~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

Joey looked around the room. They had come back a few hours ago and everyone had been lounging in his and Chris’ room. As he looked around he noticed something was missing.

"Hey, where’d J and Nick go?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked around to find out the two youngest weren’t in the room. Gina stood up and walked into the other room. She turned and motioned for everyone to be quiet.

"I think I found them." She felt JC stand behind her. "Aren’t they so adorable together?"

JC nodded and watched the couple sleep on Justin’s bed. The group had been hanging out for a few hours and now he wanted to be selfish. He knew Gina hardly got to talk to or see his groupmates but she was his girlfriend and tomorrow she would say good-bye until he didn’t know when. He knew he had spent most of the day with just her but for their relationship that was a lot. Some of his friends joked about how they’d like to only see their girlfriends every once in a while, but when JC really asked them about it they all said they’d never want to put up with what he and his girlfriends had to put up with.

Sometimes it wasn’t the not seeing her but the fact that he couldn’t call her up and she couldn’t rush over if he needed her. Sure she’d stay on the phone with him as long as he needed but sometimes he just needed a hug or be held and she’d be across the continent instead of across town. Having a relationship with his career could be murder but with the right person he thought it was worth everything. If or how they’d make it he didn’t know but he knew it was worth trying.

"Hey," Gina knocked JC out of his thoughts, "what’s going on in your brain up there?"

"Just thinking about how lucky I am to have found you." He kissed her temple and stayed there to whisper in her ear. "I was also thinking it’s about time you and I left this party and had some time to ourselves."

She nodded and grabbed his hand.

"Listen, JC and I are going to go spend some time together before we go to sleep. I’ll see you all in the morning." She kissed the guys on the cheek and waved to Jackie and Lisa.

Tyler stood and stretched.

"Hey, Li, you tired yet?"

Lisa shook her head. "Not really."

"Then how about we go to the diner on the corner? Since we’re not famous or anything. We won’t get bothered. Just go there as two normal people and won’t get hounded. Like certain people I could mention but won’t." He looked at Chris.

"Go celebrate your freedom, TJ, but don’t forget who you are. You will always be the younger brother of JC Chasez. Not Tyler Chasez, but you will be JC Chasez’s brother in a lot of people’s eyes. Remember that."

"Thanks for that uplifting thought, Chris. So are you up for it?"

Lisa nodded and stood up. "Come on, let’s get going. I may be up now but there’s no telling how long that’ll last."

Tyler nodded and the two left to get their coats before venturing into the brisk New York City night.

Joey yawned. "You know what? I’m beat. I think I might go to bed."

"Yeah. Me too," Chris added.

Lance turned from watching the couple leave and found two pairs of eyes on him. He shook his head before facing Jackie.

"I think that’s a hint for us to leave too. You want to go somewhere and talk?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I think that would be good. We need to have a talk. Where would you like to go?"

"Weight room?"

"See you there."

Lance went to his room through the connecting door and Jackie went down the hall to hers.

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

Gina shoved a shirt in her bag. "I can’t believe we’re leaving tomorrow. It seems like this weekend just started."

"I know." JC sighed. "Isn’t it sad that we’ve been together for three months and this is the longest we’ve been actually together? We’ve had three days plus part of Wednesday and part of tomorrow."

"JC, don’t think of the negatives. Please? We do get to see more of each other than a lot of other long distance relationships. I mean sometimes people don’t see their significant other for whole semesters. Now that’s months, Jace. Even if it’s not for a long period of time I do get to see you more often than that. I’m willing to take any time with you. I won’t deny that I wish we had more, but I’ll take what I can get. Like I said this morning- you’re worth it."

"And so are you." He walked behind her and hugged her to him. She placed her hands on his and they stood there in silence for a few minutes. They looked up when the door opened.

"Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just getting clothes to go work out. I’m meeting Lance there. I’ll be out of your way in a minute," Jackie rushed out as she searched through her bag and pulled out a shirt and shorts. "Just let me go change and I’ll be gone."

"Don’t worry, Jay, it’s okay. Just do what you need to do. Please don’t rush and forget anything on our account," JC assured her.

"Uh-huh. You just want to make sure I have everything so I don’t have to come back up here anytime soon. I see your game."

Gina laughed. "Just go already. I’m sure Lance is already down there. So you two are hitting the weight room?"

"Yup. I’ll be back later at some point. I don’t know how long this will take," she called from the bathroom. A minute later she emerged. "I’ll see you guys later."

"Bye, J." Gina watched as her friend ran out the door. "Do you think everything’s all right with them? I don’t see anywhere that there could be a problem, but do you think there’s something wrong?"

JC shrugged. "I don’t know. It’s tough having the kind of relationships we’re having. They’re in the same boat we are on the distance stuff. Some people can make it work and others can’t."

"But we can, right?"

"Of course we can. And we will." JC held her closer and lowered his face to nuzzle her neck. "I love you, Gina Gacona, and we’re going to have the best relationship we can have in all this mess. You are more than worth the aggravation."

"I am?"

"Yes, you are. Am I?" JC asked as he turned her in his arms.

"You know you are. We’ve been through a lot but we still have much more to go through. What you did on Friday is going to make my life pure hell for a long time but I’m willing to live with it. You know why? Because it’s for you. That’s how much your worth it, and that’s how much I love you."

JC reached up to trace the outline of her lips, her jaw and her neck.

"You know I love to hear your voice but while we’re apart I can do that almost anytime. What I can’t do is to hold, kiss and touch you. Any objections?" His lips followed his fingers up her jaw.

"Oh man, I have no objections. I pick yes to all the above." Her hands found their way into his back pockets as she tilted her head back to accept his lips with hers.

~~~~~~

Later that night Lance watched Jackie come out of her hotel room and close the door.

"I can’t believe this is happening."

"Me neither, Lance, but it’s what has to be done." She handed him her room key and reached for her bag. Lance grabbed it before she did and started carrying it down the hall. "We tried but it’s just not working for us."

"If only…" he trailed off.

"Don’t do ‘if onlys…’ here, Lance, it will just make things harder for yourself." She raised a hand to his cheek but dropped it as the elevator opened and Lisa and Tyler walked out.

"Hey, you two, what’s going on?"

Jackie turned away and wiped her cheek. "Nothing, guys, just talking."

"What’s with the luggage?" Tyler asked and pointed to the bag in Lance’s hand. "Oh, are you two going to sleep in the other room with Nick and Justin?"

"Well, I’ll be heading there shortly," Lance started, "and I thought you two could sleep in there," he pointed to the room the girls had shared, "since your brother and Gina decided to take up one of the beds."

Tyler nodded. "Okay. All of our stuff is in there anyway. See you tomorrow." He hugged Jackie and waved to Lance.

"See you tomorrow," Lisa said as she hugged Lance and Jackie. Jackie’s hug was longer than she expected but thought the other girl was just tired. She followed Tyler into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Are you sure you can drive? It’s getting kind of late."

"Thanks for the concern, Lance, but it’s not that late. It’s only about one-thirty and my drive’s not that long." She raised her hand to his cheek once more. "I’m going to miss you. I wish we could have worked this out but it’s like you said on Rosie. It’s very hard to have a relationship while you’re on the road constantly and since I don’t live anywhere near Mississippi it’s even harder when you have time off. I don’t know how they do it."

Lance shrugged. "I don’t know. Then again JC and Gina have always been a mysterious couple. With how they acted last summer I knew either they’d get together and make a great couple, or one of them would die by the end of her internship. I guess they just got lucky."

"Yeah, I guess they did." She patted his cheek and began walking toward the elevator. "I don’t know what to say. Who knows if this is good bye or what. I know I’ll see you because you’re all over the place but…"

"Yeah, I know. I’m sure you’ll hear from Gina or something. It’s hard to leave this group after they’ve accepted you and you’ve never wronged them." He stopped next to the elevator.

"Breaking up with a member doesn’t necessitate for my being cut off?"

"Jay," he dropped her bag and took her hand, "this was a mutual decision. It’s not like you cheated on me or anything. We just couldn’t make it work. That’s all."

"That’s all?" She pushed the elevator call button.

They waited in silence until the door dinged and opened. Jackie took a deep breath and picked up her bag. She entered the elevator but was stopped by his hand on her arm. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Lance?"

He pulled her close and ran his fingers down her cheek. He traced his thumb over her bottom lip and leaned forward. Jackie saw his intentions and pulled back.

"No, Lance. That is not a good idea. It would just make this harder than it already is. We have to just let go."

"Just let go," he repeated softly before grabbing her hand and kissing it. He squeezed his eyes shut and backed away to let the elevator doors shut. He bit his lip and watched her wave before the doors completely shut. Lance stared at where the elevator was and blinked back tears. After a few deep breaths he headed back to his room.

He slowly opened the room door and quietly closed it behind him. He grabbed clothes to sleep in and got ready for bed. In the bathroom he stared at his reflection and got lost in the memory of how he and Jackie met. The memory ran through his mind a few times before he shook his daze and walked to his bed. He crawled under the covers and stared out the window. The lights outside kept him awake so he turned and wished he hadn’t. Now he saw the other bed and, more importantly, the people in the other bed. Justin had his arm securely around Nick’s waist and they were facing him. Lance subjected himself to the torture for a few minutes before laying on his stomach and burying his face in his pillow as his body released the sobs it had been holding back.

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

"Morning everyone," Lance mumbled as he approached the breakfast table.

Various greetings were given back by the somber group as they pushed food around their plates and occasionally the food made its way into a slack jaw. Lance had grabbed food and joined the group before JC finally looked at his friend and saw the black lines and red eyes. It also hit him that he had come down alone.

"Lance?" The younger man looked up. "Where’s Jackie?"

"She went home last night." Lance went back to eating his food, disregarding the surprised looks of his friends.

"Why?"

"She just did, okay? I don’t want to talk about it now."

Gina placed an arm around him. "It’s okay, Lance. You don’t have to." She took her arm back and turned to Nick. "I wonder why she didn’t even say good bye to us."

"I said I didn’t want to talk about it," Lance exploded. "Here’s the information you want. We broke up last night. Happy now?" He paused to take a deep calming breath. "Now I’m going to pack. See you all later."

The table watched in silence as he stormed from the empty restaurant and repeatedly punched the elevator call button. The intense look on his face as the doors closed before him shocked the group.

"O-kay," Joey finally said. "Did anyone see this coming? I knew something was up, but for them to break up? That’s a surprise."

"Well, Justin, you called it." JC sat back in his chair.

"Called what?"

"You said that yesterday would make or break everything and it did. It made you two a couple," he pointed at Nick, "and it broke them." He nodded his head to the elevators. "So it did make or break everything."

"Yeah, I guess," the younger blue eyed man said softly. He squeezed Nick’s hand and said a silent prayer for them working things out. A smile crossed his face when she squeezed his hand back. "So what should we do? Let him sulk or force him to talk?"

"Well," Chris put his fork down, "I’d say let him sulk and if he doesn’t talk soon we’ll sit him down and have a talk. Let him think about what happened so he can talk about it. You can’t talk about something when it’s still a puzzle in your head."

"I think Chris is right." Gina placed her hand on JC’s knee. "He’s not going to talk if you pry hard. Just leave him alone and if he mourns way to long knock some sense into him. Meanwhile, Lisa, remind me to call her when we get back."

JC slid his hand over hers.

"Hun, you’re not going to try and get them back together, are you?"

"No, I’m not. I’m going to see what her story is. Maybe we can see what went wrong. I don’t think what’s been done can be cured so we’ll have to make something work. She’s become a close friend to me. She’s one of the only ones who knows what I’m going through with you guys being famous and all."

There was another silence that turned uncomfortable and pushing food with utensils resumed. JC and Gina didn’t let go of the other’s hand. Instead they held tighter and each were on the verge of letting the pain known.

"Hey, guys, it’s time for you to get ready." Mike stood at the door of the hotel restaurant. "Come on. Let’s get going. Lance is already ready. We’ve got planes to catch."

Everyone at the table nodded and slowly stood. JC quickly kissed Gina’s fingertips before he had to let go because of the other hotel guests. Seeing this Justin dropped Nick’s hand.

"So, Gigi, you’re taking Nick to the airport, right?"

"Yeah, J, Li and I will make sure she’s there with bells on."

"I’d rather mistletoe." He wiggled his eyebrows and Gina hit his shoulder. "Thank you for driving her, Gina. I wish she could go with us but you know the drill."

"Yeah, I do. Unfortunately." Gina sighed and looked quickly across the elevator at JC who was staring at her. She blushed before turning back to Justin. "You’re flying out of Newark, right?"

"Yeah. Not many fans would think we’d leave out of New Jersey instead of New York. You’re a lifesaver." He hugged her.

"What flavor?"

"Umm. I think JC’s the only one who should know that one," he told her as they exited the elevator.

"I’m the only one that should know what?" JC stepped up beside them.

"What flavor lifesaver she is." Justin turned to unlock his door.

"Yup. It’s for me to know and no one else to find out." JC grabbed Gina by the waist and dipped his laughing girlfriend.

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

"So when am I going to see you again?" Nick asked from the back seat. Gina shrugged from the driver’s seat.

"I don’t know. JC’s trying to get me to come down for my Christmas break but I don’t know if I can. My family might get even madder at me if I don’t spend some time at home." She sat back with a loud sigh. She was trying not to think of what dropping Nick off meant. It meant the end of the weekend and the last time she’d see her boyfriend for a very long time. It sucks that I can’t even see him off with a hug and a kiss at the gate. But whatever. It’s what has to be done.

Lisa turned in her seat. "So, Nick, what was it like finally kissing Justin?"

"It was…nice."

"Just nice?"

"Well," she paused, "okay he’s a great kisser but it felt even better getting the feelings out there. That relieved a lot of the burden in my mind. Not that I don’t mind kissing him, it’s just that knowing he feels the same way about me was more of a relief when we first kissed. It’s still a relief."

Lisa reached back and shook Nick’s knee with a laugh. They all took a deep breath when Gina made the exit for Newark International Airport. Gina looked up and sighed.

"Damn, I didn’t see what airlines were on that sign."

"Well, I guess if we don’t see that airline on any other sign then we’ll know that’s the terminal we need," Nick reasoned. She pointed out the window. "Look. There we go. Terminal B."

Gina turned off the main road and pulled into the parking lot for the terminal. After driving around and cursing every time she saw someone pull into a spot that she was heading for she found a parking spot. Nick grabbed her bag and the three females walked to the doors into the airport. Upon entering they encountered Randy.

"Hey, girls."

"Hey, Randy, where are the guys being held this time?" Gina asked as she made her way to the escalator. The guard stopped her with his next words.

"You can’t go up there, Gina. It’s too dangerous for you."

"Too dangerous?"

"Yeah." He looked between Gina and Lisa. "There’s a lot of fans and JC was badgered something fierce as he walked in. You can go up and stay with Nick but you can’t go near JC. Management would rather you two didn’t see each other." He checked his watch. "You have to go, Nick, your plane is boarding soon. Here’s you ticket."

Nick took the ticket silently. "I hate to say this but you two should go. I’m sure I can make it and I’m sure Justin made Randy promise to follow me to the gate to make sure I made it all right. Am I right?"

The man nodded solemnly.

"I guess if it’s for the best. We’d better go, Gina." Lisa took her friend’s hand. "We’ve got traffic and more traffic to look forward to. Bye, Nick. Bye, Randy." She bent to hug the redhead and waved to the guard.

"Bye, Lisa. Bye, Gina." She returned Lisa’s hug and turned to Gina. "I know it’s hard. I’ve been there. Be strong. I’m sure Lisa doesn’t want to carry you out to the car."

"No I wouldn’t appreciate that."

"I’m sorry." Gina wiped the tears from her face.

"It’s okay, Gina. Just wait until you get to the car to break down." Randy enveloped her in his arms. "Oh, before I forget. Ja-Josh wanted me to give you a few things. First a packet of tissues." Gina laughed as she was handed a small pack of tissues. "Then there was money for getting out of the parking lot and a note."

Gina took the envelope but handed back the bill.

"First of all, the toll to get out of the parking lot is nowhere near twenty dollars. Second, I have money on me. Give him the money back. It’s a nice gesture, but I don’t need it."

"Are you sure?" Randy folded the bill and put it back in his pocket.

She nodded. "Yes. I’m sure." She took a deep breath and ran a hand down her face. "Well, we’d better get going. Why delay it any longer? It’s not like there’s anything for us to do here anymore. I’ll talk to you, Nick. Randy, take care of yourself and don’t kill either guy you’re traveling with."

"Eye-eye, Miss." He threw her a mock-salute before leading Nick to her gate.

Lisa watched the two go up the escalator and turned to Gina. Gina was standing next to her biting her bottom lip and trying to fight the mist filling her eyes. Lisa grabbed her friend’s hand and pulled her out of the airport.

"Come on, Gina. We’ve got to get out of here. The faster we get to the car the faster you can call JC before he takes off." Lisa began walking faster to catch up to her friend. "Here, give me the keys. You are in no shape to drive."

At the car Gina handed Lisa the car keys. As soon as she sat she began searching her bag for her phone. She found it and turned it on and was surprised when it began ringing immediately.

"Hello?"

"Miss me yet?"

Gina sighed and smiled at JC’s voice.

"More than I ever thought possible. I heard you had a tough time getting through the crowd."

"Yeah." She heard him sigh. "Can you hold on a second?"

"Yeah."

Muffled voices she knew as JC’s and Lance’s came through the ear piece. She also knew they were talking to someone in the media by the tones of their voices. She sighed and looked over at Lisa who was tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.

"Do you want me to drive, Li?"

"No. You were just a complete wreck before and when you get off that phone with your man you’ll be even worse. I’d like to arrive back to school so I can graduate thank you very much. Now do you have the four dollars to get out of here?"

"Yeah, just let me get my wallet out." She began moving to dig into her pockets.

"No, Gina. You’re going to open the envelope Randy handed to you. Can’t you ever take some money that I want you to have?"

"No," Gina replied into the phone and opened the envelope to see a twenty dollar bill sitting between folds in the letter. She handed the money to Lisa. "Now what if I had took the money from Randy, Jace?"

"Then you’d have forty dollars."

"Forty of your dollars."

"Forty bucks of mine that I gave to you to use as travel money because you came to visit me and I want to help with the travel expenses." He paused for a moment. "Damn."

"What?"

"Nothing. I just let my voice get too loud and now I have people looking at me."

"People meaning reporters?"

"Yeah," he sighed out. "I hate this. Listen, my flight was just called. I have to go."

"All right." She tried to hold back a sniffle. "I’ll call you later when we get in."

"Okay. I’ll talk to you later. Bye."

"Love you, Jace."

"Right back at ya. Bye."

"Bye," Gina said softly before hanging up the phone and stared out her window.

"So I take it he had to get to his plane?"

"Yeah."

Lisa tried to make conversation but realized it was futile as Gina continue to stare out the window. When a heavy sigh and batches of tears come from her friend she decided to leave Gina to her thoughts and continue to drive on the New Jersey Turnpike back to Route 95. Gina closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cold window.

"Ciao."

~~~~~~

JC hung up his phone and sighed as he picked up his bag. He felt his brother give his shoulder a comforting squeeze. The brothers stood behind Randy and got ready to run to the gate. JC was in such a daze that he didn’t realize they were on the plane until he felt Tyler nudge his arm.

"Do you want the window, Josh?"

"Huh?"

"Window." The younger Chasez pointed across the seats. "Do you want to sit next to it?"

"Sure," JC mumbled and stared out the small oval mindlessly after he sat. He didn’t see the airport workers as his mind clouded again and his thoughts strayed to the brown haired, hazel eyed woman he had left without saying a proper good bye. Guilt entered his brain and tears unbiddenly began to form at the corner of his eyes.

"Mr. Chasez?"

JC opened his eyes and saw the same flight attendant that was on his earlier flight. "Yes?"

"I was just wondering if you enjoyed your weekend in New York?"

JC nodded and looked away, not wanting her to see the redness of his eyes. Tyler noticed his brother’s frame of mind.

"I’m sorry. You’ll have to excuse him. He’s just upset he doesn’t have much time to spend at home before he has to get back to work. He’s just going to miss all my fine cooking." Tyler smiled to himself when his brother’s shoulders jumped in laughter.

"Oh, you two live together when he’s in Maryland?"

"Yup." Tyler patted JC’s knee. "I couldn’t imagine my life without him. It would be like losing a family member."

"Okay. I guess I’ll leave you two alone. Nice meeting you, JC." She quickly walked to her post to announce the snack for the flight.

Across the aisle Randy exploded in laughter. "Tyler, that was mean. Funny, but mean. What are you trying to do? Give your brother a different reputation?"

"Tyler, Tyler, Tyler." JC shook his head against the window.

"What?" Tyler asked innocently.

"You do realize that she now thinks you and I might be a couple?"

"So?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"I’m just saying that if she tells anyone and then points you out she’ll be so embarrassed when people tell her you’re my brother."

"Well, it’s her fault for believing me and for spreading rumors about you."

"If you say so. I’m in no mood to get into a fight or to lecture you."

"I know. Just go back to thinking of that one special person in your life. Go back to your crying and grieving for the loss of her presence."

"Thank you. I think I will." JC turned back to the window and closed his eyes an image of Gina came to his mind.

"Josh?" Tyler’s voice invaded his thoughts again.

"What is it now?"

"Now don’t get huffy on me. This nice woman just wants to know if we would like anything to drink."

"I’ll have water." JC sat back in his seat, eyes still closed.

"I’ll have a Sprite. You can put his drink on my tray. I’m used to sharing things with him."

Tyler put so much emphasis in his words JC and Randy had to bite their lips to keep from laughing. When he was sure the flight attendant was gone JC opened his eyes and glared at his brother. Tyler raised his eyebrows and shrugged. The brothers picked up their cups and Tyler clinked his against JC’s.

"To a long life together."

JC took a long sip of his water before placing the cup back on Tyler’s tray. Glaring once more at his brother JC stuck his tongue out at Tyler, who returned the gesture. JC pushed Tyler’s shoulder.

"Stay away from me. You’re a bad influence."

Tyler laughed as JC began to stare at the ground moving below them. At least I got him to laugh.

JC look over the clouds and it reminded him of Gina, strawberries and whipped cream. He didn’t know when the next time he saw her was going to be but hoped it would be soon. He dropped his eyes back to the ground and blew a small kiss.

"Adios, senorita."