
chapter two
After the rehearsals, the guys were informed that they were to go to the studio right away to have a meeting with the tour managers and Johnny Wright.
Aurora was extra pleased when she was told that she had to drive to Monique’s house to drop her off before going home.
“I’ll see you two tomorrow!” Monique called with a smile and a wave as she unlocked her door and entered her house.
Justin watched her dark body disappear into the blackness of her front entrance, then reappear when she turned on the light and finally disappear one last time when she close the front door. He sighed. Whenever Monique wasn’t with him, he began to ache to see and talk to her. Even if she’d be right there, only a fifteen-minute walk from his own house.
“Do you like her?” Justin asked his sibling for at least the millionth time since he and Monique had been dating.
“Of course I do!” Aurora exclaimed. “I love her! She’s so cool!”
Justin smiled. It was really weird, because for some strange reason, when Aurora didn’t like a girl he brought home, or felt uneasy around her, Justin found that in the end, he hated that girl anyway. She would only end up using him for money and fame. All she loved was his image as a pop idol. If Aurora felt that a girl that he brought home was nice, he’d end up finding that the girl cared for him, but that they didn’t end up sharing the same feelings in the end.
Justin leaned back in his seat, remembering the day that he brought Monique over to his house for the first time. Aurora had been there, and after he dropped Monique off, Aurora said, “Wow, Justin, you have to ask her out! She’s awesome!” Justin had had a really good feeling about Monique from then on. And from time to time, he’d ask what Aurora thought of her. The answer was always a positive one, full of energy and excitement.
“Maybe something really great will work out,” Justin thought. “Maybe Monique is the one.”
The thought made Justin smile. He could just see him self right now, at this moment, asking Monique if she’d marry him.
“We’re home!” Aurora announced. “Can I come with you to the meeting?”
“I dunno, Johnny said it was really important. That probably means it’s gonna be boring.”
“Alright, can I stay the night at your place?” Aurora asked. “Unless you and Monique are getting together later and wanting to do something alone.”
“Nope, I don’t have any plans what so ever, so you can stay the night as long as it’s alright with Mom,” Justin agreed. He liked coming home from work to just sit and chat or watch a movie or do whatever with his sister. He always had.
“Okay, I’ll just hang out inside until you get back!” Aurora hopped out of the car.
“I’m not leaving ‘til you phone Mom,” Justin told her.
“Okay, okay!”
Aurora phoned their mom and was given permission to stay the night at Justin’s house as long as she wasn’t late for school the next day. That’s when Justin remembered it was Sunday and began to wonder what Johnny had called a big meeting for on a Sunday evening.
J.C. gazed at a picture of Amy. She had been gone for so long. He couldn’t wait for her to come back home.
“Only two more days!” he told him self as he took a quick glance at the calendar.
He was exceedingly relieved when Amy had agreed to go on tour with the guys. He didn’t know what he’d do without her if she didn’t come on the three-month journey across America, Canada and all over Europe. She’d only been out of town for a business conference for five days, and he missed her terribly.
He leaned back and the clock caught his eye.
“Whoa! I only have twenty minutes to get to the studio!” J.C. lurched from his chair, quickly slipped a pair of runners on and grabbed a jacket from the entrance closet before galloping out the door and speeding off in his car.
Lance checked his watch for the gazillionth time. J.C. and Justin were both three minutes late. It only worried him because J.C. was late. That was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for J.C. He was the very definition of punctuality. The door opened and Lance spun around in his chair. It was Justin.
“Hey guys sorry I’m late!” Justin greeted them all quickly before taking a seat. It didn’t even take him two seconds before he asked, “Where’s Jace?”
“Right here!” a voice announced as the door clicked shut.
Lance was relieved that J.C. made it.
“Everybody sing it now! What we need is more punctuality, more punctuality, more punctuality!” Chris waved his hands in the air, conducting his one-man choir as he leaned back in his seat. “What we need is more punctuality! We were here on time!”
“And may I remind you who was late for every single other meeting this month?” J.C. asked with a crooked smile.
Chris cocked his head to the side. “I have no idea what on earth you are talking about!”
Lance, Joey and Justin had to laugh.
“I thought being fifteen minutes late was being fashionably late,” Chris glanced at Justin for a little help.
“Only when it comes to women, Chris,” Justin informed him. “You tellin’ us you’re a woman? I think Rebecca is gonna be a little upset about that!”
Chris glared at Justin for burning him like that.
Justin grinned back at him wickedly.
“See if I ever help you out in a situation like this ever again!” Chris muttered.
Just then, Johnny stepped into the room, ending the fiasco. He shuffled through a couple of papers and files on his desk, avoiding as much eye contact as possible with any of the guys. He leafed through the papers until he found the one he was looking for. He glanced around at each *N Sync member before clearing his throat, gathering everyone’s full attention as the tour managers filed into the room and took a couple of seats by Johnny’s desk. Johnny took a deep breath before explaining what might just get the guys not-too-happy with him and the tour managers.
“Guys, we really need to talk about the tour,” Johnny began, his expression looking a slightly worried.
The tour managers were silent, but nodded for him to keep going, as if they had the choice right then and there if they wanted to change what Johnny was about to announce.
“What about it?” asked Joey.
“Well, you know how it was supposed to start in June?” Johnny asked.
“Yeah, only two months to go. Aren’t we a little behind for that with the dancing and stuff?” Lance responded. “I mean, we have to learn a whole lot of stuff for just two months.”
“Uh, yeah, about that.” Johnny shifted uneasily. “The tour dates were changed…”
“Do we get more time?” J.C. asked quickly after Johnny trailed off.
“Uh, I’m not so sure about more time, you guys.” Johnny heaved a sigh. “The tour is actually going to be starting slightly early this year…”