The entire group of friends was in English class together when a school announcement came over the loud speakers. “Please send the captains of all sports teams to the gymnasium to set up for the pep rally, thank you. Mrs. Lucas, please send Jay to the office.”
Liz, Erika, and “Jay” left the room. Since the office was on the way towards the gymnasium, the girls walked along side with Justin. They arrived at the office and Justin walked in.
“Was that Erika with you?” Asked the secretary.
“Yes.”
“This involves her too; can you go get her?”
Justin turned around back out of the office and caught up with the two friends a little bit further down the hallway.
“Er, they said they need you too.”
“Really? Ok. Liz go on ahead and I’ll catch up.”
“No its ok, I don’t think it will take that long, I’ll wait for you.”
They walked back to the office and Liz waited by the doorway as the other two went deeper into the office.
It was about five minutes of waiting before they were called back so Liz left for the gymnasium and told them that she would see them there. It was another five minutes when they were called back so the two friends got up from their chairs and made their way to the back conference room.
“JC, what are you doing here?” Asked a completely shocked Erika. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him, she was MORE that happy to see him.
“Um, hey guys, I have some news.”
“Uh oh” muttered Justin as he sat in a chair next to Erika across from where JC was sitting at the table.
“Ok, how to start? Um, Erika, you have been living with us a few months now right?”
"Yessssssssssssssss”
“Well, the other guys and me were thinking. Since you don’t really have a family any more...” JC paused when he noticed a single tear drop roll down her check, “you need a guardian.”
“Oh God no. Don’t make me leave you guys. You’re all I have left.”
“No, no, no, calm down. Let me finish. Having you leave is the LAST thing we want to happen, so we cornered Johnny and we got him to agree to be your guardian.”
Erika sat still trying to process at the information being thrown in her way.
“And since Johnny is our manager and your guardian, it would be easier to keep track of us if we were always together.”
“COOL!” That was the first thing that came out of Justin’s mouth throughout the entire meeting, “so that means she’s gonna go on tour with us, right?”
“Yea, that’s another thing I had to talk about. The tour got pushed up. So instead of leaving next week for the tour, we leave tomorrow, and like I said, Erika, you have to come with us. And after the tour, you move back to Orlando with us.”
“WHAT?” Both Justin and JC flinched when she screamed. “You expect me to leave everything I ever had behind and just leave? I can’t do that!”
“I know it sounds horrible, but I did it and it’s not that bad.”
“Not that bad? NOT THAT BAD? You chose to throw your life away and leave here, but I don’t even get a choice!”
“Exactly, you don’t have a choice. So go off to your little pep rally and cheer your head off and then come straight home and pack.”
Erika couldn’t stand to be in the same room as JC any longer. She stood up from her chair and stormed out of the room without saying a word. She ran through the hallways and into the gymnasium. She began to help set up for the pep rally as she was supposed to but instead busted out crying.
“Erika, sweetie, what’s wrong?” Her best friend asked very concerned. She didn’t answer.
“Ok, fine, but you’re gonna have to tell me one day.”
“One day.”
The pep rally was over and she went straight home. She wanted to be anywhere but home.
She opened the door quietly and went upstairs to her room to begin packing. She was packing for what seemed like hours when she heard the doorbell ring. She didn’t have the energy to answer it so she let someone else do it.
JC reached for the doorknob to open the door. There stood Liz with Erika’s pom bag.
“Hey there. Came by to say good-bye?”
“Good-bye? What are you talking about?”
“I take it Erika didn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what! All I know is that she ran into the gymnasium crying and wouldn’t tell me what was wrong.”
JC stood silent as guilt cam over him. He didn’t think this would effect her this hard.
“Would someone tell me WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!” Liz was getting very agitated.
JC pulled her down on the sofa and explained what was happening.
Liz ran up the stairs to find Erika in her room with cloths everywhere.
“And how come you didn’t call me to help you pack?”
“How can you be so calm?”
“How can I be so calm? Puh-lese, I’m screaming on the inside.”
Erika and Liz called Rachel, Elyssa, Christi, and Chelsea over to help pack and to explain the situation.
When all the girls were over, and were told the news, the water works all came out.
JC and Justin could hear the sobs coming from upstairs.
“Are you happy JC? You ruined a teenager’s life. You’ll be lucky if she every talks to you again.”
“Rub it in curly.”
“Gladly.”
A few hours passed and all the girls left except for Rachel, Liz, and Christi. They were talking about if there was nay way around this.
“I got it!” Shouted Rachel, “all four of us are dancers, and we already know all of their choreography, so maybe...”
“Rachel you’re a genius!” Erika ran over to Rachel and hugged her tightly to her.
“Ok, hunny, Rachel can’t breathe.”
The girls ran downstairs, one behind the other all of them yelling out JC’s name.
“JC! JC! JC!”
“Ooooo, they’re ganging up ya man!” Joked Joey.
“Fuck.” He mumbled under his breath expecting to get attacked by a group of pissed off teenaged girls. “Don’t hurt me! I’m too young to die!” He yelled out as he was covering his head with his hands.
Erika had a smirk on her face as she slowly walked over to where JC was sitting on the sofa and sat on his lap.
“Awwwww, sweetie, you think that little ol’ me is gonna hurt you?” She was using her large brown eyes to her advantage and caressing JC’s hair.
“You’re ready to kill aren’t you?” JC said in a shaky voice.
The girls all giggled and Erika jumped off from JC’s lap.
“No silly, we just had an idea.”
“Okkkkk.”
“Are you guys planning on having back up dancers on this tour?”
“No.”
“Ok, well, now you do.”
“Excuse me?”
“You know that all four of us are dancers. We have seen you practicing. We bothered Wade for hours and I think we know the choreography just as good, if not better than any of you guys.”
“You’re not better than me!” Shouted out Justin
Rachel pushed through the other three girls and came face to face with Justin.
“Excuse me? You are NOT better than we are! Do I have to remind you of that dance off we had at The Edge a few weeks ago? Let’s see if I remember correctly. We were all at a club, with of course your connections to let us in but anyway, it was a girls against guys competition between us if I’m not mistaken. We were wearing what, tight ass leather pants and heels while you were wearing jeans and sneakers? Who won the contest Justin? Who?”
“You did.” He was looking down at the floor ashamed.
“What was that? I couldn’t hear you Justin.”
“I said you girls did.”
“That’s right! Don’t mess with the booty call!” Rachel put her hand up in the air while she danced by herself inching closer and closer to a now petrified Lance.
The guys talked to Liz, Rachel, and Christi’s parents to get the go ahead to allow their precious little girls to travel around the country as back up dancers for Nsync. That evening they were all packing getting ready for two months on the road starting the next morning.
******
EARLY THE NEXT MORNING (4 a.m.)
Everyone went to where a small temporary studio was loading the buses the guys were using while they were in Maryland. Everyone’s parents were there to say their last good-bye and wish their children luck. Everyone’s parents except for Erika’s. That was ok though, well, kinda. She had her second family there.
“Momma!” Yelled out both Erika and Liz as they ran towards Liz’s mom.
“Oh my sweet Jesus! I knew those two were close, but please don’t tell me they’re actually sisters.” Said a horrified Justin
“Calm down curly, they’re not sisters, but they might as well be.” Rachel said as she was patting Justin’s shoulder.
“Momma! Momma! Momma!” They yelled out as they hugged Liz’s mom.
“How are my girls?” She said while taking out a Baskin Robin’s bag.
“Ice Cream! I wanna be Shelly!” Rachel was screaming and everyone was staring.
“Rachel? You wanna be a dog?”
“Yea, Liz’s parents get the dog ice cream. The dog! My parents don’t ever get me ice cream. The dog gets more love than I do. The dog!”
“Rachel hunny, don’t worry, I brought you and the girls ice cream.”
“Hehehe, I love you momma.”
Liz’s mom walked around meeting the guys that were gonna spend the next few months with her “daughters”.
“So are you those cute guys of 98 Degrees?”
"Um, no ma’am, we’re NSYNC.”
“Ooooo, big difference. You would be?”
“My name is Justin.”
“Nice to meet you Justin. You seem like a nice enough guy, I don’t think I have to give you the speech.”
“What speech? The don’t sleep with my daughter speech?”
“No. The protect my girls speech. Are you sleeping with my daughter?”
“What?! No!”
Lance spoke up for the first time that morning, “Yo Liz, I like your mom. She should be the sixth member of NSYNC.”
Liz’s mom went into announcer mode, “And now welcome Justin, Chris, Joey, Lance, JC and the newest member, Mickey! Together known as NSYNCM!”
They all started laughing and she handed out the treats she had bought them all.
“Liz, here’s your cookie dough ice cream. Erika, here’s your mint chocolate chip, Christy I got you cookies n’ cream, and Rachel here is your coffee ice cream. I got you guys some stuff too. Here are some cookies.” She handed all of the guys cookies except for Justin.
“Um, Mrs. Liz’s mom, ma’am where is my cookie?”
“Oh um, well you get...” She was desperately looking through her bag to see if she had brought and extra piece of gum or something. “You get this straw.”
“No! That’s mine!” Liz reached over snatching the straw out of her mother’s hand and instinctively began to chew it.
“But...but...that was MY straw. I don’t even get a cookie, and straw gets taken away from me.”
“Awwwww, it’s ok, let’s see what else I have in here.” Again, she seeks through her Baskin Robin’s bag; “you get this shinny spoon.”
“A spoon?” He takes it and is marveled over how shiny it is.
“I got a cookie and you didn’t.” JC taunted Justin as he waved his cookie in front of his band mates face. “My cookie!” Justin yelled out like a little child, much like Chris would do.
JC pulls the cookie away and begins licking the cookie purposefully showing Justin can no longer eat it.
“It’s all right. It’s still good; I’ll eat it.” JC begins slobbering on it with a drop of drool falling from the corners of his mouth.
“A little spit won’t hurt me.”
JC accidentally drops the cookie on the ground and begins to pout.
Justin shouts out excitedly, “Five-second rule!” He leans over, picks up the cookie, and eats it.
“Eww that’s nasty man!” JC looked at his former best friend in disgust.
“Wuf? Five fecond rule. Ish still good.” Justin spat cookie crumbs everywhere as she spoke.
A few minutes later everyone had said their goodbyes and got onto the buses.
“Ok people, time to pick rooms! I pick first!” JC announced.
“Fine, whatever man.” Joey said as he got up the steps and walked behind JC.
JC opened the first door that he came up to and claimed it as his room. All the bedrooms on each side of the hall connect so Erika occupied the next room over, followed by Justin, then Liz, and lastly Christy. On the other side of the hall, were Rachel, Lance, Joey, and Chris’ rooms. Also connected. Everyone unpacked and walked around the tour bus to “explore”, of course the exploration only lasted a maximum of five minutes, because it all ended when they came up to the back room and movies. The buses started up and they made their way to the first destination of the No Strings Attached tour. The first stop was Houston, Texas and the drivers said they would arrive there around six o’clock the next morning. The girls were sitting on the couch busy doing each other’s nails as the boys were sitting in front of the television playing video games. At around midnight the girls decided to go back to their rooms to go to sleep.
JC waited for the girls to close their doors before he began talking.
“Hey, Justin? Is there anything going on between you and Erika?”
“Huh? What, no. No there is nothing going on between us. Why?”
“Oh, no reason.”
It was one in the morning when the guys retreated to bed. On the way to his room, JC passed Erika’s room and was surprised as to what he heard. He heard singing coming from inside.
I never knew she could sing. He thought to himself. She had such a smooth and soothing voice. JC sat outside her door all night listening to her voice.
******
The door to Erika’s room went flying open and JC fell back looking up at Erika.
“Good morning JC.”
“Uh, hi.”
“Can I help you?”
“No, Why?”
“Cause you were sitting outside my door.”
“Oh that, um, I was, uh...”
“Forget it; let’s go have breakfast.”
They walked side by side to the backroom to have breakfast. There was a large round table in the corner set up with coffee, tea, cereal, and muffins.
“Ok, it’s really early so I might just be seeing things, but did you just give Liz coffee?!” Erika was screaming at Chris.
“Yea...why?”
“YOU ARE SO STUPID!”
“What does coffee do to her?”
“I don’t know, I was never stupid enough to give her real coffee. By now you should know Liz, she is naturally hyper.”
Liz walked back into the room with the coffee in hand. “Hey guys whats up?”
“Are you feeling ok?” Lance asked scared that she was going to act like some rabid animal.
“Yea, I’m fine.”
“I’m scared. She’s normal and calm.” Justin leaned over and hugged Christy.
Christy’s face turned bright red, “Let’s give Liz coffee more often.”
Chris began speaking again. “So does caffeine give her like an opposite reaction or something?”
“My guess is this is the calm before the storm.” Just as Erika finished saying that Liz’s left eye began twitching and she slurred her words.
“I don’t know wath you guyth are talking about buth I feel fine.”* twitch twitch* “I gotta go.” Liz turned around and bolted out of the room. She ran out of the bus and everyone went over and looked out the windows. The bus was filled with laughter at the sight of Liz running through the parking lot screaming, “Beware of the penguins! They'll eat your soul!”