Romance In France

Chapter 8 - Chapter 9

Chapter 8

"I really like you," She repeated. Lance clasped her hands in his and kissed them. They looked into each other's eyes and kissed their first kiss. Then Becky flung her arms around his neck, and he twirled her around. A feeling that she had felt only once before flooded her being once again. He stopped, and they stared deeply into each other's eyes.

"I like you too," He whispered into her ear. His warm breath tickled Becky's ear. She was truly happy at that moment. She had confessed her feelings, and the burden of her long-held secret had finally been lifted. The two hugged each other close, and Becky smiled against the crook of his neck. It was when the two pulled apart that they noticed the others were clapping.

"Encore! Encore!" Joey was yelling, hugging Nikkie to his side. He punched Lance in the arm and added, "Dude, this is like the end of one of those cheesy romance movies. Not that I watch them or anything." Even though there were tears of joy in her eyes, Becky had to laugh along with her other friends. Wanting to clear the room of unwanted pests, Becky thanked Trisha for her advice, and ushered the rest of her friends out. Lance just smiled at the object of his affections as she closed the door and took a seat on the bed. She patted the seat next to her and he sat down, his eyes still glued on her.

Becky stared into his green/hazel eyes and was immediately swallowed up. She was captivated enough not to move, but not enough to not talk. "I want to talk to you. I barely know anything about you, and you barely know anything about me. Since I feel like talking, I'll go first. First of all, I have really high hopes and dreams, and if anyone gets in the way of them, I'll be really sad and have to stop talking to them. That means you, too, Mr. Lance," Becky revealed as she hugged a pillow to her chest. She put on a serious face and added, "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle."

"I can live with that," Lance replied, suppressing a giggle. "I want to hear all about your hopes and dreams. You can tell me anything."

"Good, cause I can really talk my head off once I get started. Oh, and I also drift of into space a lot. When I come back, I usually have 'what ifs' or really strange wonderings…"

I think I'm in for a really long night of talking, Lance thought as he settled deeper into the soft bed. He didn't mind all the talking; on the contrary, he found it very interesting. As long as she was with him, he knew, he would be the happiest man on earth. He also knew that if he didn't listen carefully enough, he would miss something very important. Lance listened to her rambling with an occasional 'sure' and 'ok' and 'that's cool' till she finally got tired, and fell asleep. Her face is so beautiful, he thought to himself, watching the way the moonlight struck her hair. He hoped he would see that scene more often. James wrapped his arms around her, and fell asleep.

The next morning light filtered in through the open curtains and onto Becky's face, waking her up. She felt a pair of arms around her waist. At first she didn't remember who's they were. After remembering what had happened the night before, she smiled to herself. She disengaged his arms from her, reached up, and kissed him lightly on the lips. Becky thought that this just might be his idea of a wake up call.

Instead, his left hand swatted in front of his face, as if he were swatting at a fly. "Five more minutes, Mommy!" He mumbled in his slumber. Becky laughed loudly, and his eyelids shot open. "Huh? What happened?"

Becky shook her head, still laughing. "Nothing," she replied, getting up. "Son." She laughed even harder and clapped her palms together in what she liked to call her 'amused clap' while she walked towards her dresser.

"What? Hey! Wait a second? Where are you going? Come back here!" Lance pulled her back towards him, and they both fell back onto the bed. The kiss that started then lasted for quite a long time, for when Jamy came in fifteen minutes later to wake Becky up, they were still at it.

Jamy looked down at the pair disapprovingly. "So, I see you guys are already up," she commented dryly and started walking away. Becky broke off the kiss and stopped her.

Becky flung her out at Jamy and exclaimed, "Wait! Let's go get breakfast. What time is it? Where are the others?" She made an effort to get up again, and Lance tugged her down.

"You aren't going anywhere, girl!" He said, and started tickling her mercilessly. Becky just sat with an expression of impatience on her face, waiting for his fingers to stop making their journey up and down her ribs. She had neglected to tell him that she wasn't ticklish. His loud, deep voice was ringing out in a laughter she had never heard before: laughter of contentment. After a few seconds of the silent treatment, he got the message and slowly stopped tickling her.

"Well, the others were sleeping, but I don't think so any more," Jamy said as she heard seven moans coming in the direction of the other room. "It's nine o'clock." Jamy sighed before leaving the room to change.

Becky's eyes widened significantly. "Oh my gosh! I have so much I want to do today! We have to get going!" She exclaimed. Becky pretended to knee Lance and he made a show of doubling over in imaginary pain, while she grabbed a pair of green track pants and a black spaghetti strap shirt and went into the bathroom to shower and change.

When she came out, Lance was nowhere in sight. She tiptoed cautiously to the door, and peered around the doorframe. Just then, a pair of strong arms connected with her mid-section and swept her up while she squealed in laughter and surprise.

"Shut up!" JC yelled from the other room, quite annoyed.

Becky laughed even harder as James set her down. He had changed and showered, and was smelling of strongly of his cologne and aftershave. "Make me!" She yelled back, still giggling. Becky walked into the main room, and saw two boxes of food left on the table. The others were thrown in various places around the room. "Look at this place! It's a mess!" She picked up a dirty sock off a lampshade, pinched it between her index finger and thumb, and swung it back and forth so everyone would see. "Ick!"

Trisha grimaced, leapt up from the couch, grabbed the sock from Becky's outstretched hand, and threw it in her room. When she returned she replied, "But isn't that what maids are for?" Becky gave her the evil eye and her best friend pouted. "Fine, fine. We'll clean up while you eat, Lei Lei."

Becky nodded curtly before sitting down at the table with James to eat. "You better. Or I'll kick your boo-tay!" As if on the mark of a whistle, they commenced cleaning.

"At the rate we're are going, we'll never finish the house, and we'll never get to live in a real French château," Becky complained with her mouth full of French toast. Nikkie shrugged as if to say it was no big deal. Justin poked his head out of the bathroom.

"So that's what we're going to do today?" Justin replied with a raised eyebrow.

Becky nodded slowly while taking a sip of her orange juice. "Yep, so hurry up."

* * *

The group of ten rode to the house, this time taking separate cars. No one had the need to be squished into a Ford Explorer with nine other people. They arrived, and immediately got to work. The house was almost finished. The furniture was arriving the day of the 'N Sync concert, which was in three days into the future. That day, Lance and Becky were supposed to be working on a spare room in the north turret. JC and Trisha were working on the south turret; Chris and Ashley were working on the west turret; Nikkie and Joey were working on the east turret. And Jamy and Justin? Well, no one really knew where the couple had gone.

Becky was determined not to make any embarrassing moments that day, but embarrassing events just seemed to be attracted to her. Maybe it was her personality. They were picturing where all the furniture would be going, and Becky's back was facing the door. It was a large, circular room, with only one mullioned window facing the west. There was a window seat under that window, with red plush cushions.

Becky paced up and down the diameter of the room, her fingers tapping on her chin, deep in thought. "Where do you think we should put the bed?" She asked Lance. He didn't reply. The man was sitting on the window seat and staring out into space. Becky stopped pacing and stared at him. "Lance? Lance? Hello! What's up?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking," He replied and smiled at Becky. She smiled back and resumed pacing. Lance stared out the window again. He knew he was going to have to tell her sometime. He just didn't know when. This is as good a time as any. Might as well tell her now, he thought.

Lance stood up quickly. "Becky?" He questioned. She halted and looked at him questioningly. He looked down at his hands so as not to lose his courage. "Um, I know this is sudden, but can't the guys and I stay with you for a while? I mean, we're going to be off work in about three days, and we have no place to stay. You guys have so much extra room. Can we?" He strolled over to Becky's side and took her hands. "Please?" Lance gave her the puppy-dog eyes, and no woman, especially Becky, could resist his puppy-dogs.

Becky nodded and smiled. "Of course. Why wouldn't you?" She gave him a quick hug before adding, "And what work will you be off of, exactly?" Becky kissed him lightly on the cheek while waiting shortly for his answer. She looked into his eyes, looking at the pools of light she liked so much.

Lance lost all his confidence in that one glare. "Oh, it's nothing," he replied shortly. He knew he looked a little uncomfortable, but hoped Becky would just brushed it off.

Becky smiled back at him and resumed pacing for the second time. "Great. Now that that's settled, where should we put the bed?"

* * *

Justin and Jamy were talking in her room. Jamy was trying to absorb what he was saying, but could just barely accept it. After he finished his explanation, Jamy opened and closed her mouth three times before sound came out. She squeaked.

"I hope this doesn't change our relationship," Justin murmured worriedly. He didn't know how to react to her reaction. She could be good-surprised or bad-surprised.

Finally intelligible words came out. "So, what you're saying is you're in 'N Sync, we have tickets to your last concert here, and you'll be off for two months after that?" Jamy exclaimed, stunned. He nodded, still not sure how she was taking the news. A thought tugged at the back of his mind. If she knew who 'N Sync was, why didn't she know I was in it? He mentally shrugged.

By now, Jamy was really excited. My boyfriend was part of 'N Sync! My boyfriend was part of 'N Sync! She chanted mentally. Wait a second. Why didn't I see the resemblance before? Whoa. I've been hanging out too much with Trish and Becky.

"Your fame would never change our relationship!" Jamy exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Justin's neck. Justin sighed in relief. "Do my friends know?" she asked, pulling away. She hoped they did, so they could have a gabfest when the group got back.

Justin stroked his chin in thought. "I think Trisha, Nikkie, and Ashley do. I'm not so sure about Becky," he replied. He remembered that Lance was procrastinating and putting off telling Faith.

"So that means we can't tell her, right?" Jamy asked, a little disappointed about the cancelled gabfest. Justin nodded. Still, not even a missed chance to talk all night long would not get her spirits down. "Oh well. It's all gravy, baby! Oh, and can I have your autograph?"

* * *

The group congregated downstairs an hour later. Everybody had finished their room in the turret, and Jamy and Justin came out of her room. They seemed deep in conversation, and Jamy had a look of excitement on her face. But when they joined the group, she didn't tell anyone what they talked about.

They headed back to the hotel, but not before leaving an extra set of keys under the mat and leaving a note for the movers in case they came early. That night, they all went out to dinner in a casual restaurant. Nothing fancy, but Becky's friends dressed up anyway. All she wore was her 'fancy' pair of wide-leg jeans and a red T-shirt that said 'Boy Crazy' on the front. She looked strange, almost drab, standing next to people in skirts and khakis.

The group of ten arrived back at the hotel at about ten o'clock. That was early, but the only two people who wanted to go clubbing were Joey and Nikkie. Needless to say, they were easily out-voted. The genders parted ways and went back to their separate rooms, but not before giving each other a little more than a peck on the cheek.

The girls all went into Becky's room after they changed, and had a gabfest. Becky could tell they were hiding something from her. She couldn't tell what, but there was still that nagging feeling. She wasn't absolutely sure until Ashley spoke up when the conversation trickled off.

"Oh yeah! Can you believe the guys are actually in—"

"In what?" Becky interrupted, her face alight with confusion.

Ashley stared at her friend, a little confused herself. "Oh, Lance didn't tell you? The guys are in a group—"

Chapter 9

"That's involved with saving the rain forest," Jamy lied. She remembered what Justin told her about Lance probably not telling Becky that they were in 'N Sync. Jamy don't see how she could miss it, though. She usually caught on to things like that, despite her reputation for acting like a blonde.

Ashley looked at Jamy confusedly. She didn't understand why she was interrupted. "Huh? No that's not right they're in—" She tried again.

"Oh, that's right! They're in a group to save the animals of Africa," Jamy lied again. She felt that Lance should tell her, not them. She just might get mad at him. "Um, you guys? Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked as she pulled the girls away. Becky got up to follow, but Jamy put a hand up. Becky sat down with a frown upon her face. It wasn't like them to keep secrets from one of their best friends. Jamy led the girls out of the room so that Becky couldn't hear. Everyone, especially Ashley had a confused look on their face.

"Why didn't you let me talk!" Ashley whined as she stamped her foot. Jamy gave her a look before she answered

"Lance obviously didn't tell her. Since he didn't, we shouldn't, so just keep quiet about it till he does," she said in one breath. Nikkie's eyes widened as if to say 'Are you serious?' Ashley smacked herself in the forehead for not seeing it coming. Trisha just nodded. The group of four walked back into Becky's room to find her lying on her bed with her head dangling off the edge. She flipped around when she noticed them walk in.

"What were you talking about that you couldn't let me in on?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just what we are going to do tomorrow," Trisha replied. Oh, lame-o excuse, Trish! You'll go down in history for being the worst liar in the world! She thought. Trisha hated lying to her best friend, but knew in the long run that it would save her relationship with Lance.

* * *

Lance was in the same room with the other guys that night. No one felt like actually walking the few extra paces to their own room, so they all crashed in the nearest one: JC's. Lance still hadn't told Becky that he was part of 'N Sync. He knew she would find out soon, because she had tickets to their last show for a few months. Oh, well. I'll tell her later, he thought before turning his attention to the conversation at hand.

"So, what did Trisha say when she found out?" Justin asked JC while taking a sip from his bottled water he had stolen from JC's mini-fridge. JC started cracking up.

"She just started screaming and jumping around like a little teenybopper. 'Oh! I'm going out with JC from 'N Sync! I must be the luckiest girl in the world!'" He exclaimed, imitating his beloved girlfriend. After he had gathered his composure again he added, "It was hilarious! What about you guys?"

"Pretty much the same," Justin said, and the others nodded. Lance just stayed silent, looking down at his folded hands.

"What about you, Lance? Didn't you tell Becky yet?" Joey asked. All of the others' eyes were upon the bassman now, and he didn't like the way they were about to judge him.

"Um, well, not exactly," he replied. Justin's jaw dropped. And Joey and JC started murmuring to each other.

"You know she's going to find out sometime. They have concert tickets," Justin pointed out matter-of-factly.

Lance raised his hands to the objections that were being thrown his way. "I know, I know." He sighed heavily and asked, "She's going to kill me, isn't she?" His friends just nodded their heads in unanimous agreement.

"Oh, crap."

* * *

It was the next day, and the girls realized they didn't have anything to wear to the 'N Sync concert. Becky was at the panicking stage. She had woken up at seven o'clock in the morning, and just threw on a pair of jeans and a green t-shit that said 'Hugable' on it. Becky had ordered room service, and was about to wake up Jamy and Trisha when they both came out of their rooms at the same time, and scratched their heads. Synchronized! Becky thought to herself as she flipped on the TV.

"What are you doing up so early?" Trisha asked, sitting down at the table.

"We have to go shopping. We have nothing to wear to the concert," She replied. "Now hurry up! We have to hit all of downtown Paris before dark!"

That got them going. They bolted down their food, and changed in three seconds. Trisha ran out of her room wearing a khaki skirt and a green baseball-style shirt. Jamy came out wearing a pair of jean shorts and a red tank top. All three girls rushed out into the hallway, and slammed right into Ashley and Nikkie. Apparently, they had the same idea as their friends did. The group of five took the elevator downstairs, and sped off to Paris.

* * *

"Where are the girls?" JC asked Justin as the two looked around the Jamy's hotel room. Jamy had given Justin a spare room key, and the guys had let themselves in. The girls were nowhere in sight. Lance, Chris, and Joey were searching the hotel room for a note.

"Aha! I found one!" Lance said five minutes later as he held up a note. He read it out loud. "Dear guys: We had nothing to wear for the 'N Sync concert tomorrow, so we are going shopping. We don't know how long we'll be gone. See you when we get back! Peace, love, happiness, and all that good stuff, Becky, Nikkie, Ashley, Trisha, and Jamy."

"Well, how long can they possibly go shopping for?" Chris asked, shrugging his shoulders. "Let's wait." The guys sat down on the couches and watched TV.

* * *

"You know, we've been here for six hours. Do you think they're ever coming back?" Lance asked six hours later as Joey flipped through the numerous cable channels for about the millionth time.

"I don't know," Chris sighed. Even he was losing his seemingly endless cache of energy.

"Maybe we should wait a little longer," Justin suggested. Since they had nothing else to do, the others agreed.

"Ya know, you'd think with about five hundred channels, there'd be at least one good show to watch!" Joey muttered as he continued his search.

* * *

"Oh, my God! It's perfect!" All of the friends yelled at the same time. All five of them burst out laughing in the middle of the small, French boutique.

"Ok, I think we've been together too much!" Becky exclaimed. She was holding up a forest green sleeveless turtleneck and a pair of black pants. Jamy held up a short black skirt and a white tube top. Trisha had a pair of red flares and a white and red striped tube top. Ashley had a pair of girls board shorts, and a baby blue tie-dyed halter top. Nikkie had a black leather apron shirt, and a pair of leather brown leather pants. The group bought everything just because it was getting late.

Half an hour later, the girls drove up, parked the car, and took the elevator up to the fourth floor. When they arrived in front of their door, Becky noticed that there was noises coming from inside their room.

"Did one of you leave the TV on?" She asked cautiously. Jamy and Trisha shook their heads. Becky tried the knob, and it was unlocked. She opened the door to find the guys sprawled in various places, and various positions.

"Where have you been?" JC asked, relieved, as he jumped out of his chair.

Jamy and Trisha went off to their rooms, where they threw their stuff onto their beds. After stashing their own stuff in their suit, Nikkie and Ashley returned to the room. "Didn't you find the note? We went shopping," Becky replied as she unloaded her own loot onto her bed.

"Why didn't you tell us how long you were going to be gone for?" Justin asked as he made room for Jamy on the couch. Jamy sighed knowingly as she put her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"You don't know how long it takes us to shop. Especially when Lei Lei's with us," Trisha replied. Becky blushed hard. It never took her less than three hours to find the perfect outfit for any special occasion.

Chris rubbed his eyes to rid himself of the tiredness that boredom brings. "Remind me never to go shopping with you," He said as he pulled Ashley onto his lap.

"Ok. Never go shopping with me," Becky replied as she ordered room service for the ten of them.

Chris smiled sarcastically. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

* * *

After dinner, the girls excitedly started to get ready for the nest day. Trisha still didn't think Lance was going to tell Faith before the concert. She pulled him aside when Becky was out of the room, and asked him. "Did you tell her yet?"

Lance sighed sadly. "No. I don't plan to. I have a great idea. Get the others in here, and I'll tell you."

Trisha rushed around the small suite, rounding up people like cattle. They assembled in Trisha's room with the door locked. None of them knew what they were doing, so they just stood around, looking at each other.

Lance sat down on the bed and said, "I know all of you guys have been giving me crap about not telling Becky, so I came up with something." He looked around to see if the majority approved. They did. "Ok, this is my idea…"

* * *

Becky woke up at five o'clock AM the next morning, and couldn't get back to sleep. She stumbled sleepily into the other room, and saw the sleep-deprived Jamy and Trisha sitting on the couch, fully dressed, and watching TV.

"I guess you guys couldn't sleep either," Becky commented. Since it took a while for what she said to register into their tired brains, she called up for some food.

"Yeah, we're just too excited to sleep," Trish said after a while. Becky finished ordering and she made room for her on the couch. "I wonder if Ashley and Nikkie are sleeping?" Just then a knock came from the door.

Becky perceived it to be Nikkie and Ashley. "I guess not," She said as she answered the door. There stood Ashley and Nikkie, also fully dressed. She sighed as she ushered them in. "You guys, this is pathetic! I mean, it's only a concert, and we're not thirteen-year-old hormonal-ridden teenyboppers," She exclaimed. Trisha lifted her gaze from the TV to give her friend a weird look

"Becky; always the voice of reason," Ashley stated as she plopped down in one of the chairs. The food arrived and they ate.

* * *

Three hours before they had to leave for the concert, the group of five girls was too bored for words. Nikkie had taken up the remote and was trying to decide between the French Open and some infomercial. Ashley finally got bored of watching a tennis ball go back and forth across the screen and called the Justin and JC's room, where the guys frequently hung out. When one of them picked up, she begged and pleaded loudly till he consented to come down to their room. He said they could only come for a couple minutes, because then they had to go work. When the door finally knocked, Jamy flew out of her chair and answered it.

"Thank God you're still here! We are so bored! We canceled all our plans for today, and now we have nothing to do!" Jamy said as she basically pulled them in.

Chris, who was the last one standing outside the door, struggled against Jamy with a look of pure horror etched onto his face. "This has to be a hurried visit. Oh, and I need to talk to everyone but Becky," Lance stated. Trisha, Jamy, Ashley, and Nikkie followed the men out with faux looks of questioning gracing their faces.

"What's up with them?" Becky asked herself. She settled back into her chair and took up the remote. "Oh, well."

As Nikkie closed the door to the suit Trisha exclaimed, "Don't you think she's going to get suspicious with you pulling us away all the time?" Ashley gave Lance her famous 'glare of death.'

Lance shook his head matter-of-factly. "No. She hasn't even caught on that we're 'N Sync. Anyway, the girls need to be at the sound check stage in about an hour and a half. So do we, guys. Now, do you all know what we're going to do? Our song is the first song, so the girls will have to be by the stage fifteen minutes to show time," Lance rolled off from memory.

The girls nodded. "Ok. I think we can handle that," Jamy said for all of them. "But what about Becky? Won't she kind of notice that her friends aren't sitting next to her?"

Lance stroked the stubble on his chin in thought. "Right. I hadn't thought of that. Well, you guys are going to have to make up one good lie to cover that up. But it won't be too hard. Just say that you were looking for souvenirs but they all cost too much." Jamy nodded in approval.

"Ok. Good job, Scoop. This time you REALLY earn that nickname," Justin commented. He checked his digital watch and nodded shortly. "We have to go now. You guys better get ready. You don't know how long it takes to get to one of our concerts."

"We're ready and we have a pretty good idea," Ashley replied as she kissed her boyfriend good bye. The guys walked down the hall and entered the elevator. Gosh, I hope this works, Lance thought as the elevator traveled to the lobby.

The four girls lingered in the hallway for a minute longer, discussing. "Do you really think we'll pull it off?" Nikkie asked. Ashley and Jamy shrugged their shoulders in uneasiness.

"I hope so," Trisha replied with a sigh. When they were noticed by Becky, they escaped questions by busying themselves with 'getting ready' for the concert.

* * *

Trisha made sure they got to the concert an hour and a half early. Half the seats were filled when they entered the titan-sized auditorium. While Becky marveled at the size, the rest of the girls slipped into the crowd and made their way backstage with the passes Lance had supplied them with earlier. Without checking to see her friends were behind her, Becky started to make her way to the front row. She arrived at their seats and looked behind her to see strangers. She looked up the long isle and up and down the front row. Not seeing them, she gave up and slunk into her hard seat. Oh, well. They're smart. They can find their own way, she thought.

Meanwhile, Ashley, Trisha, Nikkie, and Jamy were at the sound check on time. They sped through it so they could return to their seats and to Becky. When they did return, Becky was sitting crossed-legged in the small seat and playing with the hem of her jeans. When she noticed their presence, she stood up.

"Where were you guys? I've been waiting for an hour!" Becky complained angrily. All four girls looked at each other uncomfortably, trying to remember what James had told them to say.

"Um...We were looking for souvenirs but they were too expensive," Ashley lied. Now they've go me lying, too! She thought.

Becky bought it. "Oh, well. Come on sit down. The show's gonna start soon." She was too excited to see that what her friends had fed her was a lie. Suddenly the lights dimmed, and all the teenyboppers in the audience screamed in anticipation. It was twenty minutes to show time, and Ashley, Trisha, Jamy, and Nikkie disappeared from their friend's side for the second time that night. Becky didn't notice that her friends were gone again until it was about five minutes to show time. What's their problem? She said to herself.

Just then, the hot stage lights switched on, and the crowd roared as she saw a group of nine familiar faces, four female, five male, running out onto the stage. Her eyes opened wide, and she screamed.

"OH, MY GOD!"

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