***
"Ohmygod. I am so freakin exhausted girl." Leigh said as she walked beside Jordan into the hotel. "What time is it again?"
"It's like 1:30. Woman, you did some serious booty shakin in there...with Lance. What's up with you two anyhow?" Jordan asked, raising a curious eyebrow at her friend.
Leigh's eyes glittered with happiness at the mention of Lance's name. Although he had stalked away from her early in the evening to go goof around with the guys, later on he kept close tabs on her, not leaving her side. "You aren't the only one who can have secrets...so I'm not tellin!" Leigh smiled and winked playfully at the brunette.
"No FAIR!"
"That's what you get!" Leigh laughed, sticking her tongue out at Jordan, and bounding into the elevator as it was shutting. Jordan and a bodyguard stood silent as the doors closed in front of Leigh's jubilant face.
Pressing the button for the next available elevator, Jordan glanced around the lobby. Smiling at the few fans who had followed them from the Key Club, she waved slightly. Her bodyguard shifted toward Jordan protectively as a young girl ran up to her.
"Hi sweetie!" Jordan said, kneeling down to the young girl's height. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" she questioned, laughing as the little girl shook her head quickly.
"We're waiting for N Sync.." the young girl said shyly, avoiding Jordan's eyes.
"Oh you are?! Well, if they aren't here already, they will be coming in just a few minutes. Who's your favorite N Syncer?" Jordan asked gently.
"I love Justin, he's my favorite." she stated, blushing slightly. Then, her blue eyes piercing Jordan's hazel ones, she asked bluntly, "Is Justin your boyfriend?"
Jordan sat silent, not knowing what to say, and before she could reply, Joey bounded into the hotel...the rest of the guys close behind him.
The little girl ran back to her mom and big sister as the elevator door opened, and Jordan, along with her bodyguard, disappeared into it. Lingering in the lobby, N Sync greeted their fans before heading upstairs as well.
***
"Party over here!" Rachel said, bursting into N Sync's hotel room.
"What the hell? How can you still be so hyper dude? It's like 2 am!" JC asked from his position on the couch.
"Hmm..let's see. I've had a little too much caffiene, we don't have a show tomorrow, and we're in LA baby!" the tall blonde plopped down on the couch next to JC. "So wake up boy! You're 23, not 93!"
"Oh yeah, well what if we want to get some rest?" Justin asked curiously, winking at Chris as he laughed, waiting for Rachel's reaction. He knew better than to argue with Rach when she wanted to party.
"Then we're gonna take you ALL on!" Rach growled in her best Ozzy Osborne impression.
"Hey you stole my line!" Chris protested, laughing.
Rachel shrugged, "It sounds better when I say it!"
"Yeah, sure..uh huh." Chris rolled his eyes at the blonde as she giggled.
"So what should we do?" Jordan asked the five guys who were lounging around the main room of the suite. Before anyone could answer, there was a knock at the door. Wandering over to see who could be at the door, Lance looked through the peep hole.
Turning back to the room full of people, he grinned widely. "It's Leigh and Ashlee, should we let them in?" he said, looking pointedly at Tyler, who blushed at the mention of Ashlee's name.
"Why not...how could anyone be MORE annoying than Rachel?" JC teased. "Let em in.."
Opening the door to allow the two girls in, Lance and Leigh exchanged brief, but noticeable smiles. 'Aww what cuties together!' Jordan thought, seeing the look her best friend was giving Lance. "What's that?" she asked aloud, pointing to the thick manila envelope in Leigh's hand. Snatching it away from Leigh before she could answer, Jordan whispered in her friend's ear, "Thought you were tired?", then winked to show she was teasing.
"Those are the pictures from the photo shoot in Phoenix. We finally snatched them out from under Donna and Johnny's nose! I don't know why they didn't ever show them to us back in Arizona, maybe they wanted to go through them and decide first. The pictures are soooo cute though!" Ashlee said excitedly as Jordan pulled open the tabs and removed the pictures from the envelope.
Spreading the pictures out on the large coffee table, the guys gathered around Jordan, Rachel, and Val to take a look. Leigh and Ashlee, who had already looked at the photos, relaxed on the couch. "Oh hey, where's Tressa?" Val asked curiously.
"Sleeping. I don't know what her problem is...PMS or something." Leigh stated simply.
"Chronic PMS you mean..." Ashlee mumbled to herself before breaking into a wide smile. "So Val are you gonna stay with us tonight...or..?"
"Yep! Jordan talked to Johnny earlier and asked if I could travel with you guys up to San Fransisco too, since I would love to go to that show as well. He said that was fine...if it's ok with all of ya'll." Val said, locking her gaze on JC, who was engrossed in the photos.
"Ohh yeah that's cool. I just wondered." Ashlee said, distracted as Tyler sat down beside her on the plush couch.
***
"Check out this picture girl! It's so adorable!" Jordan said, holding up one of Rachel and Joey in their similar outfits. Joey was standing next to Rachel, looking into the camera, dumbfounded. Rachel was facing Joey and rolling her eyes, the camera catching her exasperated look perfectly.
Joey smiled from behind Jordan as he looked down at the picture. "God Rach, it caught the expression you ALWAYS give Joey! Ya know, that 'get away from me you idiot' kinda look." Lance laughed, avoiding Joey's pissed off gaze.
"What about this one?" JC asked, gingerly picking up a photo of Jordan and Justin. The photo had captured them in the exact moment that Justin had kissed her gently on the cheek. Jordan was facing the camera, smiling brightly, her eyes twinkling with happiness that was evident even in the glossy photograph as Justin's lips touched her cheek, his blue eyes closed. Jordan blushed as she looked at it, recalling that Johnny had ended the shoot shortly after that incident. "Isn't that just the cutest thing?" JC said sarcastically before putting the photo down and walking away, leaving everyone else in shock.
"What's his problem?" Chris asked, annoyed at JC's rudeness.
"Well I think ya'll look cute." Lance stated in a slight drawl, picking the photo up again and examining it.
"But not as cute as THIS picture!" Rachel grinned mischeviously as she found exactly what she was looking for. Reaching out, she grabbed a photo of Lance and Leigh. "Did I miss this moment or WHAT?!" she laughed, pointing. Lance looked down curiously at the picture Rachel held in her hand before blushing a bright red. Glancing at Leigh, he noticed her face was also turning a vibrant shade of crimson as she realized what photo they were talking about.
"Lancey, Lancey, Lancey...what ARE we going to do with you? You pimp daddy you!" Chris teased, glancing down at the photo. "You have some explaining to do mister! Now there's no avoiding the questions...we have proof of your interest."
"And boy do we have proof.." Rachel trailed off, smiling up at Lance as she taunted him with the picture.