"Where's Rachel?" JC asked, walking into the back area of the bus. Everybody
was stretched out, trying to rest. The next couple of days were going to be
hard. They were filled with promotions, interviews and shows.

"Yeah, I got it. Bye." Lance hung up the phone. "She's sleeping." He answered
JC's question without looking up from his legal pad.

"What was that all about?" Chris asked, pointing to the phone. They had all
heard Lance's end of the conversation and he didn't sound pleased.

"Nothing, just business stuff. It's always business stuff." Lance said,
rubbing his shoulder. He needed a massage, he was tired and he had pulled a
muscle. "That's what I get for not stretching properly before the show." He
mumbled to himself.

"Shoulder hurt?" Justin asked, hearing his mumbling.

"Yeah, a lot. I must've pulled something while dancing. I didn't stretch real
well before the show. I was talking to Rachel about stuff."

"Lance? Can I ask you a question?" Joey asked, glancing up from his magazine.

"You just did Joe." Lance spoke, not looking up from his work. He wasn't
really in the mood to talk. He had to work hard on this contract with a new
recording artist. He was really close to getting her signed with a record
company.

"No, can I ask you another one?" Joey insisted. This was really bugging him
and he wanted to know the answer.

"Yes, what do you want to ask me?" Lance sighed, throwing his legal pad
aside. Once Joey got something in his head, he wouldn't give up until he had
it answered.

"Have you and Rae ever...? I mean have you and Rae ever thought about
being...you know? a..." Joey stumbled over his question, embarrassed. "Never
mind, it's none of my business." He took back his question.

"That's right Joe. It's none of your business." Lance said defiantly, picking
his legal pad up again. He didn't want to talk about it at all, he needed to
work. He couldn't think about Rachel at the moment, he was under too much
stress.

"No, I kind of always wondered the same thing myself." Justin announced,
looking up from his song lyrics he was working on.

Lance looked at Chris and begged for help with his eyes. Only Chris knew the
truth about Lance and Rachel. Chris looked away, he wasn't going to help
Lance this time. He knew that there was something between the two of them,
they all did.

"Yeah. We have, one time before. I think we were about 16 or 17. It was...not
a good thing." Lance spoke slowly, collecting his thoughts. Things hadn't
worked out between them and it had almost ruined their friendship.

"What happened?" Justin asked, with a shocked expression evident on his face.
This was something he never knew. He was a little hurt that Rachel had never
told him or talked about it with him.

"I, uh, I was young and stupid. I got scared, I started to fall too deep for
her. I backed out of the relationship and started a new one, a week later."
Lance stopped, looking away from all of them.

"Oh man. That probably killed her, especially only a week later." JC thought
out loud.

"Wait, JC. That's not all of it. Tell them the rest, Lance." Chris spoke for
the first time, quiet and uneasy.

"It wasn't just with some girl that I started a new relationship with. It was
with her best friend." Lance whispered. The guys had to lean forward to hear
him.

"It wasn't just the fact that I went out with her best friend. I did it
behind her back and I..." Lance broke off, burying his head in his hands. He
couldn't bear to look his friends in their faces. "This is something Rae
doesn't even know. I never told her this before and I don't want her to
know."

Nobody spoke, fearing what he was going to say next. They all had an idea,
but they hoped it wasn't what they were thinking.

"I slept with her best friend. I lost my virginity to her. Her best friend,
you guys! Not just some random girl, her best freaking friend!" Lance said
dejectedly, his eyes misting with unshed tears.

"She doesn't even know yet?" Joey asked, incredulous. Rachel and Lance were
best friends, how he had kept this hidden from her was amazing to him.

"She does now." Rachel spoke from the doorway. Her hands were folded across
her chest and she was leaning against the door. Her pose was casual, but her
face was angry.

Lance gulped down air and quickly prayed that the situation would turn out
okay. "Rach, let me explain..."

"Explain what, Lance? Huh? There's nothing to explain." Rachel sighed. She
turned to walked out of the room. She thought better of it and turned around.
"Finish your conversation, I'm sorry for listening." Her face was void of any
feeling and she shut the door. Her eyes lingered on Justin's for a second and
he saw a flash of her pain. It was gone too quick.

Rachel climbed in Justin's bunk and slipped on his headphones. The Beastie
Boys music blared through her head and she sighed in contentment. Listening
to this beat away any horrible thoughts and stresses she had in her life.
Just what she needed at the moment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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