"You could say that, I went to the Virgin Megastore, got some CDs. I met this really cool guy, Justin, he invited me to hang out with him and his friends today - you're working till late, right?" Colin asked her, his gray-green eyes searching for permission.
"Yeah, I'll be here until at least eleven thirty. I feel bad, since it's your first night here - "
"It's okay, Shan. We'll have plenty of time to hang out this week. I'm not that far away anyway, only an hour flight and two hours by train." Colin emphasized.
"I know, I know - I just miss having you around I guess," Shannon grinned, teasing him. "So you made a new friend?"
Colin rolled his eyes at his sister's teasing. "Yeah, can I play with him after lunch?" He joked. "He seems like a really cool guy, we have a lot of the same music tastes, and I knew you had to work, so I said I'd hang out with him later. You don't mind, do you?"
"No, I'm glad you won't be stuck in my apartment or out wandering around by yourself." Shannon smiled.
Shannon and Colin caught up with one another's lives over their lunch, laughing and joking like old times. As far as brothers and sisters went, the pair got along extremely well and were very close. They were only three years apart, Colin hadn't quite hit his twenty-first birthday, and Shannon was about to turn twenty-four in October. After lunch was over, Shannon took Colin on a small tour of the front office of the hotel, and introduced him to Destiny and Michelle. While Shannon was busy helping a guest on the phone, Colin excused himself and made the call to Justin's cell phone.
"Hello?" Justin's voice answered.
"Hey, it's Colin, remember me from - " Colin began.
"Hey! Are you still coming up," Justin wondered, pushing Chris back in his efforts to grab the phone.
"Yeah, I just need to know what room," Colin said, hearing the scuffle going on at the other end of the phone. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine - damn it, Chris, stop! Sorry about that. We're in room 4837, I'll wait for you at the elevator so security knows it's okay to let you up." Justin replied.
"Sounds good, I'll be up in a few."
**********
Several hours later, Colin sat in the suite with Justin, Chris, and Joey - all four bored and restless. They had spent the last few hours listening to CDs, talking, challenging each other on Playstation and N64, but their resources had been exhausted, which lead to boredom - a very bad thing when you're Chris Kirkpatrick. Joey could almost see the idea developing in Chris's head before the older man even said one word.
"I know what we could do!" Chris jumped up off of the couch excitedly. Joey and Justin looked at each other with trepidation. With Chris, it could be anything from getting something to eat to putting shaving cream and gummi bears in JC's hair while he slept.
"What?" Joey wondered, hoping it was something fun and different.
"Did you guys see those huge gray carts they have down by the back doors," Chris asked, his brown eyes glittering with glee.
"Yeah, so?" Justin shrugged, not quite sure what Chris was getting at.
"And did you also see the ramps outside said doors?" Chris hinted.
"Are you actually suggesting we race carts down the ramps outside?"
***********
The guys had broken up into two teams - Joey and Justin versus Chris and Colin. After a few practice runs down the loading dock ramps, the guys started racing against each other, each match ending in a dead heat. Lonnie and Eric, two of the bodyguards for *N SYNC sat back and watched with several of the security guards for the Marriott, bemused expressions on their broad faces.
"Hey man, do you think we should stop them before one of them gets hurt?" Eric asked Lonnie as a very loud sound that sounded very much like a crash happened.
"Too late," Lonnie shook his head, jogging over to where the two carts had collided. The four young men lay sprawled on the pavement, Justin and Joey rubbing their heads, Colin holding his hand up in the air, and Chris lay on the ground - not moving. Lonnie looked Justin and Joey over quickly.
"You guys okay?" The burly man asked, concern flooding his brown eyes.
"Yeah, I think I just got a few bumps and some bruises," Justin replied. He looked over at Joey. "You okay, man?"
"Yeah … thank god I have a hard head," Joey winced, rubbing a tender spot on the back of his head, and wiping at a cut on his eyebrow. Lonnie went over to the other cart where Colin was using his shirt to stop the flow of blood coming from a gash on his hand.
"Let me see it," Lonnie coaxed, gently pulling the cotton away from the cut. "Yup, you're gonna need stitches. We'll take you to the hospital. Chris? You okay?"
Chris lay on the pavement, clutching his arm to his chest, a pained statement on his face. "No," he whispered.
************
"Dude...Johnny's gonna be mad!" Joey sighed to Justin, running his fingers through his hair. "What if Chris really hurt himself bad? And Colin? I mean, we hardly know the guy and we've already gotten him hurt. His sister is gonna be pissed."
"I know, man. I feel bad, but it's not like we made him do it. Besides, it was Chris's idea we race the damn carts in the first place." Justin pointed out.
**********
"Shannon? There's a call for you to go to the hospital - something about your brother?" Jessica Carnrike, one of Shannon's co-workers told her quietly. Shannon looked up quickly from the paperwork she was filing.
"What? Oh no..." Shannon pulled out her purse and ran to the front desk. Destiny looked up from the computer and Michelle dropped the room keys she had in her hand.
"What's the matter?" Destiny wondered, her face showing concern.
"Colin - he's in the hospital."
The three women rushed down the street to St. Joseph's Medical Center, and Shannon quickly identified herself to the nurse on duty in the emergency room waiting area. Shannon, Michelle and Destiny were taken to a smaller, more private waiting area - where Joey Fatone and Justin Timberlake just happened to be. Shannon tried to stay calm, and if Michelle had gripped her arm any tighter, she might have been in need of some medical assistance herself. Joey and Justin stood as the three women entered the room.
"Uh...are you Colin's sister?" Joey asked Shannon.
"Yeah...you know my brother?" Shannon looked puzzled.
"He was with us when the accident happened. It was really stupid, we should've been paying more attention - " Justin began explaining as Johnny Wright came into the room with several of *N SYNC's bodyguards, shooting daggers at Joey and Justin.
"Okay, what the hell have you been doing now? It was a nice, peaceful day - what happened?" Johnny asked, sighing.
"It was all Chris's idea!" Joey insisted as Justin kicked him.
"Dude, shut up!" Justin hissed.
"Where is Chris?" Johnny asked, his patience wearing thin.
"Uh...the doctor said something...like...might be...broken," Justin whispered the last part.
"Broken?" Johnny roared. He loved each member of *N SYNC like one of his own children, but they never ceased to amaze him - or exasperate him. He took several deep breaths to calm down before continuing. "And how did that happen, Justin?"
"Well...Chris kind of had this idea..." Justin began to explain again, while Destiny just looked at Shannon in shock.
"Your brother knows *N SYNC?"
After Justin had fully explained everything to Johnny, they were allowed to go back and see Chris and Colin. The doctor explained that Chris had broken his left wrist and that he had a small laceration above his left eye, while Colin had lacerated his right hand. Justin hadn't been hurt at all - save for a few bumps and bruises, but Joey had a bump on the back of his head and had needed three stitches to close the cut on his eyebrow. Justin and Joey gave Colin guilty looks while Johnny paced and lectured about safety. Shannon, Michelle and Destiny were shown into the room a few moments later, Shannon's heart racing when she realized Chris Kirkpatrick was in the same room she was.
"Hey sis," Colin smiled sheepishly at his older sister as the doctor sutured his hand.
"Colin...I swear, I can't leave you alone for five minutes!" Shannon admonished him, her green eyes revealing her tenderness towards her little brother. "And not only did you hurt yourself, but you also hurt poor Chris."
"God, I'm never gonna live it down that I hurt your favorite member of *N SYNC," Colin teased, causing Shannon to blush prettily as she shot a look at him.
"That's right!" Justin grinned. "Colin said you were a fan. It's nice to meet you, I'm Justin." He shook hands with the three women, and Joey followed suit, looking Shannon up and down.
"Are you sure Chris is your favorite?" Joey winked at her, causing her to blush further.
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