April 2000

JC was looking forward to have the whole week off, he and his four bandmates had just released the long awaited “No Strings Attached.” album, just last month, which broke the record for the highest album sold, it was a great accomplishment, to celebrate, Johnny gave them each a week off to go visit their families and other friends, so they can relax and recharge until there next tour starts in three months. So JC took advantage of that situation, and headed back East to his hometown in Maryland, Justin went back to Tennessee, Joey and Chris remained in Florida cause that is where his families were, while Lance flew back to Mississippi, and they each agreed that as soon as the week was over, they were to head back to Orlando.

“Is this the place kid?” The taxi guy told JC

“Yep, right here, thank you sir.” JC kindly thanked him and gave him the fare.

The taxi cab pulled to a small yellow house, surrounded by flowers, JC could see his dad’s truck in the driveway, meaning that his family was home, they didn’t know that he was coming over to see them, he wanted to show up and surprise them.

He breathed in and smelled the sweet smelling spring air, so much better than the endless summer heat in Florida.

“Now this is what you call spring.” JC sighed happily, he could hear the birds chirping, the bees buzzing, kids playing in the distance, and everything felt so nice, what could go wrong?

He walked up to the front door, and pulled out a spare key that was in his backpack, he put the key into the lock and the door opened with a click, he was already greeted the aromas of a home-cooked meal.

“Mom, Dad?” He called out, closing the door behind him.

He called again, and this time his mother came in from the kitchen, “Josh?”

“Josh!” She cried happily, “It’s so good to see you! What a wonderful surprise! You didn’t tell me you were coming! She pulled him into a tight embrace.

“We have a week off so I decided to come here, where’s dad?” He said, pulling away from her.

“Your dad?” She asked.

JC saw that she seemed hesitant for a moment, and he thought immediately that something was wrong.

“Is everything okay with dad?” JC asked.

“Oh yeah sure, he’s fine, he’s in the back, he’s talking to someone.” Karen headed back into the kitchen, all of sudden, she didn’t want to make eye contact with him.

JC wondered what was going on and headed to the back of the house where the porch was, he saw his dad, with an older burly man, messy curly hair, a beard, some worn clothes, he was pretty tall, and bright blue eyes.

JC’s dad turned to look him, “Son, you didn’t tell me that you were coming.” He gave him a half smile and a one-armed hug.

“I wanted to surprise you.” He told him quietly.

Roy didn’t say anything, he just looked over at JC and then to the burly man.

“Who’s this guy?” JC asked him.

An awkward silence filled the room, and he didn’t notice that his mom was right behind him.

“Who is he?” He repeated.

“Um honey?” Karen turned to look at him, “this guy is your-um.”

“Father.” The burly man said, his voice was rough but strong.

JC didn’t know if he heard correctly or what, “What did you say?”

“I’m your father, your biological father.”

JC stopped breathing for a moment, and continued to look at the burly man, then at his parents.

“What the hell?” JC shouted, “What do you mean, he’s my biological father, that’s impossible! That is, that is, Mom! How could you? Why is here ? What does he want from me? This man is not my father, I am sorry to say!

“Oh but its true, here are the documents.” The burly man showed him the documents and JC yanked them from his hand and looked at them, they were pretty old, they were yellowed and worn, but JC could clearly see his biological mother’s name and her photo on the birth certificate, and right under her name was a picture of the burley man, but much younger than what we looked like now, his name was Thomas.

“This was before you were adopted honey.” Karen told him quietly.

That is not my last name, my last name is Chasez, my mother gave me up to live with you guys, because she couldn’t care for me anymore, I know my biological mother, I do not know you.” JC tossed the documents in his face and walked away from them, he headed towards the front door.

“Josh wait!” Karen called out to him.

“Mom, leave me alone! If you cared for me so much, you wouldn’t have let him into this house!” He shouted.

“Honey, let me explain-

“You don’t have to explain nothing mom, I walk alone.” JC’s meaning was cold, he headed outside, went to the garage, found a bike, and used it.

Roy came out, “Son, get back here!

JC didn’t listen to them, in fact, he didn’t want to listen to anyone, he took the bike and pedaled away, tears streaming down his face, this was supposed to be a week where he could relax and spend time with his parents, but no, some stranger comes into the house, saying that he’s the father of him? Why the very nerve of that guy, who does he think he is? Did he know who he was? All of these years of knowing the family that he has ever known, and he shows up like nothing is wrong? JC was hurt, angry, a bunch of emotions rolled into one, he didn’t know where he was going, he just needed to get away, away from them, away from everything, all he knew was that the beautiful sights and sounds of spring, was beginning to have a dark side.

JC arrived at a nearby park, and sat down at the bottom of the tree, he threw the bike on the grass, and just wanted to crumple down and cry. He was angry and distraught, what can he do? What could he do? He placed his hands on his face and tried his best to console himself, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a tiny voice, he looked up to see that he was facing a girl, a little girl, about the age of eight or nine. She had long auburn hair, one strand of it was braided and decorated with beads, she was eating an ice cream cone on one hand, and on the other hand, had it placed on her hip.

“Huh?” JC called out.

“The ball, can you pass it to me? It’s right there.” She said.

JC looked to his side and saw a soccer ball next to him; he stared at it for a while and gently picked the ball up and handed it to the little girl.

The little girl looked at him thoughtfully and asked, “Are you okay sir?”

“Yeah I’m okay.”

“You don’t look okay, you look like you have been crying, and when a person is crying, that means that something is troubling him, besides there are two kinds of tears in this world, one is happy tears, and the other sorrow tears, usually happy tears come out when something wonderful has happened to that person, sorrow means something much more deep or misunderstood, so by looking at you, something has been bothering you, would you care to explain? If not, I’ll leave you here, so I can continue with my soccer game.”

JC looked at the little girl in amazement; he couldn’t believe that he was being lectured by a kid. He wiped the tears away from his face and told her that something was bothering him, but he refused to tell her.

The little girl wasn’t buying it; in fact, she called out to her friends that they can continue the soccer game without her, so she tossed the ball over to them and gave them a little wave. Then she sat down next to JC and introduced herself.

“Hi I’m Becky, my real name is Rebecca, but you can call me Becky.” She gave him a big smile and put her hand out waiting for JC to give her handshake.

She was still eating her ice cream cone on the other hand.

“I’m JC.” He told her quietly.

“Jay Cee?”

“No, as in letter J and a letter C, you know initials.”

“Oh.” She then finished the last bit of her ice cream cone, and looked over at JC.

“Do you want me to get you some ice cream? They have one with rainbow sprinkles.” She grinned.

“No, it’s okay, thank you though.”

Becky stayed quiet for a moment and looked at the other kids playing in the distance.

“You know, you can go play with your friends if you want, you don’t have to be here being bored with me.” JC told her.

“I’m not bored.” Becky replied, “I wanna know what’s troubling you.”

“Why would I tell you my problems? You are just a kid, no offense.” JC told her.

“I may be just a kid, but I’m not the one sitting by a tree being a cry baby now am I?”

JC said to himself, “Man this kid is smart.”

“Trust me.” The little girl continued, “You would feel much better if you told someone your problems.”

JC turned to her and said. “Well, what would you do if your father shows up after so and so years and wanted to act like nothing is wrong?”

Becky thought for a moment, “It depends on the situation.”

“Well my situation is very complicated, you would never understand.”

“JC, I understand a lot of things, you’d be surprised how much I know, despite the young age that I am, you see, I don’t have any parents, I was raised by a nice lady who I call Greta, I don’t even remember how they looked like, Greta cared for me and took me into her home, she then told me that she found me on her doorstep as a baby, and so I was raised by her ever since, you see my friends over there playing soccer? They have also been in a same situation, and they live in a foster home, who Greta actually owns, and sometimes if we behave, she takes us all out for ice cream.”

JC listened to her story intently but didn’t say anything; in fact, she let her continue with her story.

“And Greta’s foster home is really nice, it has a pool, vending machines, its like being a kid in a candy store, it’s like being in camp.” Becky grinned.

JC still didn’t say anything.

“Are you gonna say something or not? What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?” She laughed at her own joke.

JC smiled and told him his side of the story, “I was adopted Becky, at the age of five, I know who my birth mother is, I never knew my father, my mother couldn’t care for me anymore, and so gave me to some wonderful people who raised me well, she actually knew them for a while, and so we all developed a close relationship, and my mother told me, that I have an open door policy and can visit anytime I wanted. Shortly after, I grew up and by the time I was thirteen, my adoptive parents signed me up to be on a Disney show, and to make this short, I’m actually part of a super popular music group at the moment.”

Becky’s eyes went wide, “Like the Spice Girls?”

JC laughed at her comment, “Kinda, except that we are all guys.”

“I would like to listen to some of your music JC, if that’s okay, maybe one day?”

“Do you watch Disney?”

“Sometimes I do, but I’m always outside playing with my friends.”

“Well maybe one day you can meet some of my friends, I’m sure they’ll love to meet you, you seem like a nice little girl.” JC told her.

“Thank you JC, I would like that, but before anything, you have to meet Greta.”

“Yeah, but I just don’t know how am I gonna handle my folks, I kinda ran away, you see? I flew in from Orlando cause I’m on break, and wanted to surprise them, and so, everything was ruined cause my biological father was there, and I have never knew him in my life, I remember once my adoptive parents told me when I was much younger if I wanted to look for him or something, and I told them no, not interested, and that I was content in knowing my mother, and so he shows up and act like nothing is wrong, and what hurts the most, is that my adoptive parents felt like they didn’t know how to tell me, I felt like they were hiding something.” JC explained and let out an aggravated sigh.

“Did you let them explain or did you run off from your problems?”

“I uh- I didn’t wanna be there, I was upset, cause it was too much to take.”

“I understand, I know that must’ve tough for you to see a complete stranger and saying that he was your father, after not being there with you all of those years; that is like a slap in the face.” Becky told him.

“You got that right.”

“Tell you what, try to go back, and reason with your adoptive parents, and listen to what they gotta say, that stranger who claims to be your father should not be in the room with you, after all, he wasn’t there, it was your parents that have been there with you, through thick and thin, am I right?”

JC nodded, “Right.”

Becky was gonna say something else to him but was interrupted by a lady that came up to them.

“Becky, it’s time to go hon.”

“Greta! I’m sorry, I lost track of time.”

“You met a friend?” She asked.

JC stood up, like the gentleman he was and went to shake her hand, she was an older woman, grey hair at her temples, but she seemed active, she was wearing track pants with a Tshirt.

“Greta, this is JC, JC Greta.” Becky smiled sweetly.

“Nice to meet you JC.”

“Same.”

“Greta, is it okay if JC can come visit? He’s part of a super pop group, and I want him to visit us with his friends.”

“Sure, the more the merrier, let me give you the address so you can come visit anytime.” Greta told him.

After Greta gave JC the address, Becky waved goodbye to him and told him to keep in touch.

JC smiled at them, and he felt a little bit better, Becky was right, it felt nice to talk to someone, and he was gonna see her again real soon, just after he dealt with the problems that he had to face at home.

It was nearly dark when JC arrived home, he saw that all of the lights were off, but his dad’s car wasn’t in the driveway, he looked at his watch and saw that it was eight-thirty, a strange feeling swept over him and he thought immediately that something was wrong; tossing the bike on the front lawn, he took his keys out and pushed open the front door, he turned the lights on, nothing.

“Well that’s just odd.” He thought to himself and looked for the power source and tried to turn on the lights manually, when he did manage to flip all the switches, he gasped at the sight that he saw, the house was a mess, a complete mess. “I should’ve have never left them with that maniac!”

JC immediately felt guilty, he let out an aggravated sigh and looked around through the mess to see if he had found any sort of clue, cause there was no way he was gonna call the police, what would do police do anyway? If he was gonna find his parents, he was gonna find them himself, but how? His eye caught a piece of paper sitting on top of the kitchen counter, picking the paper he skimmed through the note and realized that it was a ransom note. His hands were shaking as he was reading it, it said:

“Hello JC Chasez, yes this is Thomas, since you think that I’m not your father, I decided to do a little test, I know exactly who you are sir, you are filthy stinkin rich, and all of my life I have waited for this moment, when I found out that my son was famous, I couldn’t help myself, I needed to see you, I have lived a very difficult life, yes, I know that I left you at a young age, and disappeared for a while, I couldn’t stand your mother Susan, she was always arguing with me, which is why I left, and was never heard from again. I know that your adoptive parents asked you if you wanted to search for me, you made no plan to intend to, and I understand that, but when you arrived here today, I just, it was something that I couldn’t explain, it’s been too long, way too long, if you would like to see Roy and Karen again, please come by in the next twenty four hours to Eagle Hill, and bring me thirty-million dollars in cash, then I’ll release them, if not, well, lets just say, that you won’t see them again, and you and me will have the relationship that we were supposed to have as a father and son. You have twenty four hours, I’ll be waiting…

By the end of the letter, JC’s breath caught in his throat, his mind whirred and everything went fuzzy, this was just too much to take, he needed to get a move on and fast, he needed backup, he had only one option, instead of calling the cops, he needed to call the guys, this was an emergency.

After JC was cleaning the mess up at the house, his mind was running a million miles and was calling the first person he could think of, one who would actually start to pick fights; Chris.

“Come on Chris, pick up, please pick up.” JC pleaded.

Chris picked up after the fourth ring, “Hey Jace, what’s happening?” He greeted.

“Chris, thank God you picked up the phone, something terrible has happened.”

“Wait, what? Are you okay, tell me what’s wrong?”

“I don’t even know where to start Chris, I don’t know!” JC shouted through the phone.

“Jace, calm down, you can start at the beginning, now take a deep breath and let it out slowly.”

JC sucked in a breath and let it out slowly.

“Okay, good now tell me, what’s wrong, did you get to Maryland?” Chris asked.

“Yes I did, and I found a wonderful surprise, do you remember how I told you and the guys that I made no plans in searching for my biological father?”

“Yeah?” Chris told him.

“Well, he showed up randomly at my parents’ house, he was sitting there.”

“Wait, he was sitting there? Like nothing? And Roy and Karen let him in?” Chris wondered.

“Yeah, they did. He had the documents and everything.”

“That ain’t right, that’s not right at all, after all of these years he shows up now? The nerve of that guy, what does he want, he obviously wants something.”

“Oh he wants something alright, when I found out that he said that he was my biological father, I freaked, I was upset, I didn’t wanna see anyone, so I ran out of the house and stayed under a tree near a park and cried.” JC explained.

“Jace, I’m-so sorry this has happened to you.” Chris told him quietly.

“Then I met a little girl named Becky, who I would tell you more about her later.”

“So I’m guessing he found out that you are a famous superstar and he wants your money?”

“Exactly, you wanna know what else?” When I came back home, he left a ransom note claiming that if I wanted to see my parents again, I needed to give him thirty million dollars in cash, can you believe it Chris?” JC argued.

“Well, that is just plain psycho! You mean, he’s holding your parents hostage?” Chris shouted to the receiver.

“Yes.” JC said, trying to hold back tears.

“JC, you need backup, and fast, I’ll tell the guys that you called, and that we need to meet you there in Maryland so we can sort this out, got it?”

“Got it.” JC told him.

“Don’t worry JC, everything is gonna be fine, I’ll be on the next flight out.” And with that Chris hanged up the phone.

JC just stared at his cell phone for a minute and placed it down on the counter in front of it.

He looked at the clock that was on the wall, time was ticking.

JC paced back in the forth in the middle of the living room, if he kept on pacing he would’ve swore that a hole was gonna come in from underneath him, after what seemed like an eternity, his heard the doorbell ring, looking at the clock, it was about a quarter to eleven at night; he took a peep through the peephole at the door and saw that it was Chris and Joey, he was relieved to see them.

“We came in as soon as we could.” Chris said in a hushed tone.

“You alright man?” Joey asked, placing a hand on JC’s shoulder.

“I’m okay Joey, it’s my parents that I’m worried about.”

“Don’t worry, Chris came up with a brilliant plan, that is, after Justin and Lance show up, they’ll be here in an hour or so.” Joey told him.

“What’s the plan?”

“Well, we rented a truck at the airport, its parked right outside, and we all drive up to that crazy guy’s hideout, and we’ll drive with the lights off, so he won’t know we are coming, but before we do anything, we go to the police station and explain the situation, and show them the ransom note, and then we tell them to follow us, because cops are dumb.” Chris joked.

“Good plan, a little risky, but good.” JC said.

“I know its risky, cause there is no way you are gonna give that psycho any money.” Chris scoffed.

“Yeah, after all of these years, he shows up just like that?” Joey wondered.

JC nodded but didn’t say anything.

Chris saw that he was holding the ransom note in his hand, “Let me see that.”

He and Joey skimmed over the note, “Eagle Rock Hill is far from here?” Joey told JC.

“About an hour drive, it’s a recreational place, it has a lake and a picnic area, I used to go there a lot during the summer when I was kid, and I had a lot of fun, so many memories, back then, when times were simpler.” JC let out a sigh.

“Do Tyler and Heather know? Where are they anyway?” Chris asked.

“They don’t know, they are away at college, out of state, I don’t plan on telling them, I don’t wanna worry them.”

“But what if they call or something?” Joey wondered.

“They won’t this late, besides, hopefully we may get my mom and dad back by tonight right?”

Chris and Joey looked over at JC, he looked so vulnerable, so scared, like a child who was lost and confused.

“Yeah JC, we will, don’t worry about anything okay? They are gonna be fine, because we are gonna get that psycho and give him a good what for.” Chris told him.

JC gave them a small smile, “I hope your right.”

About an hour or two later, JC was a bit calmer, he had made himself a sandwich along with Chris and Joey, the three of them ate in silence and watched a little bit of TV, the doorbell then rang again, and JC got up to see who it was, Lance and Justin were on the other side of the door.

“JC!” Justin pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry man; that jerk, what the hell?”

“What the hell is right?” Lance added. “I can’t believe that he showed up, and wanted to act like nothing is wrong.

JC just nodded and told them to come inside, and they all talked amongst themselves on how they were gonna make this plan work; while they were talking, Justin also made a sandwich for himself, and one for Lance.

“I think it’s a good idea.” Lance said, taking a bite out of his ham sandwich.

“Yeah, that’s what we thought.” Joey replied.

They all agreed that Chris’s plan was good, and all five of them are gonna go as soon as they finished eating.

After cleaning up, and packing enough water bottles in their bags, all of the cell phones were charged, and they brought an extra pair of clothes just in case they needed to change.

“Is everyone ready?” Justin said, about to head out the door.

They all nodded yes in response.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Locking the door behind them, they entered into the SUV that Chris rented, with Chris being the designated driver, JC sitting next to him, and Joey, Lance and Justin sitting on the back, they placed their bags in the trunk, and slowly but quietly pulled out of the driveway.

Chapter 5

“What do you suggest we do first?” Chris asked, keeping his eyes on the road. “Do you think we should tell the cops first about the psycho or do we go there ourselves and jump on him?”

“How we gonna do that, we don’t even where the heck he’s hiding?” Justin replied.

Chris thought for a moment, “Ok, how about this? We go to Eagle Rock Hill, and see what we can find, then maybe one of us would go to the police station, you know, split up and stuff.

That may be a good idea, but I’m not so sure, we have to be careful.” JC added.

“Come on Jace, its five against one, what could go wrong? Besides, we have Joey so he can sit on him.”

They all laughed for a moment, but saw that JC had a worried look on his face.

Joey placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, “Jace.” He told him quietly, “Everything is gonna be fine okay? I already told you, we all told you, this was something that happened unexpectedly, when we get to Eagle Rock Hill, we would see what we can find.”

JC nodded slowly, and then they all continued to drive away in silence.

About an hour later

The guys saw an old sign that read “Eagle Rock Hill”, Chris turned on the right signal and headed into the long and winding road.

“This is so creepy.” Lance spoke, his voice just above a whisper.

“The weird thing is, during the daylight hours, it doesn’t look like this.” JC asked, looking out the window at the cold lake and the trees looked as if they were dancing under the moonlight.

They reached the end of the road and stopped at another sign, saying “Welcome to Eagle Rock Hill Recreational Area.” and into a clearing complete with picnic tables, restrooms, BBQ grills, and vending machines.

“Chris, you should turn off your lights.” Justin whispered.

Chris agreed, and turned off his lights, the night was clear, not a cloud in the sky, just a moon. They opened the windows to see what sounds they would hear, just a few crickets and other animal sounds.

Just then JC yelled “Stop!” which caused Chris to stop his brakes suddenly.

They all turned around to face him, he was pointing at something just a few miles down the empty parking lot.

“That’s my father’s car.” JC choked out.

The guys turned back to the direction that JC was pointing at, and sure enough, it was his father’s car, parked in the parking lot.

Without thinking, JC opened the door of the SUV while it was in motion and stepped out the vehicle.

JC! Hold on! Wait a minute!” Justin called out to him and ran after to him.

“Stop! Leave me alone, I have to know if there inside! I have to know if they’re okay!”

“Shh, not like that!” Justin struggled to get ahold of JC, he placed a hand over his mouth, with Joey’s help, he managed to get JC back in the SUV.

Justin and Joey let out a whoosh of air and gave a glare at JC.

“Jace, don’t do that!” Justin said.

“What if it was a trap, what if the psycho had some sort of weapon or something? You just don’t go out there and open the door of that car.” Joey explained.

“We have to do this quietly okay, or we are never gonna make this plan work, you understand?” He continued.

“He nodded and said he was sorry.

“Now, let’s try this again, Chris, turn your lights back on to see if we can see anything in that car and shut it off quickly.”

Chris turned the lights back on again, they all looked at the parked car, it was empty, just a few rags and a blanket.

“Turn it off now guys?” Chris asked, looking behind him to see if any cars were following them.

“Yeah go ahead.” JC told him.

They drove around the empty parking lot for a while but didn’t see anything suspicious besides the car, just then they spotted a giant rock at the end of the parking lot, it was hidden between the shrubs of trees. From a side view, the giant rock had an opening and a light was seen inside.

“Chris, you should park right here and we should step out to have a look.” Lance added.

They all agreed and parked within distance from the giant rock, they got out of the car being careful not to slam the doors, and they quietly headed to the giant rock. When they arrived there, they could clearly see that was a cave, a long cave, they could see a dim light in the distance.

A heavy silence fell towards the cave, and the dim light seemed to get brighter and brighter with every step they took, none of the guys said a word, until they reached the end of the cave.

They stopped for a moment, and could clearly see Karen and Roy, both tied up together, and the Thomas guy was sitting down by the fire, carrying a bag of something, he was opening a can of beans and boiling them in a pot, he was singing a song to himself about being rich.

“If that wonderful boy of yours doesn’t show up with my bag of cash, after I finish having my lovely dinner, I’m gonna become very angry, you won’t like me when I’m angry.” The man snickered to himself.

Chris let out a gasp which could clearly be heard in the cave’s echo walls.

Thomas jumped at his feet and looked into the dark cave, “Who’s there!” His voice, rough and menacing.

The guys backed against the cave’s murky wall and Chris pulled out his can of mace ready to aim it at Thomas’s face.

“I know I heard someone!” He shouted. “Is that you JC? Do you have my money?”

JC started to cry silent tears to himself;

Just then, Chris jumped from the spot he was hiding and came face to face with the man, he took his mace can out and sprayed it directly on his eyes

The man let out a scream and toppled to the floor.

Then the rest of the guys went to go untie Karen and Roy, they didn’t say a word. Joey and Justin kept an eye on Thomas to see if he was gonna get up, he was still screaming in pain trying to rinse out his eyes.

After successfully untying them, they managed to get Karen and Roy out of the cave, they didn’t look back, and headed into the empty parking lot; they all stopped when they saw red and blue flashing lights coming into the park.

“License and registration please;” Was the officer’s reply to one of the guys, he had them backed up against their vehicle.

“It’s not my car, it’s a rental.” Chris told him.

“Do you have a driver’s license?”

Chris looked at him and nodded, and reached into his back pocket to pull out his wallet. After finding his driver’s license, he handed it to the officer.

The officer frowned and looked it over, “It’s from Florida.”

“That’s not a problem is it? You see? Me and my friends are on vacation, its kinda of a long story, that guy over there by the wall, is a psycho.”

“And how do I know that?”

“Because he kidnapped JC’s parents, and we were trying to rescue them from him, he had them tied in that cave over there, we were gonna tell you cops first, but we wanted to investigate it first.”

“You mean those people over there are your parents?” The officer looked over at JC.

JC nodded slowly.

“Oh I see, I’ll be right back, let me go run this.” The officer gave them a snarky smile and headed to his vehicle.

Justin mumbled under his breath, “Doesn’t he know who we are?”

Joey just shrugged and looked over at JC, and then to the psycho, who was talking to himself.

“See?” I told he was crazy.”

JC’s parents were both had solemn expressions on their faces.

The officer came back from his car, “You have a driving record Mr. Kirkpatrick, a few tickets, here and there, are you gonna pay for them?”

“I am, when I get back to Florida.” Chris said through gritted teeth.

He then approached to the older adults, and asked them who the other car that was parked there was? Roy, kindly explained to the officer that it was his car, and then explained the whole situation of why they were all there in the first place.

The officer then spoke to the psycho man, and looked at him intently. “Hey! We have been looking for this man for ages!”

The guys looked at the officer incredulously.

“He’s on our most wanted list!” He continued. “And now I know who you guys are, *NSYNC right? I am so sorry for accusing you all, I didn’t know, my daughter loves you guys, she’s gonna see you in concert soon.”

“That’s great.” Lance added.

“I hope you guys aren’t upset with me, but really, I am sorry, it’s this job I have, it’s so hard to trust people you know, and you won’t believe how many people make up stories just to get away with certain things.”

JC’s expression softened, “Its okay, no hard feelings.”

“Looks like you guys had a bit of trouble with this Thomas guy huh, he was behind you cause of your fame and fortune.”

JC nodded.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, we are gonna book him and you won’t ever have to see him again.” The officer gave JC a warm smile.

“Thanks.” Was JC’s reply.

“But before we book him, may you guys sign something so I can give it to my daughter?”

“Sure!” Joey grinned.

“I think I have another one of my shirts in the car, you can sign that.” The officer went to the car and got the shirt, and handed them the shirt; the guys then took their markers that they had their backpacks and each signed their name.

Thomas stared at them for a moment, than at JC, he was filled with hatred and malice, and JC was the complete opposite.

“Thank you so much guys, my daughter is gonna freak when I tell her about this.”

“No problem.” JC asked, he looked over at Thomas, who was sitting in the car with his tied hands, he was giving JC a death glare.

“Dude, look at the way he’s staring at you.” Justin whispered to him.

“I know.”

“He looks possessed.” Lance told him.

The officer then went to the car, “alright buddy, before we book you, let me have all of your weapons.”

The guys were surprised that he had more than just one weapon, some were small enough to fit in a shoe.

Karen and Roy went close to JC, for comfort he guessed. “I’m sorry son, we had to put through all of this, I should’ve have never let him in the house.” His dad said.

“It’s alright dad,  I just realized something.”

“What did you realize honey?” Karen asked as she watched the officer pull out of the parking lot and drive into the darkness.

“I realized, that I have the best parents, friends, and fans in the world.” JC replied, and he started to cry.

They all huddled around him and pulled him into a tight hug, JC looked at the nightsky, the stars were shining ever so brightly, for what felt like everything was hopeless for him, he was forever grateful that everything turned out good in the end, he didn’t need anything else at the moment, he already had all the love he would ever need, what more could he ask for?

A few days later

“Alright everyone, we have five special guests to perform for us today, I’m sure some of you may or may not know them, they are the hottest act in music today, ladies and germs, give a round of applause to *NSYNC!” Greta explained.

The curtain opened and out the guys went, the small group of kids went wild, it was an open concert and the stage was set outside, the place provided refreshments and food while the guys were dancing and singing on stage.

Hey, hey
Bye, bye (bye, bye)
Bye, bye (bye, bye)

Girl I'm doing this tonight
You're probably gonna start a fight
I know this can't be right
Hey baby come on
I loved you endlessly
And you weren't there for me
So now it's time to leave and make it alone

I know that I can't take no more, it ain't no lie
I wanna see you out that door
Baby bye, bye, bye

(Bye)I don't want to be a fool for you
Just another player in your game for two
You may hate me but it ain't no lie
Bye, bye, bye
(Bye)I don't really want to make it tough
I just wanna tell you that I had enough
Might sound crazy but it ain't no lie
Bye, bye, bye

Oh, oh you just hit me with the truth
Oh girl you're more than welcome to
So give me one good reason baby come on
I live for you and me
And now really come to see
That life would be much better
Once you're gone

I know that I can't take no more, it ain't no lie
I wanna see you out that door
Baby bye, bye, bye

(Bye)I don't want to be a fool for you
Just another player in your game for two
You may hate me but it ain't no lie
Bye, bye, bye
(Bye)I don't really want to make it tough
I just wanna tell you that I had enough
Might sound crazy but it ain't no lie
Bye, bye, bye

I'm giving up I know for sure
I don't wanna be the reason for your love no more
(Bye, bye)
I'm checkin' out, I'm signin' off
I don't want to be the loser and I've had enough

I don't wanna be your fool
In this game for two
So I'm leaving you behind
Bye, bye, bye
I don't wanna make it tough
But I've had enough and it ain't no lie, bye-bye

(Bye)I don't want to be a fool for you
Just another player in your game for two
You may hate me but it ain't no lie
Bye, bye, bye
(Bye)I don't really want to make it tough
I just wanna tell you that I had enough
Might sound crazy but it ain't no lie
Bye, bye, bye

(Bye)I don't want to be a fool for you
Just another player in your game for two
You may hate me but it ain't no lie
Bye, bye, bye
(Bye)I don't really want to make it tough
I just wanna tell you that I had enough
Might sound crazy but it ain't no lie
Bye, bye, bye

After the performance was over, JC stood up on the mic and said, “This probably wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t have my four best friends to back me up, we encountered a little ordeal earlier this week, but that has been resolved. I would like to call up Becky up to the stage if she’s around.” The crowd looked around, and Becky stood up and waved at them, she then went up to the stage.

JC grabbed her and gave her a one armed hug, “Becky honey? I’ve been thinking, how would you like to have a big brother, you can come with us, or you can stay here and I would try to visit as much as I can.”

The crowd let out a gasp and Greta had a small smile on her face.

“JC, you really mean that?”

“Positive honey, you can hang out with us.”

“Yeah, it’ll be fun, we have a bunch of great people whenever we are on tour, if its okay with you and Greta.” Justin asked.

“I don’t know what to say.” Becky whispered, a tear forming in her eye.

“Say you’ll come with us, you can always come back and visit them.” Chris smiled.

Becky looked around at the crowd, her friends, and Greta who slowly let out a nod of encouragement.

Becky walked up to Greta, “I have known you my whole life.”

“And I have taught everything you need to know, go on, go with them, I’ll be here.” Greta gave her a watery smile and pulled her into a tight hug, “Promise you would call and write to me whenever you can?”

“I promise.”

“We would take good care of her, and she would be home-schooled, so she won’t miss her education while growing up.” Lance added.

“Oh I know you will, she’s a very smart kid.” Greta replied.

Becky let go of Greta and looked over at the crowd once more, “I’m gonna miss you guys a lot, thank you for putting up all of these years, I’ll keep you posted.”

The crowd let out a cheer and some were crying, Becky waved at them and blew kisses.

“Becky, you should go get your things, we have to go back to Orlando tomorrow.” JC added.

Becky grinned and went with Greta to go pack her things, her friends soon followed, some stayed and wanted autographs and pictures from the guys, they each treated their fans like they have known them for years, its what made *NSYNC so likeable. JC thought that he was never gonna share this experience again, he thought that his recent ordeal with his biological father was gonna change everything and make things worse for all of them, but he was so grateful that now Thomas was behind bars, and was only after him for his money, it was a sad reality really, even though JC still had the feeling that he was being watched, he knew that this was gonna be a wonderful experience for Becky, she could go with them, explore, go out and see the world, she taught him a valuable lesson, that a true friend comes by when you least expect it, no matter what age.

JC finished signing some autographs with the fans, little did he know, that he was being watched, but it wasn’t from a bad person, it was his biological mother Susan, who was watching ever so kindly from the distance in the park, he didn’t see her, she didn’t want him to see her, she was just so proud of him that she did the right thing those many years ago, she kind of felt guilty for letting him go at such a vulnerable age, she had such major troubles with Thomas, that she didn’t want her son to get hurt anymore, and she knew the parents, she knew Roy and Karen were good people and raised him well, they taught him morals and discipline, and that amazing singing voice came from her, and she was glad that he put it through good use. She was also happy that he was taking Becky along for the ride, she seemed like a nice little girl, who would grow up and look at life at a different perspective; Susan looked on once more at the guys of *NSYNC and the crowd, they were so devoted to their fans, and the fans to them, she smiled to herself and walked out of the park, and she didn’t look back.