"Ow! Shit woman, what was that for?" Joey yelped, his hand covering his cheek bone that was swelling rapidly.
Rachel carefully examined her now bruised knuckles, "Oohh, that's gonna leave a mark.." she trailed off before looking back up at Joey. Shrugging, she answered his question. "You surprised me...I don't like surprises." she said simply.
Joey stood there flabergasted, unsure of what to say as the rest of Eternity and N Sync, along with Johnny entered the lounge.
"Dude?! What happened to your eye?" Chris laughed as they noticed Joey's eye becoming black and blue.
Joey's face turned crimson as he muttered his reply. "Uh, I wasn't watching where I was going and ran into the clothes rack in the hallway."
"Yeah, sure...and which clothes rack would that be?" JC asked curiously, smirking. Turning to Justin, he asked jokingly.."I didn't see a clothes rack in the hall, did you man?"
"Nooo, not that I remember." Justin said thoughtfully, smiling back at JC.
"Are you SURE it was a clothes rack...or was it more in the form of a tall blonde's fist?" Chris asked, laughing as he pointed at Rachel's bruised hand.
"Ok guys, enough joking. Joey, whatever happened...don't let it happen again. If any fans ask, you turned around and bumped it on the clothes rack, ok?" Johnny instructed. "Rachel, after you guys finish, get some ice on that hand. I don't know WHAT would possess you to do such a thing, in fact, I probably don't WANT to know. In any case, it's not to occur again. Got it?"
Rachel and Joey both nodded silently, avoiding each other's eyes.
"Now, first I have some news for you guys. An after party has been planned for tonight, and you all will be required to make an appearance." Johnny looked at Jordan. "I do realize you have friends here in LA that you wanted to spend time with, but there's nothing I can do. If you would like, I can supply them with transportation and a VIP pass to the club. Immediately following the party, which is going to be held at the Key Club, we will head to the hotel." Jordan nodded silently, disappointed that she wouldn't get to spend much time with her friends.
Leigh's expression grew thoughtful as she interrupted, "The hotel??? Don't we have to leave in order to get to San Francisco for our show tomorrow?"
"How did I know you would ask that.." Johnny smiled at her before continuing. "I was just getting to that. We had to postpone the San Francisco show because you girls were invited to appear on Jay Leno tomorrow night."
"Ohmygod!" Tressa squealed. "You aren't serious?! That's awesome!"
"That is so great...are you serious?" Leigh asked excitedly.
"As serious as I ever get...congratulations. I'm very proud of you all." Johnny grinned widely. "But for now, we have a show to get started.." he trailed off as the two groups got serious for a short prayer and then filed out of the lounge toward the stage entrance.
***
Jordan clutched the microphone, and gently tucked her long brown hair behind her ear as strains of "How Could You Go" began playing. Looking out into the audience, she skillfully avoided the gaze of her father, who had made good use of his VIP tickets and was standing amongst the adolescents in the front row.
Finishing the song, the five girls stood up and smiled brightly. "Thanks ya'll!" Ashlee said as she waved, looking down at the young man standing near the security guards on the right side of the stage. Winking at Tyler, she smiled brightly as he waved at her shyly. Then, bowing together, the five girls ran offstage quickly.
***
"Holy crap!!" Val said to Jordan as they looked out the window of the limo. Eternity's limo was pulling up behind N Sync's at the Key Club, and the mob of fans outside was enormous. "This sucks! I'll have to throw down just to get near JC!"
"Um..girl...I think you're forgetting something." Jordan said pointedly.
"What's that?"
"Um...you have already MET JC...he's not scared of you...YET. Although he damn well should be." Jordan laughed. "So that's one reason why it won't suck. Plus, I am almost positive that he would rather dance with someone like YOU...rather than someone like...THEM." She said, pointing out the window at a girl holding up a sign that said "JC I want to see your 'Big Daddy'!".
"Yeah...although I like the way that girl thinks." Val joked, laughing as Jordan rolled her eyes.
"I know you do woman, and that's what scares me."
Jordan said, smiling as the girls got out of the limo and began walking behind N Sync into the club.
***
Jordan Knight's song, "Give It To You" blared from the speakers at the club as N Sync and Eternity made their way onto the stage. "Wasup wasup wasup ya'll?" Justin shouted into the mic, raising the roof to the beat of the music.
Handing the mic to Johnny, Justin stepped to the side, walking up behind Jordan as he began grinding to the song. Jordan laughed and turned around, swatting him gently. "Would you go away?" she said playfully.
Justin grinned and gave her an innocent stare, "What?" he asked, "You don't like dancing?" he winked at her and pulled her close. Glancing nervously at Johnny, Jordan relaxed slightly, realizing he was busy explaining the rules and wasn't paying attention to Justin's antics.
***
'Honestly! What would he want with a tramp like her?' Tressa fumed as she watched Tyler whisper in Ashlee's ear while the two danced close out on the floor.
Catching Tressa's intense stare, Ashlee smiled smugly. 'Looks like somebody's jealous...again. Well, I might as well have some fun with it...' she thought to herself as she smiled at Tyler and kissed him gently on the cheek before glancing back at Tressa.
"That BITCH!" Tressa said loudly, startling Chris, who was sitting next to her.
"What?" he asked, confused as Tressa shoved her chair back and stomped onto the dance floor toward Ashlee and Tyler.