolled her eyes and swung the door open, “Go...or I’ll tell Chris about the time when you were 6 and you had that little problem finding the toilet in time.”
“I was 6! It happened to every kid!” he protested.
“Not until you were at least 9,” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh your cruel...your a cruel, cruel woman,” he said squinting his eyes.
Alyissa smiled innocently, “You still love me.”
He sighed, “I know...remind me why again?”
Alyissa shot him a look and pushed him playfully, “Come on let’s go potty boy.”
Justin opened his mouth to say something but Alyissa shoved him gently into the hallway and shut the door before he could even utter a sound.
Kayla walked down the hallway with Lance walking quietly beside her. They really didn’t know what to say around each other, but both felt the shyness and tension between them. Kayla cleared her throat and Lance looked up hopeful, she smiled and he smiled in return, staring back at the hotel walls as they made their way down the long hallway.
“I’m really looking forward to the concert tonight,” Kayla said, breaking the silence.
Lance seemed to relax a little, “I hope you like it...we worked really hard to make it huge!”
Kayla nodded her head, “I’m sure I will, I’ve never been to a concert before.”
Lance almost stopped in his tracks, but forced himself to continue walking, “Never?”
Kayla shook her head, “Never.”
“Wow,” was all that he could say. “Well I hope this concert is good enough to be your first one.”
Kayla almost laughed, “Of course it is!”
Lance smiled and looked over to meet her gaze focused on him. Their eyes locked and both of them didn’t seem to want to pull away from each other. They reached the elevator and Kayla pressed the down button. The elevator opened with a ding and they both stepped on at once. They pressed the lobby floor button and listened to the dull elevator music.
“So what exactly happens at a sound check?” Kayla asked curiously.
“Basically what you hear in the title,” Lance said gently. “We warm up our voices and make sure the sound system is ok so everyone can hear us and all our special effects will work.”
“That doesn’t sound like the title ‘sound check’,” Kayla laughed jokingly.
Lance grinned, “Ok ok so I was a little off...but close enough!”
Kayla laughed again, “Yeah uh huh sure.”
They both laughed together and felt the tension between them rise up and disintegrate into the air. They continued laughing and chatting the rest of the way to the arena for sound check. When they got there they greeted all the other crew members and Lance introduced her to all the band members along with all the stage crew members and Joey’s brother Steve, the main camera man. Kayla met everyone like an excited fan, with much enthusiasm.
They all smiled at her and whispered to Lance, “She’s cute, hold on to her.”
Lance would simply respond, “I don’t have her...but she is cute.”
Justin and Alyissa showed up about 20 minutes after Lance and Kayla had arrived.
“And where were you two youngen’s?” Chris asked, placing his hands on his hips. “You were supposed to be here 20 minutes ago,” he scolded.
Justin rolled his eyes and led Alyissa over to the stage steps, “Alyissa was taking awhile to get ready.”
Alyissa punched him, “It wasn’t my fault.”
Justin grabbed his arm and looked at her, “Yes it was! Who was doing their make-up for a good half hour?” he asked.
“Oh come on, we would have been on time if you hadn’t just HAVE to stop off at the 7-eleven to get cereal,” she argued. “Now don’t tell me you don’t have people who buy you whatever cereal your little heart desires because I know for a FACT they do.”
Justin grinned, “They always get the wrong kind, anyway I needed a change of pace from my apple jacks, they just weren’t giving me enough sugar energy.”
Alyissa rolled her eyes, “Yeah and Oreo O’s were the answer?”
“Of course!”
Alyissa sighed, “Whatever you say.”
Chris looked back and forth between then before shaking his head and rolling his eyes, “You two argue too much.”
“He starts it,” Alyissa said pointing to him.
Justin opened his mouth to say something when Chris cut in, “And why did Lance and Kayla show up together acting all buddy buddy?” he asked staring at the two of them from where they were standing.
Justin quickly forgot about what he was going to say before and jumped in, “I know...I thought I was the only one who saw that! You should have seen them, when me and Lance went to go pick them up...they were eyeing each other down and everything...so being the smart one I sent them off before us!” Justin finished proudly. “Pretty smart huh?”
Chris just laughed and nodded his head, “Well we gotta help Poofoo out because we all know he’s not the ladies man.”
Alyissa stepped in between them, “NO! Let them be.”
Justin’s shoulders slouched and he sighed, “Oh yeah...I forgot ‘Liss won’t let me help out.”
“Your so whipped,” Chris laughed.
“Chris I have so much blackmail on you that you’d be ashamed to show your face to the public for the rest of your life,” Alyissa threatened.
Chris opened his mouth, “No you don’t...”
“Oh yes I do...shall we talk about last year’s tour?” she challenged.
“Go ahead I have nothing to hide,” he replied nonchalantly.
“Ok...well remember when we went to New York and you--”
Chris covered her mouth quickly and mumbled, “Ok, ok, I got you...I’ll stay out of everything.”
“What happened?” Justin asked curiously.
“Nothing,” Chris blurted out. “Nothing happened,” he repeated in a calmer tone.
Alyissa pushed Chris’ hand off her mouth and smiled with satisfaction. “That’s what I like to hear.”
Both guys rolled their eyes and mumbled, “Whatever.”
Alyissa pinched their cheeks playfully and walked away.
“How could you give in so easily?” Justin asked Chris, after Alyissa left. “I mean I have to give in...she’s my girlfriend! But you!...you should...” he trailed off.
Chris kept quiet at first, “You don’t understand man...what she knows could ruin me for life...when she brings that up I’m on my knees as her slave...but...”
“Did I hear a but?” Justin asked grinning.
Chris nodded, “Oh you heard one all right...I know of some people that never promised anything...”
Justin raised his eyebrow in wonder. “Who?”
Chris grinned and pointed over to two guys standing a short distance away from them. Justin looked over and laughed out loud.
He nodded his head in approval and patted Chris on the back, “We’re so dangerous together, even I get scared sometimes.”
Chris laughed and flashed an evil grin. “Don’t we know it.”
Lance noticed Justin and Chris laughing together from a distance. He wondered what they were laughing about, but decided to ignore it, assuming it was probably some joke only they thought was funny. He turned to look back to Kayla and Alyissa who were talking excitedly about the night ahead of them.
“So your going to wear the black skirt for the after party?” Alyissa asked.
“Yeah I guess so, do you think it’s too dressy?”
Alyissa shook her head, “No not at all...I think I’m gonna wear my black pants with a really cute shirt I brought, I’ll show it to you later.”
Lance looked back and forth at the two while they had their conversation until they both stopped talking and turned to look at him.
“Yes Lansten? You need something?” Alyissa asked.
Lance gave a confused look and eventually shook his head, “No I was just...listening.”
“Would you care to share your input on what we should wear tonight?” Kayla asked smiling sweetly.
Lance seemed to shrink down, “No...I’m sure whatever you two wear will look great on you guys.”
Both girls giggled and nodded their heads. “Good answer.”
Lance grinned in response and noticed the rest of the guys making their way to the stage. He excused himself and walked off the join the rest of them.
Kayla watched him walk away and didn’t notice she was staring. Alyissa nudged her and grinned.
“Stare anymore and he might actually notice,” she giggled.
Kayla blushed and broke her gaze, “I...I...”
“No need to explain...I know exactly how it feels,” she sighed. “I’ve been through all this before...the feelings you develop towards a fellow *N SYNC-er and the feeling of stupidity for even liking him because your sure that he doesn’t like you in return.” Alyissa studied Kayla for a reaction before continuing, “Then the good feeling when you know deep down inside that he has some kind of interest in you, then you start thinking about him more and more and how it would be like if you dated.”
Kayla blushed and shook her head, cutting Alyissa off before she could say anything else, “No it’s a little more difficult for me and I have no feelings like that towards Lance.”
“I thought the guys told me you didn’t have a boyfriend,” Alyissa replied.
“Jeese...what else did they tell you about me?” Kayla asked, surprised.
“A lot more than they should know...how much exactly did you tell them?” Alyissa laughed.
Kayla smiled, “I didn’t think I told them that much...but I’m guessing they made a few things up.”
“Oh they did,” Alyissa said agreeing with her. “They always do.”
They both laughed lightly and went to find a seat in the audience and watch the guys warm up. Alyissa dropped the subject, after all she made Chris and Justin promise they wouldn’t step in and she vowed to herself she wouldn’t either...unless they really needed help. Alyissa smiled to herself while her mind clicked with ideas. She had a feeling Chris and Justin would find some way around their promises, without actually breaking them...just because they were like that. Then again Alyissa had a few tricks up her sleeve to see those two people happy together.
