REUNION

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Reunion: Prologue

"Flight 2030, non-stop to Washington, D.C. is now boarding at Gate 713,” a dull voice said over the intercom."That's me." Joshua Scott, JC, Chasez says as he raises himself from the chair. "I should go."Wet, sorrowful eyes glance up from their spots on the ground as Lance Bass stands to say good-bye to his friend. "I'm gonna miss you, man." Lance says as he embraces his part-French friend. "Call when you get home, kay? Make sure it's the cell phone cause i'll probably be on my way home" "Don't worry, Scoop." JC assures his blond buddy. "I'll see you guys. Don't forget to call when when you all get to where you're going." JC wipes his eyes, turns, and is gone.

"4 to go." Joey Fatone jokes. The joke doesn't go too far. "Okay, so who's next?" "Me," Justin answers. "Plane leaves at 12:30.""Well, its 11:30 now so why don't we go get something to eat?" Chris suggests. "I didn't get any breakfast." All of the guys agree and they follow Chris to the food court of the Orlando International Airport. The 4 remaining members of N Sync eat their lunch in silence. The airport is buzzing with people, but the guys don't hear a thing. "So, remind me again. Why are we leaving this all behind?" Justin asks. "Because I want to live my life, you want to go to school, JC is in love, and Joey and Lance want to go back to school." Chris explained. The now, 31-year-old made his decision to leave 2 months ago. He realized that being a 31-year-old in a pop group and the subject of 12-year-old fantasies was not the only thing he wanted to do with his life. Yet, being in N Sync, it was the only thing he could do. He wanted to fall in love, get married, start a family, and establish a stable career that didn't depend on how many singles he could sing soprano on.

Justin was having the time of his life in the famous "boy" group. He was doing what he loved and getting paid for doing it. His, now, 21-year-old mind was enjoying everything that was being thrown at him. He knew this wouldn't last forever, nothing ever did. Sure, he loved being adored by hundreds of thousands of girls, but who would hire a high school graduate with only "pop star" written on his resume? Not many businesses would. Justin wanted to go to school. Now, that he took his SATs Justin was accepted to the University of North Carolina, his dream school. This time, the curly haired crooner was planning on majoring in sports management, giving into his love of basketball.

JC had a completely different motive. She was 5'7", had shoulder length brown hair, blue eyes, and had JC whipped. Charlotte, or Charli for short, had won him over by asking him out. She knew who he was, but took a chance on him anyway. The two lovebirds saw each other whenever possible. JC had just recently asked her to marry him, which broke many hearts across America, and received a rude awakening. She wasn't sure because of the lack of time they spent together. They'd made it through a year and a half of a relationship going around JC's schedule, but shedidn't know if she could handle a marriage like that. JC knew he would never find someone like her and he wasn't going to let her slip away.

Joey and Lance had identical reasons for leaving. They needed something on their resume that showed off their other talents. Lance was going to the University of Mississippi to major in business management and Joey was going to UCLA and was planning on majoring in music and theater, across America from the rest of the group in California.

The guys chatted about their 3-year, successful career. Their 3rd album, We're Still Here, made everyone's doubts that N Sync wouldn't last disappear. That album debuted at #1 on the Billboard's Top 200 chart. All 4 singles went double platinum and the album sold over 10 million copies. Then the last album, Never Say Goodbye, came out. This album, very laid-back and mellow, drew a lot of attention to the group. This was, by far, the best work put out by the guys thus far. It grabbed the attention of adults and even more guys bought the last album N Sync as a group would ever put out. Now, as the world went on, N Sync was no more.

"Flight 526, nonstop to Nashville, Tennessee is now boarding at Gate 762,” the familiar voice said over the intercom. "Well," Justin said, remaining as sad as he was when JC left. "That's me." "Yeah." Chris nods his head very sadly as a lone tear creeps down his face. “I'm gonna miss ya, buddy." "I'll see ya again sometime." Justin reminds his dreadlocked friend as he shook his hand. "I'll call you guys when I get home." Justin turned and was gone.

Fate didn't leave anytime for small talk before Lance's plane left for Mississippi. With Lance leaving, it left Joey and Chris sitting across from each other in the food court. "I can't believe it's all over." Joey said in disbelief. "I know. Just think. I was a star for 4 years." Chris replied. "When do you leave for UCLA?" "Next Tuesday. I'm looking forward to it." "You should be. You'll do well in Cali. Maybe you'll meet some honeys." Chris joked, receiving a laugh from his Italian friend. "Flight 2060, nonstop to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is now boarding at Gate 216." "That's me." Chris said reaching for his small carry-on. "Love you, Joe." "I love you, too, Chris. I'm gonna miss bragging to you about the phone numbers I pick up." "You got my number, call and do it over the phone, whenever you want to." Chris instructed him. "I'll call when I get home." "Alright, see you." "You, too. Bye, Joe." Chris walked onto the terminal and boarded his plane home to Pennsylvania.

With those last words, Joey turned and walked out of the airport, into his Acura SLX, and drove home to his other family with tears forming in the corners of his eyes as he said good-bye to his pop star life with N Sync.

Reunion: Chapter 1

At a small ranch house, outside of Bowie, Maryland, one year later…

“Josh, just tell me what it is.” Charlotte ‘Charli’ Meiner groaned. “You know I hate surprises.” “Why else do you think I’m doing this?” JC replied with a smile that Charli couldn’t see through her blindfold. JC lead her through the green grass by her shoulders. “Hold on. We’re almost there.” After a couple of more steps, Charli walked onto a blanket and was told to sit down and to keep the blindfold on. “I smell food…” Charli grinned. She loved to eat. It was her passion. “Okay, you can take the blindfold off.” JC told her. “Oh my gosh.” Charli was speechless at what she saw, which was a varity. There were candles surrounding a picnic basket full of her favorite food—barbecue, chips, French onion dip, taco salad, and salad. Surrounding the blanket that Charli and her incredibly sweet boyfriend were sitting on were irises, daisies, roses, carnations, and all of her favorite flowers, which were arranged perfectly. “JC…it’s beautiful…I’m speechless.” “That’s a first.” He joked. Charli pulled him close and kissed him softly. “Thank you.” “It’s not over yet.” JC reached behind him and pulled out the most beautiful strawberry cake she had ever seen. “You remembered.” Charli simply said as tears welled up in her eyes. Her favorite grandma made her a delicious strawberry cake every year for her birthday before she passed away when Charli was 15. This was the first time since then that she got a strawberry cake for her birthday. Charli and JC talked about her class reunion that was coming and what they were going to do for that. JC had cancelled all of his lessons for that day and they didn't know how long they were going to stay at Charli's parents’ house in Illinois. Charli was majoring in psychology and JC was majoring in music at the same school, the University of Maryland. Since it was summer, JC was giving piano lessons during the week and Charli was working in a professional psychologist's office. They needed the extra cash for the house outside of JC's hometown that they were renting. "Why don't we take the entire week off and drive back home?" Charli suggested. She knew JC would say no, but it was worth a shot. "Nah, I have a better idea. We stay and then come back right after the reunion. Then, next month, we take a long vacation." JC compromised. "Really? Where to?" Charli said, surprised by JC's spontaneity. "All over. We could go around and visit the guys." JC answered with a grin. Charli knew who the guys were. "When?" Charli asked, calling JC's bluff. 'He'd never do this,' she thought to herself. 'He's bluffing.' "Next month. All month. We deserve it." JC gained a devilish look on his face. "We can visit the guys and then we can go to Catalina and take some private travel time to ourselves." JC embraced her in his strong arms. Charli sighed at the feeling she got whenever he held her like this. "Alright, let's do it." she agreed. The couple finished off the picnic with a long, passionate kiss.

* * * * 1 week later...

"Jeez, Char!" JC yelled through the door to the bathroom where his girlfriend of 2 and a half years was. "It takes you forever." "Hold on, baby. I'm almost done. Could you get the black shoes out of the closet for me?" she replied cheerily. "Thanks, honey." "We're gonna be late for this reunion thing." he reminded her. JC and Charli were staying at Charli's parents’ house for the night and they were going back to their rented out ranch in Maryland the next day. "Okay, okay." Charli said as she set down the black curling iron and emerged from the bathroom. "I'm ready." "Let's go." JC said after he helped her with her coat and escorted her out to the car. The ride to Charli's old high school was short. Good and happy memories flooded back to her. Playing softball on the field, hanging up posters for the date auction, and going to Homecoming, Turnabout, and Prom in the small east Gym. There were hardly any bad memories in the school-except for Matt Clouder. He made fun of Charli almost every day of high school for no reason other than she liked N Sync. As Charli led JC through the school, she saw many people that she remembered. Katie Scheffler, a girl in her old Civics class, stopped her to give her a hug and the introductions with JC and Katie were short because Katie couldn't remember who JC was. Frankly, she didn't even remember who N Sync was. JC's face turned down at this but he was brought out of it as he heard Charli squeal. "Breeeeee!" "Chars!" Charli ran at the girl unknown to JC and hugged her with all of her strength. "How are you?" Bree asked breathlessly. "I haven't seen you in so long!" "I'm good. How bout you?" "I'm okay. I could be better, but that's alright." Bree eyed JC and gave him the once over. "So, who's your friend?" "Well, that's JC. We've been together for 2 and a half years now." "Does JC have a last name?" "Chasez." "Oh." The name went in one ear and out the other before it registered. "Oooohhh!" JC just laughed. "Hi, you must be Bree Westbrook?" Bree nodded. "Charli's told me a lot about you. I've been waiting to meet you." "Hi, she talked about you guys nonstop our senior year." Bree told him as she shook his hand. "JC, can we stay one more day? I haven't seen Bree for so long." Charli pleaded with her boyfriend. "Please?" "I don't know, Char." JC protested. "I'd have to cancel more lessons..." JC couldn't resist the looks on the best friends’ faces. "Fine." After wandering around for about an hour, "I'm Your Angel" by R. Kelly and Celine Dion came on. "Chars? Do you remember this song?" Bree asked hopefully. "Yes. I gave you my single of this to take with you to Florida on Christmas vacation our sophomore year." The newly found best friends held on to each other for the duration of the song. Then as the next song came on, Charli's face lit up. "JC, we have to. For old time's sake." Charli led her protesting boyfriend onto the dance floor. A group formed around the couple as they danced perfectly to "Tearin' Up My Heart", N Sync's 2nd single off of their first album. "Do you know how long it's been since I’ve done that?" JC asked with a satisfied smile when the song was over. "I know, me too." JC's expression suddenly changed. "What's wrong?" "I just got this awful feeling. Something's not right." "What do you mean?" "I don't know." JC said unsurely. "We should leave." "Okay." Charli trusted JC's instincts just as much as he did. Charli went and told Bree she would have to take a raincheck on catching up for lost time. After giving Bree her address and number in Maryland, she and JC were gone.

Reunion: Chapter 2

Reunion: Chapter 3

At a house in Clarion, PN while Justin and Angel are at the party…

"JAY! CALLISTA! KNOCK IT OFF!" Francine Kirkpatrick yelled into her children’s bedroom. "Knock it off or neither of you gets to go to Dairy Queen with daddy." "CiCi…You know I’ll take them anyway." Chris said to her. He spoiled their children rotten. “So, who wants to go get some ice cream?” "MEEEEEE!" their bouncy toddlers yelled. "Okay, we’ll go after dinner. Honey? What are we having for dinner?" "Tacos. Chips. Salsa. And, I guess, ice cream for dessert." She replied giving into her irresistible husband. "Are you guys ready? Dinner’s done." Francine or CiCi as Chris called her, and Chris lived in Chris’s hometown of Clarion, Pennsylvania. She always wanted to live in Florida near Disney World but Chris said that it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Their two children, Jay, 4, and Callista, 3, loved to listen to their father tell stories of people he would meet around the world. They were too young to understand what pop stardom is. They thought they’re dad used to be a helper for Santa Claus. Instead of reading stories at night, Chris snag them a song that he used to be paid to sing every night. Whenever he sung, memories flooded back to him and he remembered the good old days. Then he realized how happy he was now with his family and friends. He wouldn’t have had it any other way. As the family sat down to eat, the children became quiet and CiCi and Chris commenced their nightly conversation about the day of work the other had. "So, anything new with Timmy?" Francine asked Chris. "No, he hasn’t changed. He’s still seeing flying objects around his room that no one else sees. I don’t know what’s causing it. I’ve never seen anything like this before." Chris explained. After leaving N Sync, Chris used his degree in psychology to start is own private practice. Now, it is known around Pennsylvania and is doing very well for not even being open for a year. Out of the money he made from his practice, he donated a portion of it to the Prevention of Drug Abuse in honor of a friend he had while he was with the group. She was a friend of Justin Timberlake’s cousin. He could never forget her. "Maybe he’s remembering one of your earlier concerts in fear that he won’t have to go through that again." She joked. Francine loved to hassle Chris about N Sync. She loved the group but he took it so personally, even now, if someone even says something bad about the recently parted pop group. "Ha ha. So, how was your day?" "Well, the photographer I had wanted me to pose nude for him." She told Chris as she watched his jaw fall to the ground. “I told him I wouldn’t and that I wanted a different photographer.” “Good girl.” Chris said. Francine was the kind of girl that made every married man’s head turn when she walked into a room. She’s the kind of girl you don’t want your boyfriends hanging around with. But Chris trusted her so he didn’t worry too much. She was a model for the nation’s top magazine, Mademoiselle. So, with Chris’s private practice and Francine’s modeling jobs, their family was not a poor one. “So, they brought in a new photographer and we did the shoot. They paid me up front. Cash.” “How much?” Chris asked, interested at how much money his new wife was making. “Around a thousand.” She told him. They finished their dinner shortly after that and Chris took the kids to Dairy Queen while Francine stayed home to do the dishes. She liked to do the work around the house. She loved being a mother and a (part-time) house-wife. She was just finishing when the phone rang. “Hello?” she answered. “Hi, is Chris there?” an unfamiliar voice asked. “No, he took the kids to Dairy Queen. May I take a message?” “Yeah, tell him to call 555-555-6183 and ask for Johnny. Thanks.” “Alright. He’ll call you as soon as he gets home.” And with that, Francine hung up the phone. She hummed along to the radio as she worked a newspaper crossword puzzle for about 20 minutes before Chris, Jay, and Callista came home. “Mommy! We got your ice cream!” Jay yelled through the house. “Thank you, Jay!” Francine replied. “Chris, someone called for you while you were gone. The number’s on the board next to the phone.” “I hope it’s not those stupid bill collectors. The check is in the mail, dang it.” Chris reached for the phone and dialed the instructed number and asked for the instructed name. “Hi, is Johnny there? This is Chris Kirkpatrick. I was told to call him when I got home.” “Hold please.” Chris was put onto a line where soft Michael Bolton played over the telephone line. “Johnny, here.” “This is Chris.” “Chris! Man, it’s been a while. Johnny Wright, here.” The man on the other line introduced himself to the curious psychologist on the other line. “Oh, hey! What’s going on?” “Good, but I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.”

Reunion: Chapter 4

At Lance’s girlfriend’s house, at the same time as Chris is at Dairy Queen with his kids…

Lance watched her walk down the steps to the car. He admired her light, curly hair as it bounced onto her shoulders. ‘I am so lucky.’ He thought to himself. “Are you ready to go?” Mia asked. She smiled at him with the biggest smile she could give a person. “Yeah,” Lance replied as he helped her into his car. Just the sound of his bass voice made Mia melt. “Are you nervous?” “A little. I’ve never done this before.” Mia told him. “I’ve never sang in front of anyone but you and my mirror.” “You’ll do fine.” He assured her. “I promise.” Lance calmed her nerves with a sweet grin and then turned his eyes back onto the road. The couple of 6 months were headed to a record company’s office so an executive could hear Mia sing. Lance used his old connections and got Mia an audition in front of the top executives at the RCA branch in Mississippi. Of course, she was nervous, it was only natural, but other than the natural timidness, she was confident that she would do great. She knew exactly which song she wanted to sing. She didn’t tell Lance because she wanted it to be a surprise. During the ride to the office, the radio played some old songs. Mia’s favorite, “All I Have to Give” by the Backstreet Boys, came on and Lance winced as the first few strands played. (Author’s Note: I know, I hate the BSB too but I had to scorn Lance somehow  ) Just for spite, Mia reached over and turned up the radio all the way. Lance put up with this until the song was over and then changed the station. “No! Not country!” Mia yelled. “Lance!” “Sorry, I had to.” Lance justified with a smile as he sang to Garth Brook’s song, “It’s Your Song”. When they reached the office, Mia couldn’t get out of the car and away the deathly country fast enough. “You know I hate country.” Mia pouted. “You know I hate that song.” (A.N. Sorry BSB fans ! ) Lance shot back at her. “Whatever.” Mia gave up. Lance usually won when it came to these kinds of arguments. “You ready?” he prepped her for her big audition. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” She told him. She was ready and knew she would rock. She prepared her song and how she would sing it the night before so she was completely organized and ready. “Let’s go.” Lance escorted his girlfriend into the office and held her shaking hand as they waited in the lobby to be let into the recording booth where Mia would sing. After about 10 minutes of anxiety, the CEO’s secretary let them into the recording booth to wait for the man who would decide to sign Mia or not. 5 minutes later, a tall, dark haired man walked into the booth. “Hi, I’m Kyle Masters. I’ll be listening to Mia today.” He introduced himself as he shook their hands. “I’m Mia. I really appreciate you doing this.” She said confidently. “Well, are you ready?” Kyle asked. “Yep. Here’s the music I’m going to sing to.” Mia said as she handed him a CD. Kyle put the CD and started the music. The first few strands of “Have You Ever” by Brandy played before Lance showed any emotion towards the song. When he realized what song Mia was using towards the audition, a smile crept upon his face. “Have you ever loved somebody so much it makes you cry? Have you ever needed something so bad you can’t sleep at night? Have you ever tried to find the words but they don’t come out right? Have you ever…” Singing this song came so naturally to Mia. She had had a lot of experience with it before. Mia and Lance had first met about a year ago at a Shania Twain concert. Even though Mia hated country, she loved Shania Twain’s music. Anyway, Lance and Mia had tickets next to each other at the show, even though they came with different groups of people. They didn’t quite get along at the show because Mia was up and dancing and when she would move, she would block Lance’s view of his beloved Shania. He asked her a couple of times to move out of the way, but she kept moving back to where she used to be. Finally, he told her to get out of his way, and then she recognized him. Lance Bass of N Sync, her old favorite group, was sitting next to her at a Shania Twain’s concert. After the concert, they became friends and got their two groups of friends to go somewhere together. They became best friends and always told each other everything. Then, Mia realized that she had developed more feelings for his bass voice than she had bargained for. When she heard the Brandy song “Have You Ever”, she immediately knew what she had to do. She beat around the bush for a month before she fessed up to her feelings and told Lance how she felt. Surprisingly, Lance felt the same way, and, ironically, he was going to tell her the same thing, that same day. They knew they had a special bond when they found out that they both used the same song by Brandy to get their feelings out. That song helped them deal with their thoughts and now it was helping Mia through her audition. “Gotta get you in my world cause baby I can’t sleep, ooh. Have you ever loved somebody?” Mia crooned the soft ballad to the executive who was obviously loving what he heard. Lance nodded as Mia perfectly hit the most intense part of the song. He knew just as well as she did that she nailed the song. When she finished, the only thing left was Kyle Masters decision. “Wow.” Kyle’s face said it all. “That was… wonderful.” “Thanks.” Mia said as she turned 5 shades of red. “You did great.” Lance told her with a kiss. “You really did.” “I agree.” Kyle said, nodding his head. “In fact, I would like to offer you a contract from RCA Records.” “Really?!” Mia couldn’t hold in her excitement. In fact, she didn’t try to. “Oh my gosh!!! Lance did you hear that?” “Yeah, honey! You did it!” “Is that a yes?” Kyle asked dumbfully. “Of course it’s a yes!” “Alright, we’ll call you sometime this week to schedule a meeting and get all of the paperwork done. Thanks for coming.” “Thanks for listening.” Lance said to him. Mia looked like she was going to faint from all of the excitement that was flooding into the room. He took Mia out to the car and set her down in her seat. “Lance, am I dreaming?” Mia asked flatly. “No, Mia, you’re not dreaming. You just got a record deal.” He told her as a matter of factly. The ride home was quiet because it was finally hitting Mia that she was going to be famous. When they walked into Lance’s house, the light on his answering machine was flashing. Lance pressed the play button to hear who had called him. “Lance? This is Chris. I have some news for ya.”

Reunion: Chapter 5

Flashback

Meredith sat outside her dorm room, crying, in the pouring rain. She was sitting there hoping and praying that Tim didn’t come outside and find her. She was dreading what would happen if he did. He had just punched her and yelled that she was a “fat piece of trash that didn’t deserve to be with him”. He came into her room and found her sitting on her bed with a couple of friends. He didn’t know that they were stopping by so he freaked out. After her friends left, he preceded to yell at her and throw her against the wall. After he punched her, she ran down the hallway and out the door. She thought she heard him get in his car and leave. Each day, he was growing more and more possessive. She knew that she had to get away from him, but she didn’t know how. Just then, interrupting her thoughts, someone tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to jump. “Are you okay?” a guy’s voice asked her. “Uh, yeah.” She replied wiping away her tears quickly. “Sorry to frighten you. My name is Joey.” Joey introduced himself as he extended a hand to help her up. “I’m Meredith.” She said, taking his hand uncertainly. “Do I dare ask why you’re sitting here, crying, in the pouring rain?” “No, you don’t.” she said with a slight smile. “Ah ha! I was wondering when you were going to smile.” Joey laughed. “Do you want to go get some coffee and tell me what’s bothering you?” Meredith was wondering why this cute and complete stranger was being so nice to her. They had just met each other. “Sure.” She said. Then a scary thought entered her mind, ‘What would Tim do if he found out?’ For sure, she wouldn’t be able to go to class if he did. “Let’s go to this little place outside of town that I know.” On the ride to the small coffeehouse, Meredith spilled her guts to this complete stranger that she, for some unknown reason, trusted. Accompanied by a few sobs, she made it through her sorrowful story. “Why don’t you leave?” “It’s not as easy as you think,” she tells Joey. “Believe me, I’ve tried.” “I’ll help you.” He said supportively. “You don_t even know me.” “We can change that.” Joey says with a smile.

End Flashback

“Well, she’s asleep.” Joey said, breaking Meredith out of her reverie. “You’re really good with her. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was your daughter.” She remarks. “I wish she was. She’s a complete angel around me.” Joey responds. “I wish I had your touch with children.” “What can I say? It’s gotta be an Italian thing.” He jokes. “Have you talked to JC lately?” she asks changing the subject. “No, he told me that he was thinking of asking Charli to marry him, but I think he’s too chicken. I know they’ve been together for almost forever, but he doesn’t want to mess it up, you know?” “Yeah, I know how that goes.” She replied with a small smirk. Joey had waited for almost a year before he asked Meredith to marry him. Both knew that it would happen sometime, but Joey could never push that fear of rejection away from him. When he finally asked her, she played with him and said she wasn’t sure, but then said yes and told him she was joking. For a second, she broke his heart. They took Kayla for a short vacation to Disney World and eloped. They’ve been happily married for almost a week now. Meredith knew it would be hard to get married so quickly, but she knew it would last. They loved each other and she knew he would always be there for her, married or not. “Don’t remind me. I was stupid.” He laughed with her. “What time is it?” she suddenly asked. Joey looked at his watch. “Almost 8:30. Why?” “Do you want some ice cream?” Meredith asked hopefully. “I’ve got a craving.” “Sure. Are you gonna go get it? I got it last time.” He reminded her. “Yeah, I guess so.” She agreed. Meredith grabbed her keys and jogged out to her car. Joey sat on the couch and watched Friends on NBC while he waited for Meredith to get home with their ice cream. They often got ice cream after Kayla was asleep. They felt rebellious somehow. The phone caught Joey as he laughed hysterically at Chandler and Monica. “Hello?” “Is this Joey Fatone?” “Yes.” He answered, hoping it wasn’t another reporter. Ever since N Sync called it quits, he was bombarded by phone calls. “I have some news for you.” The mysterious caller introduced himself as an executive from Transcontinental Records. He delivered Joey the news and Joey immediately sat down in the chair next to him. After 5 minutes of silence on Joey’s end, he said thank you and hung up the phone. “Joey?!” Meredith yelled through the house. “Mer, I just got a phone call from a guy at Trans-Con.” “Well, what did he say?” “Bad news. He said that…”

Reunion: Chapter 6

~~**~~**~~**~~**

“What’d you say Chris?” “Lou’s gone, man.” Chris repeated. “I thought you knew. I found out an hour ago.” “No, I was helping Mia get a record deal, ironically enough.” He smirked at his last remark. “What are we gonna do?” “What do you mean?” “We should all get together. We need each other now more than ever.” “You’re right. We need to meet up somewhere, sometime.” Chris agreed. “I’ll call the other guys and we’ll set a date. Soon.” He suggested. Lance knew that the guys would take this hard. Lou got them into this business. Even though N Sync was through, what could they do without him? Every one of them went to him for advice. None of them knew that he had heart disease. This was definitely a shock. Lance called JC, Justin, and Joey the next morning and they all agreed upon a good date to meet. They would all get together at the beginning of the next month, the time when JC and Charli had planned to take their vacation. This would have to be the alternative and they were going to make the best of it.

Reunion: Chapter 7

Reunion: Chapter 8

Flashback

“JC, you’re going to have to leave tomorrow.” Charli told him softly as if he didn’t know. “I know.” He replied sadly. “I can’t keep doing this you, know.” “I know.” “I need to settle down sometime.” She said as she turned away from him. “I want to settle down with you.” “Then marry me.” “JC, you’re in the middle of a tour. I can’t ask you to have all of that baggage on the road with you.” “I want to be with you. Only you. Can’t you see that?” he asked her lovingly. “I know you do. But being on the road and having a wife at home who needs you won’t be an easy thing.” “I can handle it. You know I could.” JC told her. “I know you can, but can I?” she asked him through her wet blue eyes. “How do you think I’ll handle coming home to an empty house every day when my husband is supposed to be there, but he’s conveniently running around the US making 12-year-olds swoon?” “I won’t run around on you! Why don’t we get engaged and then get married after the tour is over?” he hopefully suggested. _ “JC, I can’t stand not being around you. I need you here with me.” She explained to him. “I’ve been going around your schedule for a year and a half. When do I get your attention?” “I call you every day-“ JC started to say, but Charli wouldn’t let him finish. “Don’t you ever want to just hold me in your arms? Is talking to me on the phone the same as talking to me in person? If you don’t and if it is, then why am I still here? You could call a 1-800 number and get the same thing from them. A relationship over the phone that’s not going anywhere as long as you aren’t with me.” She cried at him. “Maybe we shouldn’t be together.” “What?! You don’t mean that.” JC said while tears were forming in the sides of his eyes. He continued softly. “Do you mean that?” “I don’t know what I mean. Do you think we could hold off on the engagement thing until after the tour is over?” Charli asked. “We can talk about it then. I just don’t want to lose you.” “I don’t want to be apart from you. If you walk away from me, you take every thing that I am with you.” He told her as he clasped her hand in his. “Please, don’t leave.” “JC, this is going to take some thinking. On both our parts. I want you to think about how much I mean to you and if you would be willing to throw all of this away.” Charli watched the surprise come over his face. “You can have me, you can have N Sync, but you can’t have both.”

End Flashback

Charli remembered what heartache it brought to have to give JC and choice like that. She’d never been so adamant about anything in her entire life. She got up and walked to the car. “Guys I think we need to have a group conference.” JC said as he sadly watched Charli walk out of the church. “Well, once Justin gets done.” “What was all that about with Charli?” Chris asked. “I don’t think she wants me leaving. We almost broke up while I was still in the group because I was gone all the time.” “You better go talk to her. We’ll all catch up later at the hotel.” Lance told JC. “She’s more important to you right now.” “Thanks, man.” JC said as he jogged out of the church to find Charli. “Lance? What do you think of me singing with you guys, like JC said?” Mia asked curiously. “I’d love it. If we did do a reunion tour, you’d be there with me. I wouldn’t have to leave you behind.” Lance said with a smile. “I wouldn’t leave you behind anyway.” Lance reached down to pull Mia’s face towards his. Chris broke their intimate moment by clearing his throat loudly. “Sorry, but lunch is over. We’re all heading back to the hotel.” Chris said after he causes Lance and Mia to part. “You guys ready?” “Yeah. Let’s go.” Lance takes hold of Mia’s hand, intertwining their fingers. Mia turns her head up and smiles while she looks into his hazel tinted eyes.

Back at the hotel…

“Francine?” Chris asks once they get back into their hotel room. “Yeah, honey?” “Would you go one tour with us if we go?” “Of course I would. You know I would.” She replied as she hugged her husband close to her body. “Why?” “I don’t want to have to leave you behind.” He said softly. “What would we do about the kids?” Francine posed a more complicated question. “We’ll figure something out. We always do.” Chris says as he pulls her into a passionate kiss. “JAY! STOP IT!” they hear Callista yell from the other end of the hotel room and quickly break apart to tend to their fighting children.

Reunion: Chapter 9

Reunion: Chapter 10

“What s the problem?” Charli asked with a serious look coming over her face. “You’re gonna need another set of clothes.” Justin told her. “Why?” she asked being the blond she is. (I m a brunette.) “Cause you re going in the water.” Joey said as he and Justin hoisted Charli above their heads and made their way to the poolside. Laughter resounded throughout the pool deck. Charli headed back up to the hotel room to change again and to think up some way to get back at Justin and Joey.

* * * * “So, is everything okay with Charli?” Chris asked as he and JC watched the children play in the water. “Yeah. She said she d go if we did something.” He said with a smile. “You really love her don’t you?” “Yeah. She’s like a breath of fresh air to me. I've lightened up since she s been around. I m not as serious all the time.” “I noticed.” “Chris?” “Yeah?” “What’s it like having a kid?” “Well, it s tough sometimes, but I love ‘em. Even if they re not mine.” A look of surprise came across JC s face. “Huh?” “Francine’s divorced. Jay and Callista are from her first marriage, which didn't last long. Right after she had Callista, he split. Leaving her alone with a job and two kids. Enter me.” “Oh. I didn't know that. What’s it like being married?” “What are you thinking in that head of yours?” Chris asked as he shook his head with a smirk. “I love it. It’s not like being on the road. On the road, you meet people, hang out with them, and then you have to leave. With Francine, I know someone will always be there waiting when I get home. Why?” “Just wondering. Look, I'll catch up with you guys later.” With that, JC left the pool to find his girlfriend. After about 2 hours of frolicking in the water, Francine and Chris decided they didn't want Jay and Callista looking like prunes so they took the children up to their room to take showers and change their clothes. While CiCi was giving Jay and Callista their baths, Chris answered the ringing phone. “Chris? Johnny here.” “Hey! What’s up?” “Well, JC told us about your guys’ idea of doing a benefit reunion tour. We've talked about it and we d like to call a meeting with you all over to Trans-Con for a meeting.” “That’d be great! How’s tomorrow morning?” Chris and Johnny etched out the details and made an appointment for 10 o’ clock the next morning. Chris hung up with Johnny and called all of the guys into his room to tell them the news.

Reunion: Chapter 11

Reunion: Chapter 12

It was already 3 o’clock and the guys still weren’t back from their meeting with Johnny Wright. The girls and the children were talking quietly and waiting patiently in Chris and Francine’s hotel room. “Do you think they’ll get to go on tour?” Francine asked. “I don t know.” Charli said. “I want them to because I know JC wants to go back on the road. I don’t want them to because it’s tough on the road. We’ll hardly see the guys.” “That’s the only bad thing.” Meredith said. “I think it’d be fun.” “Think of all of the people you’d meet. I hope they get to go. We’d get to experience almost the exact same thing that they used to do all the time.” Angel said. She’d been quiet all day. “I still can’t believe Justin was part of N Sync.” “How could you not have known?” Francine asked. No one could believe that Angel didn’t know who Justin Timberlake was until he got to her school. It was just too hard to believe. “I didn’t listen to that kind of music. I listened to R&B, rap, you know, that kind of stuff. I loved Monica.” Angel explained. Honestly, she barely knew who N Sync was. She had heard of them a couple of times, but she never paid attention to the guys in the group. It just wasn’t her thing. “Anyway, I really hope they get to go.” Mia said. “Yeah, I bet you do.” Charli joked. “You’d be with them all the time. I still can t believe that I have a record deal.” “It s amazing. We still haven’t heard you sing.” Francine implied. They only knew that she had recently gotten a deal with Trans-Con. They had never even heard her sing a note. “Yeah,” Meredith said. “Sing something.” “Well, I don’t know.” Mia was hesitant. She had never sung in front of anyone besides her family, Lance, and the Trans-Con guy. If she was going to go on tour with the guys, she would have to sing in front of a lot of people. “What do you want me to sing?” “How about… What song did you sing when you got your record deal?” Charli asked. They didn t even know what song she sang! “ ’Have You Ever by Brandy.” “Sing that.” Meredith told her. “I love that song.” Angel said. “Okay.” Mia reached over and turned on her CD player. The CD was already in there because it was the only CD she ever listened to. The first few strands of music played and Mia began to sing. She loved to sing. Whenever she started to sing a song, she let the music take her away. She swayed with the chords and the beat moved her soul. She sung the Brandy ballad as perfectly for the girls as she did for the Trans-Con representative. Francine, Charli, Meredith, and Angel never thought she was this good. She really had the talent and they were confident that she would be a great addition to the tour if they went. “That was incredible.” Charli said. “I… I’m speechless.” “That was wonderful.” “Wow.” Meredith agreed. “That was really good. You d be awesome on the tour.” Francine told her. “I could never do that.” Angel implied. “My voice would crack or something.” “That was beautiful.” The girls turned to the doorway to see who said that. “Oh, Lance. I didn’t know you were there…” Mia said as she blushed. “That was really good.” The guys walked in after Lance. “You better get your voice in shape because you re gonna be using it a lot.” “We’re going?!” Mia asked excitedly. “Yep.” Justin said. “We start in August.” “Really? Isn’t that kinda soon?” Charli asked. “Well, they’re getting started on promotions right away.” JC explained happily. “We also get to go and do an interview on MTV s Total Request.” “We lived on that show, man.” Justin said. “It’ll be good to see Carson again. We haven t seen him in a while.” “Well, what are the details?” the girls wanted to know what was going to be going on. “Well, in one bus it’ll be Francine, Angel, Jay, and Callista; in another it’ll be Charli, Meredith, Kayla, and Mia. We guys will be in our own bus.” JC explained. “We’re gonna go everywhere in the US and possible some places in Canada.” “When do we leave?” Mia was a little excited so she didn’t remember that they already said that they started in August. “August, honey. Chill.” Lance calmed his girlfriend. “We have two months. Enjoy your freedom while you can.” “Why don t we go celebrate? Let s go to Disney World.” Joey suggested. “I know Kayla s been dying to go there.” “Joey, did I hear you say Disney World?” Kayla asked as she poked her head around the corner. “Yeah you did, sweetheart.” He said as he scooped her up in his arms. “Why don’t we go to our rooms to go get changed and leave.” Everyone went to their rooms to change their clothes and get ready to go to the happiest place on earth. Charli and JC were trying to decide what to wear in their hotel room. “I’ve never been to Disney World.” Charli said out of the blue. “Really?” “Yeah. You’ll have you show me the best rides to go on.” She said with a smirk. “I could do that now.” He told her as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly. “You wish, Sleepy.” She said as she pushed him away jokingly. “We have to meet everyone downstairs in ten minutes.” “I guess you’ll have to make it up to me then.” He kissed her again. “I guess I will.” She embraced him and returned his soft signs of love.

Reunion: Chapter 13

The ride to Disney World was loud for Chris, Francine, Joey, and Meredith. Chris and CiCi drove their Lincoln Navigator with their children in back. Joey and Meredith rode in Meredith’s Bravada. Kayla was excited to go to the theme park again. She almost rode there with the wrong family. Meredith picked up the little girl and put her in the car seat. Before she put on the seat belt, the blonde toddler spoke up. “Where’s my mommy?” Meredith had mistaken Callista for Kayla. It was amazing how much the two children looked alike. After she and Francine switched the children back, they began the ride. JC and Charli rode followed Joey and Meredith in JC’s yellow Mustang convertible (he traded in whatever he has now). Since it was a warm, sunny, summer day, JC put on his sexy shades and put the top down. Charli intended to take up on his offer once they got home. Justin, Angel, Lance, and Mia all rode in Mia’s Cavalier behind JC and Charli. Justin’s Mercedes had broken down that morning after the meeting. They all arrived in the parking lot at the same time and luckily found four parking spots somewhat close to each other. They all paid and made their way to the rides. Chris and Francine made an agreement with Joey and Meredith to watch the kids half of the time that were there.

JC and Charli…

“Honey, this is a great vacation so far.” Charli said as she clutched JC’s hand. “Other than the circumstances, of why we’re here, I’m glad we came.” “Me, too.” JC replied as he took his hand and wrapped it around her shoulder. “What do you want to do first?” “Um… how about a Ferris wheel? Is there a Ferris wheel around here?” she asked him hopefully. They made their way to the large Ferris wheel and waited in line. They finally boarded the ride and Charli snuggled up against JC’s arms. The feeling she got when she first met him came back to her.

Flashback

At a mall, close to 3 years ago…

“Bree, look at that guy over there.” Charli whispered to her best friend. “Have I seen him before?” “Chars, you should know him.” Bree said as her excitement grew. “That’s JC.” Charli said to herself. Then she turned to Bree and continued adamantly. “I’m going to go talk to him.” “Whatever.” Bree executed the eye-roll she was famous for among her friends. “I’m going to ask him out.” Charli handed Bree her bags and ran a hand through her hair. “How do I look?” Without waiting for an answer, she turned on her heel and headed into Structure. “Hi.” She said as she walked up behind the pop star as he combed through a clothes rack. “Oh, hi.” He replied, looking up at whoever broke his attention. “I’m Charli.” She said, extending her hand to him. “You’re JC, right?” “Ah, so you recognize me. You want an autograph or something?” he asked, reaching for a pen. “No, actually.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Do you want to go get some pizza with me?” “Well,” he hesitated and looked at his watch. “I do have sound check in an hour…” “Is JC Chasez about to disappoint a fan?” she responded with utter sarcasm. Her comment made JC smile. “I was wondering when I would get to see that.” “See what?” “Your smile. So, how about that pizza?”

End Flashback

Charli snapped out of her reverie when JC pulled on her hand to help her off of the Ferris wheel. She never once let go of his hand as they made their way around the happiest place on Earth.

Joey and Meredith…

“Is it fun on tour?” Meredith asked Joey out of the blue. “Yeah, why?" "Just wondering. Do you think Kayla will like it?” “She’ll love it.” Joey said as he and Meredith sat down on a bench and watched the people walk by. “Do you know how many theme parks we’ll get to go to?” “You’re right.” She said as they got up and strolled down the lane in front of the big castle. “This is some honeymoon, huh?” “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He told her with a smile. “Do you realize we were just here with Kayla a week ago?” “Yeah, right after we eloped.” She warmly returned the smile.

Flashback

“I understand that you two have written your own vows.” The priest said to them. “Mr. Fatone, you may read yours first.” “Meredith, I found you and I found myself. You found me and you found a way to my heart. My days are complete when I fall asleep next to you. I love you with all of my heart and I’m happy you decided to be with me for the rest of our lives.” “Meredith? You may read your vows.” “Joey, you are my Superman. When I wake up and see your face, I know I’m safe. You helped me find myuself and kept me safe from harm. I would drive myself crazy if I ever let you go. As I look at you now and see the love you give me, I realize that God must have spent a little more time on you.” Joey giggled at her vows. They wanted to write their own vows because they loved each other uniquely and saw each other in a different respect than any one else they knew. “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Joey immediately pulled Meredith into his arms and raised his eyebrows at her. She giggled and gave into his embrace. “I love you, Mer.” “I love you, too, Joey.”

End Flashback

“We better go get Jay, Callista, and Kayla.” Meredith said to Joey as he dozed off in his memory. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Let’s go.”

Reunion: Chapter 14

Lance and Mia…

“Do you want some cotton candy?” Lance asked his girlfriend. “Sure.” She said. She seemed to be somewhere else other than with Lance. She kept staring off into space in deep thought. “You okay?” he sat Mia down on a bench. Lance figured that she would be excited. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She replied after a couple of minutes of hesitation. “Are you sure?” Lance was concerned. Mia looked at him and suddenly began to cry. “I’m just afraid. What’s going to happen to us when we go on the road?” she asked him between sobs. “We’re gonna drift apart. I know it.” “No, we won’t.” he tried to reassure her as he held her hand. “We’ll be fine. We’ll see each other every day for the show and I’ll help you record your album.” “I just have this awful feeling that something is going to change.” She quickly explained to him. “Honey, you have nothing to worry about.” Lance pulled Mia in a hug. “I will always be here for you. The only thing that will change is that you’ll be famous.” “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Mia told him. She thought she would tell him about her dream but she quickly decided against it. She quickly wiped away her tears. “I’ve written a song that I think we could use on the album.” “Really? Do you have it with you?” Lance was interested in any of Mia’s writings. She was a wonderful author as well as an awesome poet. “No.” Mia said as she looked at her watch. “What time do you have on your watch?” “5 o’clock. Why?” “We have to go somewhere. C’mon! We’re gonna be late!” she told him as she pulled Lance along behind her. “Where are we going?” “You’ll find out. It’s a surprise.” Mia gave him a sexy glance. Mia led her blond beau through the large park. After 10 minutes of feverish walking, they arrived at where they were supposed to be. “Sit down here.” Mia told him. He dutifully sat down and did whatever she told him to do. He couldn’t see where they were because she told him to keep his eyes shut. He finally heard her beautiful voice speak to him over a microphone. “Lance, you can open your eyes now.” He looked up and saw Mia standing before him in a beautiful, white, flowing gown. “The night at Biacci’s, when I saw you, I knew I would be with you. You have helped me in more ways than I could have helped myself. I love you, Lance.” The music started as Mia spoke the last sentence. He smiled as he heard the first few strands. He recognized it as an old one from about 2 years ago. “I do cherish you. For the rest of my life you don’t have to think twice. I will love you still from the depths of my soul, it’s beyond my control. I’ve waited so long to say this to you. If you’re asking do I love you this much, I do.” Music and certain songs played an important role in Lance and Mia’s relationship. If Mia or Lance heard a song that described what was going on in their lives then, they would tell each other about it and would listen to that song day and night. If they couldn’t tell each other their feelings, they would find a song and give it to the other. As the music slowed to the end, Mia walked down the steps of the platform on which she stood and held Lance’s hand for the remainder of the song. Just then, as he looked at the beautiful gleam in her eyes, he knew he could spend the rest of his life with her.

Chris and Francine…

After Chris and Francine exchanged children with Meredith and Joey, they went off for some fun. Being together in the happiest place on Earth, they felt like teenagers again. As they got off of Space Mountain, they plopped down on a park bench. They’d already been on 3 different roller coasters and chased each other around the park for two hours. They were pooped. “Are you having fun?” Chris asked after he caught his breath. “Of course!” she replied happily. “Do you realize how long it’s been since I’ve done this?” “A long time?” “The day before everyone went home, we came here and had the time of our lives.” He told her sadly, but the sadness was accompanied by a smile as he remembered the feeling he had that day. “Do you ever regret it?” she suddenly asked him. “Sometimes.” CiCi gave a look that showed she didn’t believe him. “Okay, a lot of the time.” He corrected himself. “Then why did you leave?” “How would you like to be almost thirty and the object of twelve-year-old fantasies?” he asked her. “Good point.” She agreed with him there. “Why do you regret it?” “I don’t get to see the guys every day like I used to. They’re my best friends, besides you, and I hardly talk to them.” Chris tried to explain his reasons to his wife. “I miss singing and dancing, too. It was what we loved to do. I miss everything about that job.” “Well, it won’t be long and you’ll be doing it all over again.” She reminded him. “How do you think Mia will do?” “She has a great voice and with Lance’s help, I think she’ll be fine. She’ll have to go through learning everything we had to when she gets started, but I think she’ll be fine.” “She does have a beautiful voice.” Francine agreed. “Do you really want to go?” Chris posed a very important question. “Of course I do.” She answered quickly. “It’ll be a great experience. I know the kids will have fun.” "You know that it’ll be somewhat stressful—for me. I won’t be able to see you as much as I do now.” “I know. I won’t get to fall asleep next to you for a while.” She pouted. “That’ll be the hardest.” “We’ll get by.” Chris reassured her. “What do you want to do now?” “I want to go get everyone and go home. I am so tired.” She told him. “Okay, let’s go find everyone.” Chris didn’t know how they were going to do that when there were over a thousand people here all spread out. “Maybe we’ll find ‘em before the sun goes down.” he continued sarcastically.

Angel and Justin…

"Justin, are you sure you want to go back on the road again?” Angel asked curiously. “Of course I’m sure. This is what I loved to do and want to do it all again. Why would you ask that?” “I was just wondering. We’re hardly going to see each other.” She reminded him softly. “I’ll make up for it.” He told her with a sly smile. “I promise.” “Uh-huh.” She nudged him slightly and held onto his hand. "I’ve been thinking.” He said seriously (a slight chance that this will happen again.). “’Bout what? Anything important?” “We’ve been dating for how long, a year?” Angel nodded. “How long are we gonna wait before we… progress?” “Justin, you know how I feel about that.” She couldn’t believe he was asking her to contradict her own values. “You want this,” she motioned to her body. “and I want this.” She pointed to her left hand ring finger. “I know it’s only been a year, but I feel like I can spend my entire life with you.” “I love you, you know that, but I want a promise, insurance I guess you could say.” “You want the sex, but you don’t want the commitment that goes along with it?” she was getting annoyed at Justin’s attitude. “No! That’s not it.” He said sitting down on a cement wall. “I want to be with you. I can’t get married now, you know that just as well as anyone else here.” “Why is that? I don’t think I understand.” She said snottily. “I’m young. I have a college basketball career and academics to pay attention to.” “So, you can play basketball, go to school, and go on the road in August but you can’t make a solid commitment to me? That makes me feel good.” “That’s not what I meant!” Justin couldn’t believe how selfish his reasons sounded. They were coming out all wrong. “I guess I’m saying that I’m too young to get married. I’m too young to be having a family.” “Justin Timberlake! Do you realized that you just completely contradicted yourself? You want me to have sex with you, but you’re too young to have a family?!” by this time, Angel was yelling and drawing attention to herself and Justin. Justin stood to calm down his girlfriend. “Baby, can we talk about this at the hotel? You’re making a scene.” He told her quietly. “Don’t ‘Baby’ me! I’ll make a scene if I want to make a scene! And no, we can not talk about this at the hotel because I’m not going back to the hotel with you!” she yelled at him. By him wanting to quiet her, she only got louder. “What?!” “I’m getting a cab, getting my stuff, and I’m going home.” “What do you mean you’re going home?” Justin was scared at what her answer was going to be. Angel looked him square in the eye and answered. “I’m going back to Panama.”

Reunion: Chapter 15

That night, Angel slept in JC and Charli’s room with Charli while JC stayed in her room with Justin. Angel and Charli spent the entire night conversing about what had happened with Justin. “He told me he wanted to go farther in the relationship physically but he couldn’t get married because he was too young to have a family yet.” Angel sobbed to Charli. Charli comforted her new friend. “Then what did you say?” Charli wanted to get down to the problem. Justin and Angel had been dating for a little over a year and they were about to let the relationship go without talking about it. “I told him I wasn’t going back to the hotel with him.” She explained. “I told him I was going to go back to Panama. I don’t know if I meant it or if I’m really going to go or if I’m going to stay or what.” “Do you want to leave?” “I don’t know what I want to do…” she shook her head and buried it in her hands. “Do you want to break up with Justin? Did you mean what you said?” Charli wanted to help out but she thought she should just let them figure it out by themselves. “You know what?” “What?” “You should talk to Justin about this.” Angel shook her head in refusal. “There’s no way I can talk to him right now.” “I didn’t say right now. I think we both know that that would be a very bad idea.” Charli said to Angel as she led her to her bed for the night. “Go to sleep and we’ll figure out something tomorrow.” “Thanks, Charli.” “No problem. I’m always here.” “No really,” Angel continued with the utmost sincerity. “I really appreciate it. No one’s been there for me like this since my brother was shot.” “It’s nothing. I’m always here if you need to talk. Now go to sleep.” She instructed Angel. “Good night, Charli.” “Good night, Angel.” When Angel finally fell asleep, Charli called over the Justin’s room and got a hold of JC. “Hey,” she said simply as he answered the phone. “Hey, you.” “Were you asleep?” Charli glanced at the clock. 11:45. “Nah, you?” “Nope.” She replied. “Do you wanna go get something to eat?” “Sure. Meet me in the lobby in 10 minutes.” He told her. “What about Justin?” “He’s out like a light. I’ll see ya in 10.” They hung up the phone simultaneously and headed down to the lobby. As if they hadn’t seen each other in a week, they greeted each other with a long, passionate kiss. “Oh, that felt good.” Charli gushed as they made their way to JC’s car. “No kidding.” He smiled down at his younger girlfriend. Being the gentleman he is, he opened the door for her and then continued around to his side and started the car. “Did you talk to Justin? Did he say anything about Angel?” Charli was interested in solving this problem between Angel and Justin. She knew it was none of her business, but this almost happened to her and JC. They almost let their relationship go when they both knew that they needed each other. Justin and Angel need each other to be happy. “Yeah, he explained everything and then said that everything that came out of his mouth was the opposite of what he wanted to ask her.” “Did he tell you what he wanted to ask her?” “Charli? Why don’t we just lay back and let them figure this out? It’s none of our business what they need to talk about.” He told her. He knew Charli was a little nosy and it got her into trouble because she could never keep her mind from wandering into other people’s affairs. “I don’t want them to miss out on what they have.” Charli said to JC. “If they miss out then it wasn’t meant to be. If they miss out, then that’s the way God wanted it.” “Don’t get started on the God thing.” “Sorry.” JC backed off, knowing he just touched on a sensitive subject. They pulled into the parking lot of Burger King and saw that it was empty, considering it was midnight. “What do you want?” JC asked. “Um…a whopper, medium fry, large soda.” “Okay,” the person behind the counter entered her order into the register. “And a salad.” She added quickly. JC ordered his food and then they went to sit down and eat. “You know, I was going to take up on your little offer when we got home but the Justin and Angel thing got in my way.” Charli told him softly with a smile. “So, when are you gonna use your rain check?” he asked her slyly. The look he gave her made her want to take him into the bathroom and use it right then, but she used her better judgement and decided against it. “Don’t know. That depends.” “On what?” “On how fast we can get Justin and Angel back together.” Charli said. “She promised me that she would talk to him tomorrow about everything. I know that she loves him and she’s not even sure she meant exactly what she said.” After half and hour of chatting about everything that happened that day, they decided it was time for them to go back to the hotel. After a long, Long kiss in the car and another outside of Charli’s room, they separated and slept in their separate rooms. Yearning for each other, they both experienced fitful slumbers.

Reunion: Chapter 16

“Joey!” “Yeah, sweetheart?” “Mommy’s gonna make me wear the ugly dress.” Kayla whined to her “father”. “Meredith,” Joey complained to his wife. “Don’t make her wear that.” Kayla often went to Joey when she didn’t like something her mother did. Joey was a softie and usually got Meredith to do whatever Kayla wanted. How Kayla looked up at him with that pouty look in her eyes and her cute blond hair, he had to do what she wanted. He was pretty much wrapped around her little finger. “Then you dress her.” Meredith told him sharply. “She doesn’t want to wear anything I show her, so you pick out her clothes.” “Fine. Kayla,” he picked up the toddler and tossed her over his shoulder as she giggled. “Let’s go get your clothes.”

* * * * “Angel, are you ready to go?” Charli asked through the bathroom door. Angel had been in there for half and hour. She and Justin still hadn’t talked about what happened last week. Angel had tried to leave but Charli wouldn’t let her without working out what was going wrong in their relationship. JC warned her that getting involved in their problems would only make problems for her. She didn’t believe that and went on being as nosy as usual. Charli knocked on the door again to receive no answer again. Sehe turned the knob and walked in to an empty bathroom.

* * * * JC walked across the room and picked up the ringing phone that Justin wasn’t going to answer obviously. “JC?” “Yeah?” “Angel’s gone.” Charli told him quickly. “I walked in the bathroom and she was gone.” “What do you mean she’s gone? How could she leave? Your room is 10 stories up!” “She must have left when I went to go get some ice.” Charli was getting worried. “Don’t let Justin find out. I’m gonna go find her.” “Be careful. Don’t forget—we’re all meeting in the lobby at 2.” “I won’t. Love you.” With that, Charli hung up, grabbed her set of JC’s keys, and left to track down Angel.

* * * * “Lance, who are we meeting anyway?” Mia asked as she applied her mascara. “Rachael Karlin. She’s an old friend of ours from when we were still a group.” He remembered when they all met through Justin. A sweet feeling came over him when he thought of what happened between Justin and Melissa. He helped her get through her drug problem and get back on her feet. Unfortunately, afterwards, their relationship didn’t work out because Melissa needed him there more than he could be there. They broke up after about 6 months. “Is she nice? Do you think she’ll like us?” Mia, even though she had no reason to be, was nervous about meeting Rachael. “I know she’ll like you. You have to understand something, though. We are really good friends with her.” He explained. “Most girls we meet that meet her get possessive and get mad at us.” “Lance, you know me better than that. I would never do that.” “I know. I just wanted to let you know that it could cause some problems between us. The last thing we need is to get in a fight because of another girl.” “Then why did you bring it up?” Lance thought about the real reason he told her that. Not many people knew that Rachael and Lance were somewhat together after Justin and Melissa broke up. They got really close and then realized that they had feelings for each other. They called and kept everything on the down low but then they found that a relationship like theirs would never work. They had become too good of friends. “Just thought I’d warn you.” He lied. He didn’t want to lie to her but he figured it was better than her knowing the truth and seeing them together all the time. That would be bad. “Well, I’m ready to go get some food.” She changed the subject. Mia didn’t really care anymore.

Reunion: Chapter 17

In the studio, 3 weeks later…

“Me without you, cause forever yours is the simple truth…” Mia and Lance smiled as they successfully completed a track for Mia’s up-and-coming album. “Guys, that was great!” Mia groaned as she heard Rachael Karlin’s voice come over the speaker thingy. “You guys nailed that song.” “Thanks.” Lance said genuinely. Lance invited the guys’ friend, Rachael, to help them on the track for today. She was working in Johnny Wright’s office as his secretary and ran into the guys when they went to his office for a meeting about the tour. They all met up 3 weeks earlier and Lance found that Rachael wanted to get into producing music. Ever since then, Lance and Rachael had been inseparable. They were always talking business and when Mia wanted some “alone” time with him, he was too busy making plans with Rachael. “Yeah, thanks.” Mia forced a smile. She didn’t like someone moving in on her man, and she knew when someone wanted Lance she’d had experience of Lance-girlfriend-wannabes for almost seven months now. “Lance? Could you come in here and help me with this one part of the song? I can’t get it right.” Rachael asked, almost whining. “Sure.” Lance quickly stood the stool on which he stood and jogged towards the sound booth. Mia watched them through the glass and saw the way Rachael looked at her Lance. She didn’t like it at all. The way she acted like she had no idea what she was doing was very annoying to her. When they were done, Rachael gave Lance a hug, and Mia could have jumped through the window that separated her from her boyfriend and his “friend.” “Lance, we have to meet the gang for lunch.” Mia said, walking into the small room where Rachael had embraced her boyfriend. “Oh, yeah. I almost forgot.” Lance replied, turning a few shades of red. He was as surprised by Rachael’s sudden burst of affection as Mia was, if not more. “Well, I’ll see you guys.” Rachael said as she reached for her stuff slowly. “Wait.” Lance stopped her from walking out the door. “Why don’t you join us?” Mia and Rachael both stopped in their tracks and gave Lance equal looks of astonishment. “Are you sure?” Rachael asked, unsure of what she should say. “Of course. Everyone would love it.” He assured her. “Right, Mia?” “Uh-huh!” she responded as perkily as possible, nodding her head, and continued under her breath. “Oh joy.”

At the restaurant…

“Hey, Rach. I didn’t know you were coming.” JC said as he saw her walk into the restaurant between Mia and Lance. “Lance just invited me before we left the studio.” She replied as she sat down. Lance moved to the chair next to her and pulled it out for Mia. Then he sat next to her, which put Mia between him and Rachael. “Oh, yeah. How did the song go?” Justin asked at the mention of the studio. “It was great.” Mia answered. “I really like that song. I have a tape of it in the car. We can go listen to it after lunch.” Everyone nodded and agreed that that would be great. The meal went on and everyone chatted about the upcoming tour and Mia’s upcoming album. “What song did you guys work on?” Chris asked. He was interested im Mia’s career because he knew she had he potential to be a big star and keep her feet on the ground at the same time. “ “Forever Yours” “, she answered. “Who wrote it?” Justin asked. “Oh, my friend, Vontresa. She’s a really good writer.” Mia explained. ‘Vontresa… that’s a beautiful name.’ Justin thought to himself. ‘Maybe Mia and Lance could introduce us.’ Justin was immediately interested in her—a girl who has a beautiful name and the ability to write beautiful songs. ‘Think Angel.’ He scolded himself. ‘She left and you want her back, remember?’ “So, are you going back into the studio today?” JC asked Mia. “I don’t know.” Mia looked towards Lance. “Are we done with that song? I thought we got it.” “Rach? What did you think? Are we done?” Lance asked for Rachael’s input. Mia rolled her eyes, an expression that was obvious to everyone except Lance and Rachael. “I think so, but could you come help me? I want to go mess around a little more before we make sure.” Rachael asked for Mia’s boyfriend’s help once again. “Sure. When do you want to go?” “After lunch if it’s okay.” Rachael looked at him, unsure of what his answer would be. “Okay,” Lance agreed and turned to Mia. “Is that okay?” “Huh? Oh, Lance, I was hoping that we could go out and be alone. We haven’t done that in a while.” Mia made up something. She had to make an effort to keep him as close to her as possible. “We can go out tomorrow. Rachael needs my help. Okay? I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” “Promises never last forever, Lance.”

Reunion: Chapter 18

“That was good.” Joey declared sitting back in his chair and rubbing his stomach. “Yeah, it was.” Francine agreed. “Are we going to listen to that song?” Chris asked. He wanted to hear how everything was going on the album so far. “Sure.” Mia said. Everyone headed out to Mia’s car after they paid for their lunch. The first strands of music played when everyone knew it would be a hit. Lance: Mia:

You’re the love of my life. The prince of my throne. Baby when you came into my life. I knew I’d never want to be alone.

Together:

Cause together we can’t fade

Chorus (together)

” Forever yours is the way that I will stay. I think of you, baby, night and day. You make me whole, you make me complete. (Mia) That’s why I get weak in the knees. (Together) Forever yours is the way I want to be. There’s no way in the world I can see. (Lance) Me without you. (Mia) And you without me. (Together) Cause forever yours is the simple truth. Mia:

I may be no Shania Twain. You might know her as such. But I would lie if I was to say. That you didn’t impress me much.

Lance:

Your smile is gold Your heart is genuine When you look into my eyes I feel like I’m on cloud nine

Together:

Cause without you, there’s nothing I can’t do

Chorus (Together):

Forever yours is the way that I will stay. I think of you, baby, night and day. You make me whole, you make me complete. (Lance) And that’s why I get weak in the knees. (Together) Forever Yours is the way I want to be. There’s no way in the world I can see. (Mia) Me without you. (Lance) And you without me. (Together) Cause forever yours is the simple truth. © Vontresa Raven, 1999

“Wow.” Chris looked around in amazement at the song he just heard. “That’s a winner.” “That sounds really good.” Justin declared. Everyone nodded in agreement. Lance looked down at Mia and took hold of her hand. “I like the way that turned out.” Then he turned to Rachael. “I don’t think we need to make any changes to that song.” “Okay, that’s fine.” She told him. “If you guys need anymore help let me know, okay?” “Don’t worry. We will.” Mia said. ‘Um, yeah.’ She thought silently. ‘Sure we will.’ “I really better go. I have to meet someone.” Rachael said, grabbing her bag. “I’ll see you guys later.” She hurried off to meet her secret someone and didn’t look back to hear anyone’s good-byes. After 10 more minutes of discussing the song, everyone got in their separate cars and headed back to the hotel. When they returned, they all met in the lobby. “So, what are we doing tonight?” Meredith asked anyone who was willing to answer. “I just wanna stay in and chill.” Justin declared. “I’m tired.” Charli felt bad for Justin. The girl he loved simply walked out of the relationship without any warning. They weren’t officially broken up but they might as well be. Justin hadn’t spoken to or heard from Angel in a week and a half. “Yeah, me too.” JC agreed, looking at Charli slyly. “Sounds like a plan to me.” She agreed, smiling. They knew what they were doing tonight. “Why don’t we just stay here and watch some movies?” Joey asked everyone. “The kids said that they wanted to go swimming.” Francine told them. “I’m going to take them down to the deck. Do you want me to take Kayla off of you hands for a while?” “Oh, that would be great.” Meredith said thankfully. Sure, the little girl was cute, but she could be such a handful sometimes. At the restaurant, she walked up to a police officer and told him she was lost and started crying as if she actually was. “Alright. Why don’t you bring her to our room in about… oh, 15 minutes?” “That sounds great.” Everyone parted to go do their own thing for the day. Francine took Jay, Callista, and Kayla to the pool; Chris and Justin stayed in Chris’ room to watch a baseball game that was on TV; Meredith and Joey ordered a movie and enjoyed the silence of not having a child in the hotel room; Lance and Mia went down to the hot tub and chatted about random stuff; and Charli and JC went to their room to make their own fun. Her rain check was very overdue.

Reunion: Chapter 19

“Forever yours is the way I want to be…” Mia and Lance stood on stage, hand in hand, crooning Mia’s first single at a promotional concert in the middle of a mall. Applause resounded throughout the area where shoppers stopped to hear the golden voice of the new pop sensation, Mia. “Thanks everyone!” she yelled to the crowd as she finished the song. “I hope you enjoy the CD! I’ll see y’all later!” Mia’s CD, Forever Yours, named after her first single, had been in for about two weeks. Before the album was released, there was a lot of promotional stuff to do. Mia appeared on Total Request Live with Carson Daly, and even did some radio shows around Florida. Rick Dee’s featured her on his weekend show. When the CD was actually released, it went to number 5 on the billboard charts. Mia was finally realizing that she was finally experiencing her dreamt of stardom. Not worrying about rushing, hysterical fans, Mia didn’t use security guards yet. As the “concert” ended and Mia walked off stage, a girl of about 15 walked up to her and Lance. “Mia? My name is Leah.” The girl said. She didn’t seem shy to be in the presence of a rising superstar. “Hi! Did you need something?” “Um… I just wanted to tell you that I love your music.” “Thanks…I really appreciate it.” Mia was beaming. This was the first fan to ever tell her what they thought of her music. “Is this your boyfriend?” Leah asked, motioning towards Lance. “Yeah. Do you remember the group N Sync?” she answered taking hold of Lance’s hand. “Yeah. I was like 12 when they broke up. Why?” Lance looked in disbelief as he realized the young girl didn’t recognize him. “This is Lance. He used to be in N Sync.” “Hi.” Lance said, extending his hand toward Leah’s. “Really? You look really different. I didn’t even recognize you.” She told him, accepting his hand. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you have been such an inspiration to me. I want to be a singer, just like you.” “That’s so sweet.” Mia gushed. “Do you want some advice?” “That’d be great!” “Well, get a boyfriend that used to be in the business. It helps.” She joked. “No really, do you have a tape with you?” Mia figured it was a long shot but she could try. “Actually, I do.” Leah ventured into her purse and pulled out a CD-It tape. “I made it a couple of days ago. I’m singing “I Drive Myself Crazy”. It’s my all-time favorite song.” “That song was release, like 6 years ago.” Lance interrupted. “It’s the best song. I loved the video too.” Leah replied. “I’ll listen to it and then I’ll give you a call. Why don’t you write down your phone number.” Mia got the girl’s phone number and had Lance put the tape in his pocket. They made their way out to her car and went back to the hotel “That was awesome.” Mia declared as she flopped down on the bed. “I inspired someone.”

Reunion: Chapter 20

Mid-August, Orlando…

“Mia, aren’t you nervous?” Francine asked as she wrung her own hands nervously. “Even I’m nervous and I’m not doing anything.” “Are you kidding? I’m surprised I can still stand up. My legs feel like jelly.” Mia answered with her hands on her hips. “Have you seen Lance?” “I saw him in your dressing room about 20 minutes ago.” Francine replied. “Can you actually believe that this is happening?” “I feel like I’m dreaming.” Mia told her as Charli and Meredith walked up to them, giggling. “Hey girlies!” Charli said perkily. “Why are you guys so hyper?” Francine asked as a smile started to form on her lips. “We know something you don’t know…” Meredith teased. “What is it?!” Mia asked them excitedly. Secrets weren’t all too common around here anymore. “C’mon, tell us!” “No way.” Charli said as she zipped her lip, then she continued in a teasing tone, “We’ll let your boyfriend tell you.” “Fine.” Francine said as she jokingly stuck her nose in the air. “We don’t want to know.” “Trust me, you do.” Meredith teased. “Mia, you’re on in 5.” The stage manager told her. “Aren’t you nervous?” Charli asked. “No, actually I want an ice tea and a big salad.” Mia answered sarcastically. “Really? I’d probably throw up.” Charli replied. The rest of the girls broke into a laugh. “She was being sarcastic, Char.” Francine said once she caught her breath. “Oh.” Charli said with a dumbfounded look on her face. “Where’s Lance? I’m about to go on!” Mia exclaimed as she looked around backstage. Then she spotted him talking to Johnny Wright. “LANCE!!” Lance looked over at Mia, excused himself from Johnny, made his way over to his girlfriend. “I’ve been looking all over for you! Where’ve you been?” he exclaimed. “Standing over here. Do you have something to tell me?” she asked him curiously. Charli and Meredith turned around so their backs faced Lance. Obviously, they weren’t supposed to say anything. “Well,” he said in a hardened tone after glaring at the two blabbermouths. “I do have a surprise for you, but you’ll have to wait.” “Fine.” “You ready Mia?” the stage guy came back. “Yeah.” She replied breathlessly. “Oh, honey,” Lance took her in his arms. “Good luck. I mean, break a leg.” “Thanks. I’ll see you during the show.” She said, referring to their #1 duet. Mia gave each of the girls a hug and gave Lance a quick kiss, then turned and jogged to where she was supposed to be.

Reunion: Chapter 21

“Orlando, are you having fun?” Mia shouted into the microphone about 20 minutes into the show. She was completely relaxed up on stage. The crowd screamed in response. “Okay, after that song I’m gonna slow it down a little.” Mia sat down on the middle of the stage. “As most of you know, this is my first time on stage in front of a lot of people. I’m having so much fun! On this benefit tour, I’m opening for the group formerly known as N Sync. <> How many of you know Lance?” “Hey everyone!” Lance emerged from a side of the stage with a microphone in hand. More screams resounded throughout the arena. “I guess a lot of you remember Lance.” She laughed as she got up and took Lance’s hand. “On my album, Lance and I sing a certain song. <> I would like to thank all of you for the radio requests and for listening to and enjoying my music.” The music for the ballad started and Lance and Mia made their way to the center of the stage. During one of her verses, Mia quit singing the leads and put the mic in the audience. Everybody sang. The feeling that gave her was indescribable. At the end of the song, Lance gave Mia a quick kiss on the cheek and made his way off-stage. Mia’s dancers came back on-stage for their next number. Mia got in her place with her head down as she waited for the up-tempo music to start. After a couple of long moments, the song never started. Mia looked around at the dancers and they only shrugged their shoulders and looked away. The crowd, anxious to get on with the show, became restless. Mia, still with her head down, didn’t know what was going on and was becoming somewhat upset at this unexpected mistake. She nervously held up her hand and made her way to the side of the stage to see what the problem was. She was off for about 5 seconds when she walked backwards onto the stage with Lance walking in front of her. <> Lance waves, takes Mia’s hand, and leads her towards the center of the stage. “Mia, the guys and I just wanted to thank you for staying with your dream and never giving up.” He told her in his deep voice. “So, on behalf of the guys, thank you.” He hands her a beautiful gold necklace. “Now, I have something I want you to know. Mia, I love you.” And there, on-stage, in front of 10, 000 people, Lance kneeled and asked Mia to be his wife.

Reunion: Chapter 22

All of the girls scurried around excitedly as they waited for the guys to return from their performance. “This has to be the best day of my life!” Mia gushed. She’d had stars in her eyes ever since Lance walked off the stage. “Hey!” JC exclaimed as she walked into the dressing room and right to Charli’s waiting arms. “Justin, I called Vontresa and she’s coming up to write another song in two days.” Mia said as she looked around the room. “Where’s Lance?” “Here. Sorry. Some girl got past security.” He said breathlessly as he entered the room and took Mia in his arms. “Hey, sweetie.” Mia only answered with a kiss. “That was a great show, you guys.” Meredith said. “Why couldn’t you guys perform like that when you were together?” Joey grabbed his chest and fell of the couch. “That one hurt.” He joked. “So, what are we doing tonight?” Charli asked. She felt like partying. “Why don’t we go get some food first?” Chris suggested. “Good idea.” Everyone agreed and they went through the drive-in at McDonald’s. Everyone sat around and ate their food while the children slept in their bunks on the bus. When they finished, some were tired, some weren’t. “I wanna party.” Charli declared. “I’m up for it.” JC agreed. “Who else is coming?” “We are.” Mia said, looking at Lance. “Do you wanna go?” “Sure. Anyone else going?” Everyone else shook their heads, claiming fatigue, and settled in next to the TV. “Let’s go.” JC said. “We could probably walk from here.” Mia, Lance, JC, Charli made their way to the loudest club they could find. Without a look, Charli and JC immediately headed to the dance floor. Mia and Lance decided to get a drink to celebrate their engagement. “Was that what Charli and Meredith were talking about before the show?” Mia asked curiously. “Yeah,” he answered while he blushed. “Did you know?” Mia shook her head. “I don’t know how you couldn’t. Everyone else has known for about a week.” “Really? Well, I guess I haven’t been around that much.” “That’ll change. I want to spend as much time with you as possible from now on.” “Let’s dance.” Mia grabbed Lance’s hand and pulled him out onto the dance floor. They found Charli and JC tearin’ it up and they all danced well into the night. Around midnight, everyone was still out on the dance floor, and Charli saw someone she recognized. “Justin!” she yelled, trying to throw her voice above the music. “JC, c’mon.” Charli took JC’s hand and led him over to where Justin was dancing with a girl Charli had never seen before. It certainly wasn’t Angel, who had left about 2 months ago. Lance and Mia followed. “Hey! What are you doing here?!” Mia exclaimed when she recognized the mysterious Justin was dancing with.

Reunion: Chapter 23

Reunion: Chapter 24

Justin waked back to the bus embarrassed. ‘Justin, you are so stupid.’ He scolded himself. ‘You could have had a great time with a beautiful girl, but you ruined it.’ In fact, Justin couldn’t stop thinking about Angel since she left. ‘She dumped you. Get over it.’ “I can’t.” he said out loud. He intended to walk back to the bus after leaving the club, but a feeling kept him away from there. He walked around Orlando for an hour when he finally stopped. He looked up at what stood on the corner in front of him—a phone booth. ‘How the hell did I get here?’ he wondered. Not knowing who he was going to call, Justin picked up the phone and dialed a number. “Hey there, Dollface.” He said softly as someone answered the phone. “Justin? What’s wrong?” a girl’s voice asked, sounding genuinely concerned. “I just needed to talk to you. God, Mary, it’s good to hear your voice.” Justin said to her. “You too, J, but it’s midnight. Why are you calling me from a pay phone?” “I need your help.” He simply replied. “Are you still in Miami?” “Yeah. Why?” “I’m going to be there on Friday. Let’s get together.” “Oh, yeah. I forgot about the reunion thing. We definitely have to get together. It’s been, like, a year almost since I’ve talked to you face to face.” Mary agreed. “I’ll call you later, I gotta go.” “I’ll see ya.” Mary said as she hung up. “Oh, Justin?” “Yeah?” “It was good to hear your voice.” Justin smiled. “You too. See ya.” With that, Justin hung up the pay phone and, feeling much better, he headed back to the bus.

Reunion: Chapter 25

Justin and Mary had a wonderful relationship—much like JC and Charli’s is. They wanted to spend every waking moment together. Since they were together when Justin was touring, it wasn’t possible. They were dating when the rumors were spilling about Justin dating Britney Spears. Even Mary didn’t know what was going on with her and Justin. She talked to him about it and he told her nothing was going on between him and Britney. He hadn’t really talked to her since they were on the Mickey Mouse Club together. Trusting her boyfriend whole-heartedly, Mary went on with her business away from Justin. On their year and a half anniversary, Mary decided to surprise Justin by showing up at one of his shows in Seattle, across the country from where she lived.

Flashback

“We will be arriving in Seattle in about 10 minutes. Make sure your seat belts are secure and your seats are in the upright position.” The pilot spoke over the intercom to the passengers. ‘It’s about time.’ Mary thought to herself. She’d been on this plane for almost 10 hours, flying from Miami to Seattle to surprise her boyfriend. As the plane descended from the blue sky, Mary’s ears became plugged up and she popped in a piece of gum. ‘I hate planes.’ She told herself. The airport in Seattle was crowded but she made her way to baggage claim and found herself a cab. She got in and told the driver where to go. She was glad she didn’t have to tell him where to go because she didn’t know where the civic center was. She picked up her lone suitcase and hauled it inside. Dropping it off with N Sync’s security, Mary made her way backstage to find Justin. ‘God, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him.’ She thought of the way he smiled when she made a joke. Even the way he got a serious look on his face (which wasn’t very often) made her smile at the thought. Then she stopped in front of the door security told her was his dressing room. Mary was about to knock, but the door was open a crack so she peeked in instead. In the reflection of the mirror she saw Justin sitting on the couch next to a beautiful girl she knew wasn’t her. ‘What the hell…’ she thought as she saw the girl hold up a necklace. A beautiful gold chain with a heart pendant—the kind she pointed out to Justin the last time they were together. She gasped, causing Justin to turn around in his seat. He saw her through the crack in the door and made his way up to her. “Honey, what are you doing here?!” he asked her excitedly as he opened the door. He pulled her inside and extended his arms in a hug. She only pushed him away. “What?” “Nice necklace.” she simply said, avoiding his eyes and concentrating hard on the ground. He could always tell when she was mad at him because she would never look him in the eyes. “Oh, that little ole thing?” Justin asked, obviously nervous about something. “What are doing here?” “I was going to surprise you, but it looks like the joke’s on me.” She told him sternly after she tore her glare from the mysterious girl who was there with her boyfriend. “I should go.” Mary turned to leave. Justin, realizing the situation, jumped to block her from the door. “This isn’t what you think it is.” He defended himself. “Really? Then what is it? It looks to me like you’re giving her a necklace I told you about. Am I wrong Justin? Tell me what it is.” She practically yelled at him. “Let me ex-“ “No, you know what? I don’t want to know.” She said as she picked up her purse and brushed Justin aside. Then, before she walked out of the dressing room, she turned back to the mysterious girl. “You can have him, he’s not mine anymore.” Before Justin could protest, Mary was gone.

End Flashback

Since Justin was on tour, he could really stop everything and go talk to her because she immediately went back to her hotel for the night. Then, the next morning, she was gone. Justin finally found what hotel she was staying at, she was already on her way home. After the tour, Justin and everyone else went home to work on the next album. Then one day out of the blue, Mary called his house. Overjoyed, but not wanting to show it, Justin invited her to a barbecue at Joey’s parents’ house. At the barbecue, Justin and Mary made up for lost time, but Mary didn’t want to know what was really going on. No matter what Justin told her, she would lose in either case. If Justin was really giving that mysterious girl a necklace, she would continue living with the fact that the love of her life cheated on her. If the necklace was for one of the guys from the girl, she would feel stupid for not listening to Justin. Over the 4 months Justin was gone, Mary realized that it must not have been meant to be. Up until now, they haven’t talked about what happened that night in Seattle, but their friendship has been as strong as it was before she broke up with him that fateful night.