Chapter 21
Shannon looked up towards Amber’s window and saw them looking out. Everyone got out of the car and headed into the house, being greeted by the two girls. Michael-Shannon was smiling from ear to ear as she said hello to Lance, Joey, Justin, and Chris. "Hey, there’s only four of you! Where is JC at?," she asked them, looking around. Shannon moved her way towards the front of the guys, who were all standing in front of her. "He is at home. He is producing his girlfriends record and they couldn’t take time off of work." She smiled and Amber broke through the conversation. "Hey Shannie, I have to show all of you guys something." She led everyone upstairs to her room, but told everyone except Shannon to wait in the hall. She followed the girls into the room, and Ryan was sitting there. "Oh, hey Ryan! What are you doing here?" He looked at her and smiled, "I heard that Justin was in town, so I wanted to meet him. Is that alright?" Shannon nodded her head, "I didn’t want many knowing that they were in town, but a lot of people found out tonight anyways, so its cool. Just don’t scare the poor guy!" Finally, Amber let the guys into her room, and Justin stood there and stared. "Holy shit I’m looking in a mirror!," he yelled in a whisper. Ryan just smiled and struck a conversation with him.
By the time the night was over and Michael-Shannon and Ryan had to leave, Ryan had already showed off his dancing ability. Justin laughed, "Well, when they make a big motion picture for us, I know who my stand-in is going to be!" Before they could leave, almost a roll of film was used up on everyone. Shannon couldn’t go anywhere without her camera, and she took pictures of everything. Ryan and Michael-Shannon got ready to leave, "Don’t worry, I’ll send you guys these pictures," she said as they got into Michael-Shannon’s very small car.
They made their way back up to Amber’s room and Shannon told her that they were going to be leaving in the morning to go back to Florida. "Aww, how come?," she asked her, sticking her bottom lip out like she always did. Justin chirped in, "I’m getting a little homesick myself. But don’t worry, we’ll come back up." They all crashed for the night, getting plenty of rest for the long day that was ahead of them.
Morning come around and Lance was the first one to wake up. He gently shook Shannon awake, which was a big mistake; no one ever wakes her up before she is ready to. "Hey, can we go see Mandi today? I want to see her one last time before we leave." Shannon just mumbled a yes and told him to go back to sleep.
A few hours later, everyone was awake and ready to go. Amber and Shannon said their sad good-byes, and promised to keep in touch, and soon, they were on their way again. "Don’t forget to go to Mandi’s house," Lance told Shannon from the backseat. They pulled up to her house and got out. Luckily, her and Tracy were awake when they got there. Mandi and Tracy were happy to see Joey and Lance again. "Hey girls, better make this a good visit! We are going to be heading home later today," Chris told them through his still sleepy eyes. For some reason, he didn’t sleep very well the night before. Something really seemed to be bothering him, but no one was awake for him to talk to. Everyone went into the living room and sat down together, chatting away. Chris dragged himself in there, but Shannon put her hand on his shoulder. "Something is bothering you. Do you want to go outside and talk about it?" He gave her a half smile and walked outside with her. They made their way outside and Shannon looked at him, "Okay, what’s up? Something is really bothering you, I can tell. You didn’t sleep well last night and you haven’t been your jumpy, energetic self lately." Chris looked at her dead in the eyes, "Yeah, something is, but I don’t know whether I should really tell you." Shannon gave him a confused look, "But why? We are friends, what would it hurt?" He let out a deep breath, "I’m afraid it will hurt Justin." Shannon stepped back a little bit, "Why? What about Justin?" Now he wouldn’t look at her in the eyes, "Its not about Justin, its about what he has." Shannon stepped forward so that Chris would be looking into her eyes, "What do you mean ‘what he has’? I don’t think I quite understand." Chris’s eyes became a bit watery, "I didn’t think you would." She quietly sighed, "He has something that you want? Is that what it is about?" He just nodded his head. "So what does he have that you want?" He looked her straight in the eyes again, his face streaming with tears, "You."
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