Izzy walked around the house trying to figure out her feelings. Maybe she should quit the group, or rather being Joey's assistant, it was just causing way too many distractions and complications. Maybe she could go back to Edwards and finish the summer hanging out with Greg, he was stable and she knew where she stood with him. Last night flashed back into her mind, with her and JC’s talk. The point where they almost kissed, not like they never kissed before it was just that now there was something more. Hell they even had an actual conversation and a good one at that. Izzy looked at the clock, the boys would be back soon from their rehearsal for the awards show. She wasn’t ready yet to handle them, or mainly see JC. So Izzy picked up her keys to her car and decided to go for a drive. She drove around for a while ending up at the local high school. Completely deserted because it was summertime. She parked outside the football field and got out. It was one of her favorite hangouts. Joey's too until he moved to Orlando. They had sat there so many times to get away from everything; it was usually so quiet and peaceful. She climbed to the top of the bleachers and laid down staring at the sky.
“Izzy?” Joey called, but there was no response. He quickly ran upstairs and checked her room only to find it empty. He came back downstairs, “She’s not here.” He became a little worried; it wasn’t like Izzy to leave without a note or something.
“We were supposed to meet her here right?” Justin asked him.
“Yeah, I didn’t even tell her where we were going.” Joey glanced out the window and noticed that her car was missing. “I guess she’s off somewhere, cause her car’s gone.” Joey mentioned.
“That’s kind of rude, we came all the way here to get her and she takes off?” JC said disappointed that her wouldn’t be able to see her.
“Nah, she probably ran into one of her sorority girls again and is out with them.” Lance said.
“Yeah, I did talk to her when she was half asleep this morning she probably didn’t even remember talking to me.”
“Whatever let’s go eat.”
“Hey Joey where’s Izzy?” Justin asked after he put his stuff in the limo.
“I don’t know, she’s still not home. This is so unlike her. Izzy never leaves without telling someone where she’s going.”
“Did you call her cell?”
“Yeah but she’s not answering.”
One of the bodyguards told them to hurry up and get their stuff in the limo. So they did and shortly after went and moved into the hotel. They had a bunch of interviews and meetings that they had to go to. Joey would call Izzy every chance her would get. He was really worried about Izzy.
The elevator doors opened and Izzy walked out of them and she saw Joey sitting on the floor. He looked up and jumped out of his position and ran to her.
“Izzy, you’re back! Are you okay? Where have you been?” Joey asked frantically.
“Whoa, slow down, I’m fine Joey.” He hugged her and then stepped back with a stern look on his face.
“Where the hell were you, Izzy? We’ve all been worried sick, first you disappear without a trace and you don’t answer you phone. God I thought that you were kidnapped or hurt geez.” Izzy half smiled,
“Joey, I’m fine, really, I just need sometime to myself, that’s all.”
“Why?”
“Well that’s why I’m here,” she handed him a letter, “I’m officially resigning as your personal assistant.”
“What? Is this some kind of sick joke? Was I too hard on you? Or is it that you just want to be on tour with us and not work, because I’m fine with that.”
“It’s not that Joey, I’m quitting and staying in New York or going back to Edward. I’m not going back on tour with you guys, I’m sorry.”
“What?” Joey practically yelled, “Izzy if this one of your sick jokes, I’m not liking it and I want you to stop.”
“I’m not joking. I’m dead serious.”
“Yeah right, come on where’s everyone?” Joey asked looking around, “Come on! Jokes over! Come on out and laugh at me!” he yelled.
“Joey, stop, it’s not at joke, read my letter, it’s completely legit.” Joey took a minute and his face fell more and more with every sentence he read. Finally he looked at her,
“No.”
“What?”
“I won’t let you quit.”
“Joey, you can’t-“
“No! I’m not accepting your resignation, Isabella!”
“Too bad Joseph you have too! I’m leaving right now!”
“No you have to give me two weeks notice!”
“No, I’m leaving right now, you don’t need me.”
“Is that what this is about? You think that you’re not needed? God, Izzy I need you so much!”
“No, it has nothing to do with that! Forget it, I have to go.” She turned to leave and Joey ran up, grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder and marched into his room. Izzy screamed and kicked the entire way. He threw her onto his bed and put himself between her and the door.
“Now you are not leaving here and you are coming on tour with us, clear?”
“No, you can’t make me go, that’s kidnapping!”
“Then call the police.” He said and chucked his phone at her.
“Argh! Why are you so stubborn!” She said and slapped the bed with both hands.
“Because you’re my best friend and I’m not letting you go with out a fight!”
“There is no fight! I’m leaving, simple as that!”
“Why?”
“Because, it’s just not working out for me.”
“What’s not working out for you?”
“This, all of this life style, I can’t live on four hours a night and the constant going, it’s affecting my health.”
“Bullshit, Izzy that’s not the reason!”
“Then what, oh omnipotent one, is my reason?”
“I don’t know! I just know that that’s not the reason!”
“Oh geez, that was an insight!”
“God, were you always this bitchy?”
“Were you always this stubborn? Get out of my way, I have stuff to do at home!” She got up from the bed and started for the door, Joey stood in her way,
“You’re not leaving until you say that you’re going to stay!”
“I don’t have to give you anything, Fatone!”
“Who are you, I feel like I don’t even know you anymore!”
“Well, six years apart might have something to do with that!”
“Oh, don’t blame that on me Izzy!”
“Oh, cause I’m the one who joined a group, traveled all over the world and barely called or visited, hmmm.” She said tapping a finger on her mouth.
“That wasn’t my fault, plus you said that you were happy for me!”
“That’s because I thought it wouldn’t last! But boy you had to prove me wrong didn’t you?”
“Izzy.”
“What Joey? No, you know what fuck it, I’m going!” She tried to push pass him but he held her back.
“No, not till you say that you’re going to stay.”
“Move Joey.”
“What do I have to do to get you to stay? Better hours? Done. More pay? I’ll double what you get now. Do you want your own bus? I’ll give you anything if would just stay, please Izzy.”
“I don’t want you money, I don’t want better hours or my own bus. I just can’t do this anymore.”
“Come on, two weeks, double pay, only eight hours a day, any eight. Please, just don’t go.” Izzy looked away, she couldn’t take his eyes.
“Why do you want me to stay so badly?” She asked quietly.
“Maybe because I haven’t had my best friend around for six years and ever since you’ve been here I don’t know how I ever lived without you.” Izzy closed her eyes not wanting to cry, how could she say no to something like that.
“Fine,” she said slowly, “I’ll stay.”
“Really?” She looked at him and smiled,
“Yeah,” She sighed, “so I guess I’d better go get my stuff, huh?”
“Yeah you should or else you’ll be running around here naked, not that we’d mind.” He joked and Izzy playfully poked his side and rolled her eyes. Joey put an arm around her shoulders and they walked out of his room. “So you really didn’t think this would go anywhere?”
“Yeah, I thought it was another one of your hair brained schemes.”
“This was actually Chris’s hair brained scheme.”
“Really, Chris thought all of this up?”
“Well not all of it, but most of it.”
“So where are all of the guys?”
“Got me, they were around before.”
“Kay, well, I’ll be back in a few, okay?” Joey gave her a look.
“Joey, I promise I’ll come back, don’t worry.” She said and hugged him,
“Kay, see you in a few.”
Izzy walked down to the elevator and it opened as she got there. A surprised JC was on the other side. An awkward silence happened between them,
“Uh hi, Izzy.”
“Hey JC.” Izzy replied trying to play it cool and stepped onto the elevator.
“Um, where are you going?”
“My house, I forgot some things.”
“Oh well, yeah, guess I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah, okay.” JC paused like he was going to say something but he didn’t and got off the elevator.
He walked down the hall deep in thought till Lance called his name.
“Jace!”
“Huh? Oh hey Lance.”
“Hey was that Izzy who just left?”
“Yeah why?”
“Was Joey with her?”
“No, she was by herself, what’s up?” Lance shook his head sadly.
“Izzy quit tonight.”
“What?”
“She came here and gave Joey a letter of resignation. He was furious and they got into a huge fight about it. They were screaming in the hall, I was sitting in my room and heard the whole thing.”
“No, Izzy just said that she was going home because she forgot some of her things, she was coming back. Izzy would never quit.”
“Yeah well, I don’t know what that was about but from the sound of their fight she really wanted to quit. She turned down, double the pay and better hours even.”
“Why would Izzy want to leave?”
“She said something about how being on tour was too hard on her. Joey tried with all his might to make her stay but she wouldn’t budge.”
“Wow, I thought that she was so happy on tour with us.”
“I know, a couple of days ago she told me how much she liked being on tour with us and not having to live at home. I just can’t understand what would make her change her mind in such a short amount of time.”
“Yeah, I know.” JC’s mind wandered to last night on the deck, he knew that he felt something more for Izzy than what they were. He hoped that he wasn’t the reason that she wanted to leave.
“Joey I told you that I was coming back, don’t you trust me?”
“Yeah, but it just took you a really long time and I was just getting a little worried that you had changed your mind.”
“Sorry, Greg called me, so I ended up talking to him for a while.”
“Ahh, how is old Greggy-boy?”
“Not too bad, he said he had a pretty nasty cold and it sounded pretty nasty too, but other than that he’s fine and dandy.”
“Good, well I’m beat and now that you’re back safe and sound I can get some rest.” Izzy rolled her eyes at him.
“Whatever, Fatone, good night.”
“Good night Izzy.” He said kissing her on the cheek and bouncing off to his room.
Izzy slowly walked to her room and let herself in. She sighed and dropped her bag on the floor as she closed the door behind her. She turned on a lamp beside her bed.
“So where you ever going to say good-bye?” Izzy jumped five feet in the air and turned to see JC sitting in a chair in the corner of her room.
“Jesus JC, you scared me half to death! What the hell are you doing here?”
“Wondering if you were going to come back.”
“What are you talking about?”
“How you walked right past me and didn’t bother to tell me that you quit.”
“JC, I didn’t quit, I wouldn’t be here if I did. Even so, why would you care?”
“Well, we are sleeping together so I hope you would at least tell me so that I would know that I’d have to line up another source of action.” He joked. She smiled, happy that the other night hadn’t really changed things between them.
“Like you could get another source of action, the only reason I have sex with you is because I pity you.” She retorted walking over to where he was sitting and crossing her arms.
“Ahh, so this is like community service for you then?” He reached for her and pulled her onto his lap.
“Oh yeah, I mean if you think about it, the only people who want to have sex with you are little thirteen year olds and we all know that’s illegal, so in a way I’m saving you too.”
“Well you’re just going for sainthood, aren’t you?”
“Not completely, I don’t think saints are allowed to do what we’re going to do.”
“And what would that be?” he asked wiggling he eyebrows.
“Why don’t you turn off that lamp and let me show you.” JC reached for the lamp as Izzy kissed his neck and then there was a knock on her door. They both froze,
“Izzy? It’s Lance can I talk to you?” Izzy lifted her head and JC shook his head no,
“Just ignore him, he doesn’t know that you’re here.” He whispered to her and Izzy said,
“I can’t.” Then she yelled out, “Hold on, I’ll be right there!” JC groaned and Izzy got up off of him and pushed him down to the floor, “Just lie down still and don’t make any noise.” She whispered and JC just rolled his eyes at her but did as he was told. She raced across the room and answered the door out of breath a little bit, she took a deep breath,
“Hey Lance, what’s up?” She stood by the door and Lance tried to look around it,
“Did I interrupt something? It sounded like you were talking to someone.”
“Um, kind of, but it’s not important. I always have time for you. What did you want to talk to me about?”
“Um, well, I kind of heard you and Joey in the hall and I was worried about you leaving…”
“Lance I’m not leaving, don’t worry. For some reason I just can’t stay away from you guys.”
“Oh, good, cause I’d really miss you.” He said gently.
“I’d miss you too Lance, you and that cute little mug of yours.” She said playfully and gently pinched his cheek. Lance reached up and touched her hand. He didn’t push it away but kind of held it there. After a few seconds, Izzy gently pulled it away, “Is there anything else you wanted to ask me, Lance?”
“Oh,” He paused, “Um, yeah, I just wanted to know…well you see we have that award show this weekend and well I don’t know if anyone has asked you, but would you possibly want to go with me? You know as my date, but it doesn’t have to be a date, I mean just like friends, you know.” He said shyly, shifting his weight nervously and Izzy smiled at him,
“Lance, I would love to be your date, you’re lucky I got a dress just in case.” She said with a wink.
“Oh, that’s great, that’s great. Okay well I guess I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing, goodnight Izzy.”
“Good night Lance.” She hugged him and dropped a kiss on his cheek. Lance left and she closed her door. Izzy turned around and said, “Okay it’s clear.” JC slowly got up from behind the bed.
“That was an interesting conversation.” He said and walked over to her.
“Why do you care?”
“I don’t, I just didn’t think you liked Lance like that.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Please, I saw you two.”
“If I didn’t know any better I’d say that you were jealous.”
“I’m not, trust me. So you’re going to go to the award show with Lance?” he said with a touch of resentfulness in his voice,
“It wasn’t like you were going to ask me.”
“I don’t know maybe I was, we have been getting along lately.” He retorted and Izzy burst out laughing,
“Yeah right, that would have been a good one, everyone would probably think that we went insane.”
“Since when do you care what everyone thinks about you?”
“I don’t. So,” Izzy said changing the subject, “where were we?” She slid her hands up his chest and strung them around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. JC dodged her lips a couple of times and shook his head,
“It’s my show tonight.” He whispered before going for her neck.
“Let the show go on.” She said and JC took over from there. He roughly undid her pants and pushed them down, Izzy quickly kicked them away. JC then shoved her away and she fell back onto the bed. She looked at him with a strange look and he advanced upon her. He had a different look in his eyes that kind of scared her; it was a little bit of anger there. He flipped her and bent her over the edge of the bed. This was a different side of Josh that Izzy wasn’t used to; he was so forceful and direct. It was a complete turn on for her and she begged for more. He undid his pants and unleashed himself fully on her riding her doggie style, smashing her hips into the side of the bed.
“Oh, God.” Was that she was able to get out; he was filling her so deeply it was amazing. She didn’t even mind the pain coming from her hips. JC started thrusting harder the closer he got, he grunted with each one. Finally he came which sent Izzy over the edge. Her body trembled beneath him as he collapsed on top of her enjoying the feeling of her orgasm. They laid there for a few minutes till JC got up abruptly and zipped his pants.
“See you later.” Was all he said before he left. Izzy slid off the bed and sat on the floor completely exhausted. JC was such a roller coaster ride sometimes, his moods switched with a flick of a switch. She wondered why he left so abruptly as he did.