"God damnit Fatone!"

The cries rang out in the empty room where the five members of NSYNC gathered practicing the choreography for their newest song, ‘It's Gonna Be Me' which was off the new album set to be released next month.

"Jesus Christ, I'd like to go home sometime tonight."

"No shit, I'd like to get at least some sleep before we are doing this tomorrow."

Joey ignored the words. He just wiped his face with the towel and returned to the starting point so they could run through the dance moves once more. They weren't complicated at all, but his feet kept fumbling, tripping him up. He did feel bad about keeping the guys at rehearsal longer than anticipated. But he was trying the best he could.

"Again." The choreographer called, watching the guys get back in their positions. The laughing and joking had long since stopped; around the time the light faded into darkness. He crossed his arms as the guys went through the routine. Their voices hoarse from singing so much throughout the day. He wasn't worried about that; he knew their voices were tired.

He kept his eyes trained on the one individual who was holding up their progress. And even during that run through, his movements were sluggish, his feet slowly. Every move her did was about a half second off the guys. It wasn't much but when they were all dancing together, it was obvious.

When Joey missed his spot again, he waved his hands. The music immediately stopped. The guys stood in their spots, hands on hips, breathing heavily. He knew they were beat. It briefly crossed his mind to tell them to run through it again, but he knew it was no use. He would have better luck sending them home for the rest of the night and starting fresh tomorrow.

"We'll pick this up again tomorrow," He told them, seeing their shoulders slump with relief. "Come prepared," he said. "We aren't leaving until it's right."

"God," Chris groaned as he drank greedily from the cold bottle of water.

"What's going on?" Justin asked coming to stand next to Joey.

"Yeah, you're never this bad." Lance watched his best friend for a sign.

"Nothing," Joey said as he accepted the water from JC. He took a long drink before capping it. He grabbed his phone, looking at the screen before stuffing it in his pocket.

"Like we're gonna believe that, Dawg," Justin told him.

"Don't care what you believe," Joey clipped picking up his bag. He shouldered it and walked through the door, leaving the guys staring after him.

"Something is definitely wrong," Lance said watching as the door closed after his best friend.

*~*~*~*~*

The house was dark and quiet when he returned home. Joey dropped his bag on the floor inside the door. His keys hit the counter, sliding across it and dropping to the floor on the other side. He didn't even blink. In the kitchen he pulled out a bottle of beer twisting the top off, tossing the cap into the sink. The cap pinged against the sides before sliding to a rest on the bottom.

He spared the object no glance as he walked from the room. He didn't even turn on a light. From memory he made his way up the stair case and down the hall. His steps faltered as he neared the door at the end of the hall; firmly shut. He came to a stop in front of the door and took a long swig from his bottle. The alcohol moving down his throat working to numb everything it touched. He knew eventually beer would cease to be what he needed and in an hour or two, he'd move to something harder.

Because he wasn't numb enough, he turned from the door and moved away. There wasn't enough alcohol in his system to deal with what lay beyond that door. As he walked into the kitchen again, he finished off the last of the beer in the bottle. He didn't remember drinking the rest of it. Sitting it on the counter next to the fridge, he grabbed another from the fridge.

There was a voice in the back of his mind telling him he shouldn't get hammered. It was joined by another voice promising bodily harm if he fucked up again tomorrow. They both sounded suspiciously like his friends. He stifled the voices by taking a long swallow. The last thing he wanted while he was trying to drink the pain away was to hear his friends. Why did his conscious have to sound like JC? It was then he realized it could have bee worse. He could have Chris in his head constantly. But he figured, Chris wouldn't have been much of a conscious. He'd be talking him into trouble instead of trying to make him stop and think about it.

‘Maybe that wouldn't be so bad,' Joey thought; to go through life, damning the consequences of his decisions. Who cares if he drank all night and overslept in the morning? Who cares if he was so hung-over and miserable the following day that he wouldn't be able to dance half as good as he did today. Who cares if he walked out of practice after hearing enough complaints? Who cares if he came home tomorrow and picked up where he left off? What did it matter anymore?

Taking another bottle from the fridge, Joey held both the opened and unopened bottles between his fingers and pulled open the sliding door off his kitchen with his free hand. Once outside on his deck, he sat in his lounger chair, placing the unopened bottle on the deck.

He lay back staring up at the night sky. Few stars littered the cloudless sky. The moon casted off a dull light. His mood cheered the desolate sky. The only thing better would be a storm. But even then, a storm would be too exciting. But he would settle for rain; a cold, misting rain not enough for the residents in the middle of a drought to cheer but enough to mess up everyone's happy plans. And the happier the plans, the better.

The empty beer bottle in his grasp was quickly replaced with the full one on the deck. The top was twisted up and dropped forgotten on the ground. It would be found later. ‘With my luck, it will probably be with the bottom of my bare foot,' Joey thought even as he stared at his feet, clad in shoes.

A whopperwhill broke the silence of the night. It's sad, lonely cry finding its way to Joey. The sound wrapped around his desolate heart, clinging to the dark corners.

He sat outside listening to the bird cry long after his beer had run empty. An echoing cry never returned and before long, the bird fell silent. And he wondered, in the silence of the night, what happened to its mate; if he were all alone too.

It was then a tear formed, filling his eyes before trickling down his cheek. And he cried. For the first time in days, he cried.

Chapter Two

"Damnit," Justin groaned watching Joey walk into the room the next morning. The sunglasses he wore were a good indication of his state of mind. He held his phone up to his ear and talked to the dead space. "This is Justin; please cancel my appointments for the rest of the day. Jesus..."

"Go to hell, Justin," Joey words were unfeeling as he flipped him the bird. He dropped his bag to the ground and leaned over, grabbing the bottle of water he had shoved in there out the door, all while gulping another held in his hand. His muscles protested walking after so much exertion yesterday. His head - his head protested everything; every movement, every breath. It would take much to get him to lie down on the floor and fall asleep. But falling asleep meant dreaming. And dreaming was worse than being awake. At least he was able to veer his conscious thoughts away from things he didn't want to think about. Dreaming he was along for the ride or train wreck depending upon where his subconscious chose to take him.

The guys exchanged worried looks but before they could question their friend further and get to the bottom of whatever Joey was going through, Wade, their choreographer, walked through the doors, ending any chance.

"For fuck's sake, Joey," Chris snapped two hours later after nonstop dancing. The same moves over and over and over again. "Will you fucking at least attempt to fucking learn the correct fucking moves at the correct fucking time!"

"You have a fucking problem?" Joey snapped.

"Yes I have a fucking problem! We have been doing this the past two fucking days and you haven't put forth a fucking effort to learn this. We have been busting our fucking asses and we are fucking exhausted and worn out."

"Like I'm the fuck not? Like my idea of fun is fucking dancing for two fucking days straight?" Joey stepped closer to the older man.

"You sure have a fucking funny way of showing it! The moves aren't even that fucking hard!" Chris quickly did a couple of the hand moves. Snapping the moves out in his anger. "See! Easy!"

"Well congratu-fucking-lations!" Joey said sarcastically. "We got ourselves a regular dance wonder here."

"Calm down, Joey," JC said as he stepped up, gripping Joey's arm with his hand. He had seen the argument coming from a mile away. Chris's temper was always short when he was tired and worn out.

"Fuck off, JC," Joey wrenched his arm free, sending a glare in JC's direction. "I don't need this fucking shit. I'm out." He grabbed his bag. He threw open the door, letting it crash against the wall.

"Was that really necessary?" Lance looked at Chris. The hall reigned silent following Joey's disappearance.

"Screw you, Lance." Chris grabbed his things and followed Joey's footsteps out the door leaving the three remaining members bewildered.

"What," Justin asked looking between Lance and JC. "Just happened here?"

"I have no idea," JC said staring at the door, long since closed from Chris's departure.

"We'll we'd better figure it out and fast," Justin said. "Because if Joey doesn't snap out of... whatever the hell he's in, we'll never be ready in time for the tour."

"Well Joey's not talking to us," Lance stated. "So when we want to know what's going on with him outside of the four of us, who do we go to?"

"Melissa."

*~*~*~*~*

Melissa tossed the pile of clothes she was going through on her bed when the incessant knocking continued on her door. She had hoped after knocking twice, whoever was on the other side would take the hit; that even if she was home, she wasn't in the mood for company.

She had a feeling who it was; she saw the numerous missed calls and text messages on her phone before she switched it off. It had crossed her mind to reply to one of the messages; give a vague excuse, feign business. And she was; if finally going through her closet - one of her New Year's Resolutions - in August classified as busy.

She walked through her apartment; her walls now blank having ‘redecorated' in a fit of anger two nights before. Broken glass and busted picture frames had long since been thrown away. Pictures that weren't damaged or ruined had been boxed up. The box now sat on the top shelf in her closet.

Her suspicious were confirmed when she peeked through the peephole. She closed her eyes and sighed, ‘God give me the strength...' Donning a smile she didn't feel, she opened the door.

"Hey guys, I wasn't expecting you today. I thought you'd be busy learning your new routines." Judging by the exchanged glanced they saw right through her bravado.

"We need your help," Justin said, shaking off the weird vibe he was getting.

"Like yesterday," Lance said. Something strange was going on. Melissa was hovering at the door, it was only open enough for her body to fit in, but it built a wall. He felt they weren't allowed to breach it.

"Can we come in?" JC asked, looking at Melissa hopefully. "We hoped you weren't busy. We tried to call..." He let his words trail off.

Melissa winced. Coming from JC it sounded like an acquisition like he knew she was purposely avoiding their calls. She pushed the door open wide and stood to the side, allowing them to enter. Closing the door she turned to face them. "What's the emergency that warranted blowing up my phone?"

"Ah, so you did know we tried calling," Lance said. It was hard not to notice the lack of photographs. Melissa's walls and any flat surface were always adorned with picture frames. He knew for a fact that he was in no less than ten. But now they were gone. The only remaining picture in the room stood on top of the entertainment center in an eight-by-ten black frame. Encased was a photograph of Melissa and her best friend in their collegiate cap and gown after graduation.

"So I didn't pick up the phone," Melissa crossed her arms. She felt vulnerable and it irritated her to feel that way in her own place. "It's not a crime."

"Calm down Chica," Justin raised his hands in surrender. "If you are busy; we can leave."

It was odd for Melissa to be acting like this. She had never treated them with anything but kindness and friendship. She had melded into their group rather quickly becoming their sister. She was smart and funny, able to crack one-liners with the best of them and be right in the middle of a practical joke.

Melissa sighed. She allowed her arms to drop to her sides. "Sorry. What's up guys?" She sat down in one of the chairs in the living room. She held her hand out giving the guys permission to sit. They dropped down onto her couch.

"It's Joey. We want..." Lance's words trailed off when he noticed Melissa freeze at the mention of Joey. He sent Justin a worried message.

"Melissa?" JC asked softly moving to sit on the edge of the cushion. "Are you okay?"

Melissa breathed slowly. Her emotions battled with each other. She wasn't sure if she wanted to start crying or start throwing something. She kept her eyes averted during her struggle. When she felt she had gained control, she looked back at her friends. "What about him?" She hoped she came across indifferent.

"What happened, Chica?" Justin asked. Pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. Joey's appearance, his anger.

"Do we have to go give him a beat down?" Lance asked.

A sharp laugh escaped Melissa as a tear rolled down her check. She swiped it away with a finger. "I don't care what you do with him."

The statement brought more worried glances amongst the guys. They solved the original mystery that brought them to her doorstep, but it aroused a new one. Just what happened between their friends?

"Joey and I are no longer friends." Melissa stated the words able to pierce her heart.

"You were more than friends," JC said confessed.

Melissa laughed haughtily. "No," she shook her head. "No. Joey and I were never more than friends."

"That's not true," Lance broke in. "We know you guys..."

Melissa shook her head again. "No we were never more than friends. Joey and I were friends-with-benefits. There was never a relationship." She looked at their wide-eyed, shocked faces.

"What? No way," Justin said shaking his head unable to comprehend what Melissa was saying. "No way you guys weren't together."

"I don't believe that," JC shook his head.

"I don't care what you guys believe or don't believe," Melissa snapped. "Joey and I were never in a ‘relationship'. There was no declaring of love or vows of exclusiveness. We were friends that slept together. And now," she shrugged her shoulders. "Now we aren't friends."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that," Melissa said matter-of-factly. "That's what it has to be. I can't..." her voice faltered for the first time since Justin, Lance and JC appeared outside her door. "It has to be like that. I can't take it any other way."

Melissa closed the door behind the three men later and leaned back against it. She felt the tears fill her eyes and she pressed her palms into her eyes in hopes of stopping them. She moaned. She didn't want to cry. She spent enough time crying over someone who didn't care about her. If Joey didn't care about her then he didn't deserve her tears, her heartbreak.

With a renewed attitude, she wiped the rest of her tears away and pushed away from the door. There was still work to be done in her bedroom. And when she finished that, maybe it was time to go out. She hadn't had a night out on the town in awhile. Nodding to herself she vowed to finish her bedroom and get a hold of her best friend. She wasn't going to sit in her empty apartment all night feeling sorry for herself.

Chapter Three

"You have to be the world's dumbest man," Justin said as he walked into Joey's house that night.

"A moron," Lance echoed following the man.

An idiot," JC said.

"Thanks," Joey said before pointing behind them. "Now you can leave."

"I don't think so." Justin shook his head. He grabbed the remote and flipped of the television while Lance and JC made themselves at home in the living room.

"After your lovely little performance today during rehearsal... not to mention you walking out, wasting the precious time we do have to practice. We decided," JC motioned toward the other two guys that came with him, "to take time out of our lives and busy schedule to find what turned you into an asshole."

"Such wonderful friends I have," Joey said sarcastically before taking another drink from his beer. "Did you solve your puzzle?"

"You're a dumbass." Lance said before taking the beer bottle from his best friend. "And I think you've had enough of this for awhile."

"Who are you, my mother?" Joey bit out.

"Do you want us to call her?" Justin answered. "Because I'm sure she'd love to see her Joseph like this. She'd love it even better to find out why he's like this."

"What do you know?" Joey pushed himself up off the couch. He needed another beer.

"Melissa dumped your ass."

Joey froze at JC's words but didn't turn around. His heart clenched at her name. He mentally shrugged it off. He wasn't hurt; he didn't have to take this from his friends. He continued to the kitchen.

"With a good cause."

That brought Joey striding back into the room. He twisted his hands in Lance's shirt pulling him from the couch. He leaned in close to his best friend, glaring at him. "You got something to say, Bass?"

"Yes," Lance stared unblinking at Joey even though his heart pounded. "You used her and gave her nothing in return. You deserve to feel like this."

"Really Joe," Justin shook his head. "Friends with Benefits? That's all she boiled down to?"

Joey released Lance quickly, causing the younger man to fall down to his couch. He spun around and paced the length of living room to stare out the window into the night sky.

"She was my everything," Joey whispered and the words he held in his heart unspoken tumbled free. "My once in a lifetime. My world. She was the first thing I thought of in the mornings and the last thing I would think about when I'd fall asleep. I loved her so much it hurt. All the women that hung around us, I never saw. I didn't want to see. I had Mel and she was all I needed. My heart was hers and always would be hers."

"Did you ever tell her this?" JC voiced.

That brought Joey up short. He flashed through their relationship in a span of seconds and felt a heavy weight on his heart. He never told her. He never told the one person in the world that mattered the most to him that she was it for him.

JC groaned, "You are an idiot! Would it have killed you to open your mouth just once in your ‘relationship' and tell her any of this? That it wasn't just a ‘friends-with-benefits' anymore?"

"I thought she knew," Joey whispered the pain in his chest worsening and he raised a hand to rub it.

"Of course she probably knew," Justin said. "But you didn't reassure her of the fact. And you know how women can be; they start over thinking and creating problems that are there to...." He stopped talking when three pairs of eyes landed on him. He shrugged. "Sorry. Damnit why didn't you open up your mouth and tell her?"

"I don't know. I don't know." Joey found his way back to the couch and sank down. Resting his elbows on his knees, he buried his face in his hands. "It just never came up." The excuse sounded weak even to him. "We just... We... I didn't think I needed to. We slid from friends into ‘with-benefits' smoothly. I just assumed..."

"Joey..." Lance shook his head.

"Maybe I thought I'd have more time," Joey sighed and leaned back against the couch, his arms falling at his sides. "I don't know. It's just excuses. I fucked up. She called me on it and decided I wasn't worth it anymore. And now I don't know what to do with myself. I've spent the past few days trying to figure out how to extract myself from Melissa and I'm finding it harder than I thought. It's been Joey and Mel or Mel and Joey for so long it's hard to separate. I.. I haven't been doing a good job of it I guess."

"You think?" Justin asked incredulously. "Tell her this man. Tell her what you told us."

Joey shook his head. "No. I think... I think it's better if I just let her go."

"Now you really are a moron."

*~*~*~*~*

The worlds jumbled in Joey's head. It was so noisy that he couldn't sleep. With a disgusted sigh he pushed the blanket off him and sat up, twisting his body to place his feet on the floor. The moon illuminated the living room casting shadows. He leaned back against the couch that had become his bed since his split with Melissa. He couldn't bring himself to sleep in his bed.

He needed to sleep but his mind wouldn't shut off. Words whispered through his head, lines and phrases. He didn't know what to do with him. He stopped drinking; his last drink had come from the bottle Lance had taken from him earlier. He was completely sober now. He wanted to sleep. He needed to sleep. He was tired. He owed it to the guys to sleep so he could show up at rehearsal and nail the routine so they could get back on schedule.

With a groan he stood up. Not sure what to do with himself he wondered around the house before ending up in his office. He fiddled with the papers on his desk, putting a couple pens back in the holder, straightening the computer monitor.

Coming across another pen buried beneath a stack of papers he pulled it out but hesitated on replacing it in the holder. Pulling a blank piece of white paper from his printer he pressed the pen to it.

I thought she knew.

Joey stared at the four words he had just written. They taunted him, echoing in his mind over and over. He couldn't understand how Melissa didn't know how much he loved her. Their ‘friends-with-benefits' ceased to be that in his mind a long time ago in their relationship. He thought they had the real thing.

My world revolved around her

I should have told her

He should have told her. He should have told her the minute he realized he loved her and he wanted so much more. He should have told her. His friends were right. He was stupid. He was a moron; a dumbass. There was no reason why he didn't tell her. He'd sell his soul to be able to go back in time and speak all the words he didn't say, but held in his heart.

I'd sell my soul.

Words left unspoken

Words and phrases began to fill the paper. There was no rhyme. Just whatever was in his mind.

I thought she knew.

I thought she knew.

The phrase continued to repeat in his head and had him jumping up from the desk, his chair careening backward. He grabbed the paper in his hand and strode from the room. He was in his car driving down the deserted roads not taking into account the time. It was like he was on autopilot.

I thought she knew

After pulling into the driveway, he climbed from his car, the door slamming behind him. He bounced up the walk to the front door and started pounding on it. It took awhile before it was swinging open.

"Joey...wh...what?" JC's sleep-filled voice rumbled. He blinked in confusion when Joey brushed past him. "What's going on?" He rubbed his eyes trying to wake up. "What time is it?"

"I don't know," Joey shrugged. He turned to face his friend, whose eyes were still trying to adjust to the light. A line of guilt washed through him. "I need your help."

"This couldn't wait until morning?" JC asked, yawning.

Joey shook his head, thrusting out the paper he clench. "I can't sleep. I tried. And I can't. These..." he waved his hands toward the paper.

JC's eyes blinked a few times before he glanced down at the paper. Words collided together; some repeating. "What is this? Joey, are you okay?"

"No," Joey rubbed his face with both hands before sending his fingers through his hair, causing it to stick up. "I can't get my head to turn off. These words won't stop. And then I just started writing them. I can't make sense of them; put them in an order that sounds right. Help me, JC."

"Come on," JC gave in and led his friend through the house to the writing studio in his basement.

"Thanks," Joey said taking a seat next to JC. A keyboard sat in front of them along with blank pieces of paper. "I knew you would help me. I know Justin writes too and would do it, but... but you have more feeling and emotion when it comes to songs like this."

JC smiled as he grabbed a pencil, his mind already tuned into the words in front of him. He started humming out a tune. "A heart full of words left unspoken. Now that we're through. I sell my soul to have this silence broken. I thought she knew."

"I thought she knew my world revolved around her," Joey picked up when JC ended. He paused for a minute, mulling words over in his brain. "My love light burned for her alone."

"But she couldn't see the flame," JC countered, his hand flowing over the paper, writing the words as they spoke or sang them.

"Me to blame," Joey uttered quietly watched as JC changed the line as he wrote. "Nice."

A phrase that Joey had spoken earlier in the day teased JC's mind as he tried to think of it. "What did you call Mel earlier? She was ‘your everything'," he added when Joey stared blankly at him.

"My once in a lifetime." Joey supplied causing JC to nod.

"Yeah that's it." JC penned another line and another, humming a slow melody under his breath.

"This is making no sense," Joey said as he read through the lines they had written. "No, add another ‘I thought she knew' there."

JC barely spared him a glance, his mind in the song. "It will. Don't worry."

The sun was shining low over the grounds by the time JC and Joey dragged themselves from JC's house. The sky was clear and birds were chipping. Joey's face held a smile as he clutched the final copy of the song that took them both the rest of the night to complete in his hand.

"Thank you JC." He said sincerely. "And I'm sorry about yesterday and the day before."

JC waved him off, "It's alright. You should have told us though. We would have understood."

"Yeah," Joey looked down at the paper in his hand; the words jumping out at him. He sighed.

"Hey," JC spoke softly resting a hand on Joey's shoulder. "You should talk to her. If you tell her everything you didn't tell her before, she might forgive you."

"Ever fuck up with something this bad?"

JC shook his head. The line from the song jumped back at him. He hadn't found his ‘once in a lifetime' yet.

"Take it from me Josh," Joey raised his head and looked into his friend's sympathetic eyes. "If you love someone tell them. There is nothing to gain by holding anything inside."

Chapter 4

"Thank you for still doing this," Justin said as he watched Melissa pull on the blue shirt that designated her on his team. "You didn't have to; we would have found someone else."

Melissa sent the man a smile, stopping his words. "I know Justin. I wanted to. You know I love this charity. It's a good cause. I want to be a part of it. I can put my differences aside for a day. But thanks for switching my team."

"I have to admit I had an ulterior motive," Justin grinned as he tied a matching blue banana with studded beads around his head. "We have a much better chance winning with you than Kat."

"I'm gonna tell her you said that," Melissa teased. Kathy, or Kat as she was known as, was one of their public relations. She was small, barely clearing five foot two. Kat was quiet until she dealt with media members. She threw her hair up into a messy pony tail before securing her matching bandana.

"I'll deny it until my dying breath," Justin said. "She scares me."

Melissa laughed and helped the four kids assigned to the blue team with their t-shirts and very own matching bandanas.

Today was NSYNC's Charity for the Children. They spent the day doing fun events such as 3-legged races, obstacle courses, water balloon toss, more races geared more toward the kids than the adults before the games ended with tug-of-war. The whole day was capped off with a celebrity basketball game. Where the kids were able to not only see the guys from NSYNC play, but other musicians and athletes; even some TV personalities.

Melissa stared out over the field seeing the sea of colors indicating various teams mixed with the casual apparel of fans, audience, media and various others. Aside from her own blue shirt, there were whites, grays, blacks, yellows, reds, orange and some oddball shades off the primary color scheme. All staff members who were working the event wore bright neon green shirts making them stick out.

Her eyes caught the red shirts of the team she was supposed to be on. Joey's. It now housed Kat, who had switched places with Melissa at the instance of Justin. Their shirts were different than hers she noticed. Instead of the logo of the Charity for the Children on the front, it was on the back with the person's name on top like a jersey. When a child turned in her direction she caught the big ‘S' on the front of the shirt. The superman logo.

That was so like Joey - lover of anything Superman. She should have known. When they had been designing the shirts, Joey had kept his a secret not letting her see it because she was on the same team. He had wanted it to be a surprise to his team, including the children.

She drew her eyes away from Joey before her mind started going down a path it had no business going down. She saw Chris's team dressed in yellow shirts. She laughed seeing each member with a pair of goggles on their head, much like the goggles that Chris wore.

A waving hand in the crowd drew her attention and she grinned. Raising her hand high above her head she returned the wave. Her best friend since junior high and a lifeline since her break from Joey. Rachel Hunter. Rachel was wearing a green shirt designating her part of JC's team.

Melissa blew a kiss in her direction, watching as Rachel blew one in returned then turned her attention to one of the girls on her team. She watched as Rachel secured a bracelet onto the girl's wrist. From where she stood, the beads looked big enough to be a necklace, but Rachel twisted them until they fit the girl's wrist. Upon seeing that, Melissa scanned rest of the green team seeing each member housed beads on their wrists.

She scanned the immediate area for the final member of the group and grinned, spotting the orange shirts. On the back of the orange team's shirts, stood a big space shuttle. The front was made to look like the front of a flight suit with "patches" sewn on either side of the chest and sleeves. Lance's love for space was obvious to anyone who paid attention. One of the kids had a white space helmet on. She grinned at the prop.

"You ready to kick butt?" Justin's voice brought her back to her team. The kids smiled and shouted, ‘yes!' "Alright," he grinned as he led the team to over toward the starting area of the first event to kick the afternoon off.

"Go Kristy! Go Megan!" Melissa shouted as she watched the two girls on the blue team run down the field, arms wrapped around each other, a rope holding their ankles together. It was the second leg of the three-legged race. The boys from their team had already finished, allowing the girls to start. The first team to get all their members across the line first won.

Justin whistled by her side as he cheered his team on. "You ready?" He asked as the girls got close. His right ankle was tied to Mel's; his right arm around her back.

"This outta be good," Melissa laughed as she and Justin got ready. When they saw Kristy and Megan cross the finish line in a fit of giggles, they took off....stumbling.

"Come on Mel," Justin laughed tightening his arm around her back, holding her upright. "Work with me."

"I am!" Melissa laughed. "I can barely walk on a good day with two feet, let alone three!"

They worked out a system with Justin calling left-right-left. It made Melissa think of a military cadence. The children had finished and it was just the adults left. The kids lined up at the finish line yelling out their names.

"Faster with the left-right-left," Melissa said, "they are catching us! I'll be damned if I'm getting beat! Let's go Timberlake! Move that ass!" She used the hand around his back to smack his ass.

Justin yelped and faltered, throwing off their rhythm. Melissa shrieked as she felt them teeter, their balance out-of-whack. They stumbled trying to right themselves. But they were too far gone. They fell to the ground in a clutter of arms and legs.

They heard a mixed cry of protest and they rolled on the ground trying to stand back up. During the fall they wandered out of their lane and into the next lane. Unable to quickly move out of the way, they took down the green team of Rachel and JC knocking them off balance and bringing them to the ground.

"Cheaters!" Rachel yelled in protest her arms tangling with Justin's and Melissa's. Her legs were firmly twisted and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to stand back up, especially with her leg effectively tied to JC's.

"Jesus Christ, you weigh a ton!" Justin muttered facedown from the ground. "I think broke something."

"I'm gonna break something if you finish that comment," Rachel muttered sharply, pressing her elbow down into his back.

"Not you," Justin groaned. "Chasez."

"Bite me, J," JC snapped in good nature, the wide grin on his face showing he was teasing. "If you hadn't gone and tripped, then brought us down..."

"She slapped my ass!"

"Like you've never had that happen before." Melissa told them as they fumbled on the ground. Legs getting entwined with each others. The ropes didn't help. It would have been much easier getting up if she had two good legs.

Cheers rose from the children as the race ended. Rachel looked over to see the orange team celebrating. "I really hate you right now, Mel."

"You were eating our dust anyway," Melissa said. "If you were ahead of us, you wouldn't have tripped."

"If you'd have kept your hands to yourself," Rachel raised her eyebrow when Melissa stuck her tongue out at her. "Real mature."

"Thanks," Melissa grinned. "Now, get off me. I think I ruptured my spleen."

"It's unneeded anyway," JC said as he held Rachel to him and maneuvered them off the blue team, but they were still on the ground. "You're bleeding." He saw the thin trickle of blood down Rachel's chin and reached a hand out to cup her chin and inspect.

"I think I caught an elbow or something on the way down. Or a shoe," Rachel shrugged. She licked her lips tasted the blood from her split lip. "Who knew the three-legged race would be this dangerous?"

"Mel can hardly walk with two feet on a good day, I should have known."

"Hey!" Melissa sat up. In the tumbled with her body trying to go one way and Justin's the other, the rope had loosened. "We were doing fine! How did I know you'd be sensitive to a tap."

"Tap my ass,' Justin muttered as he moved to sit next to Melissa and quickly tightened the rope around their ankles again so they could finish the race.

"Yup," Melissa grinned. "I did tap your ass."

"You need help," Rachel laughed as she and JC managed to stand up together. They regained their balance and started walking toward the finish line. "See ya!'

"You ready?" Justin asked pulling Melissa to stand. He grinned seeing the happiness on her face. It was a much better look than the distant look she had at her apartment.

"Yup, let's go.'

"Keep your hands off my ass this time."

"Alright. But no promises."

Chapter Five

"I don't even want to know how long it took to fill up all these balloons," Melissa said as she stared at the bucket full of different colored balloons filled with water. "I imagine their hands were quite pruny afterward."

"They were compensated well for their time," Justin grinned as he gathered his team around. There was a slight break before the next event. They had just finished the relay races. Team Justin had come in second; Chris just crossing the finish line ahead of Justin. The relay race was a dash a hundred meters. Each participant had to run up to the fifty meter line and back. When they reached their team, the next runner had to do the same. But they didn't just run. One member had to bear crawl, another had to crab walk. Two members had to do the wheelbarrow and when they got to the halfway point had to switch. The adult women on the team had to do summersaults down and back. The men had to give piggy back rides to the women.

The races had been full of laughter, especially the women starting off with summersaults. Melissa and Kat had rolled into each other once, losing seconds as they laid there and laughed. When they reached the finish line, sending the next member - a child- they all laid on the ground, wishing the world would stop spinning. To give the woman a chance to right their equilibrium the guys were the last to go.

The day was shaping up to be great. It had been a long time since Melissa had this much fun, laughing and giggling and cheering on not just the members of her team, but all the kids. They were what the day actually about. This was put on for them and it warmed her heart to see them having such a great time.

"Everyone doin' good?" Justin asked giving each child a high five. "Alright," he smiled at the excited screams and shouts. "The next event, well, we might get a little wet." He grinned giving Melissa a sideways look.

"Oh no," she held up her hands. "The object it to fill the glass up, not soak your teammates. If you do, I'm gonna send you to the other end and make you hold the glass."

Justin grinned. "We'll see." He turned back to the children. "Now, we have to throw the water balloons to the other end," he pointed to where the contraptions were set up, roughly ten yards away. It looked like a giant funnel and the spouts went into a jar. "We have to toss the balloons at the funnel and fill the jars First team to fill the line wins."

"Do we all throw at once?" Michael, the oldest of the group asked.

"No, we will take turns." Melissa answered. "Two people will start off throwing, a boy and a girl. You throw until you hear a whistle. When you hear the whistle, you switch. You'll keep switching at the whistle until someone wins."

"Michael, you and Megan will start off first." Justin said, giving them each a first bump.

"What if we fill it before you and Melissa get a turn?" Kristy asked.

Justin laughed and grinned. "That's what I like to hear!" He gave her a high-five. "Melissa and I aren't in this. This is just you guys. When you fill it to the line and win," Melissa grinned widely at Justin's proclamation. "It's over."

"But not to fear," Melissa cut in. "We will have to toss the balloons too. Once you guys are finished, they will move the glasses back and we have to try to fill them from further away."

When Michael and Megan started throwing balloons, Justin and Melissa stood back cheering them on, throwing out helpful hints, encouraging, but mostly cheering. It was a tight race the glasses all looked to be at the same level. In order to fill the jars, the balloons had to make it into the funnel. A lot were missing and falling on the ground.

"Alright Megan!" Melissa yelled when the girl threw her red balloon right into the tunnel. A burst of water dropped into the jar.

The whistle blew. Michael and Megan ran back to Justin and Melissa while Kristy and Logan ran up to start throwing. Melissa hugged them both. "Awesome job. We so got this!"

Megan giggled and stepped away and that should have alerted her that something was amiss. She shrieked causing the kids around them, from her team and the others, to laugh uncontrollably as the cold water drenched her head, soaking the top of her shirt. She heard Justin yell out about the same time.

Wiping the water from her eyes she swung around to glare at the culprits. Rachel and JC stood behind them grinning, water dripping from their hands.

"That was for tripping us in the three-legged race!" Rachel grinned, the cut on her lip more pronounced now.

"I hope that was my elbow that caught your lip," Melissa she glared playfully. "I hope it swells up, turns black and falls off."

Rachel laughed. "You're such a dork."

"I hope you guys end up two balloons short of filling your jar," Justin threw at them.

"We stole them from Lance's team," JC laughed. He took Rachel's hand, leading her back to their team as the whistle blew again and the kids changed.

"They'll get what's coming to them," Justin said as he watched them walk away.

*~*~*~*~*

The day was winding down. All events were completed and they converged around the pit for the tug-of-war. It was an elimination style with simple rules. If you lose you're out. Winner moves on until there is only one team left standing - and mud free.

The day was full of laughter and great times. Wonderful memories for all the kids - adults too - to take home. Each kid had an outstanding time, even if they weren't the ones that crossed the finish line first. Before the tug-of-war there were races so the kids could complete individually. And they were also broken up by gender and girls competed against girls. The adults tried too and it was comical. There was more laughter and trash talking amongst the guys than actually competition. And when the girls were completing, the guys were at the finish line cheering them on.

Melissa laughed to herself as she remembered competing in the obstacle course against the other women. They had to hurdle over things, crawl under logs, cross monkey bars and a whole slew of things to reach the finish line. She was as uncoordinated as they come and when she reached the obstacle of having to run through the tires, her feet going in each one, she knew she was doomed. Sure enough when she tried to pick her foot up from the second tire, she stumbled and fell.

Rachel won that event, she recalled. JC there to meet her as she crossed the finish line. The smiles were huge as he wrapped her up in his arms and swung her around. When Melissa had seen that, she faltered, almost stumbling off the log she was running across. When had her friends developed feelings for each other? The smile grew on her face as she climbed up the wall and dropping to the other side. She decided she was happy for them. They deserved to be happy and knew they would be right for each other.

Justin had met her at the finish line with a grin and teasing eyes. He gave her a hug but it wasn't as spectacular as the one JC gave Rachel. ‘You also didn't win,' she chided accepting his hug.

"Next year we'll think of some non running events for you," Justin laughed softly. "Are you okay?"

"Nothing hurt but my pride," Melissa laughed stepping away from him. "And my tush."

Melissa laughed remembering the showing Justin had made checking out her behind before he determined it to be okay.

She frowned as she went back to the hug JC and Rachel shared at the end of the race. Their faces had radiated happiness. She couldn't help but feel a little sad at the fun she could have been having today. Not that Justin wasn't fun... he just wasn't - Joey. She sighed longingly.

"You ready for this, Chica?" Justin asked, bringing her back to the present. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He had caught the far off look on her face and the sadness penetrating her eyes. He had done a good job keeping her laughing and happy today it hopes to keep her mind off Joey even when the man was sometimes feet away from them.

"Oh yeah," Melissa sent him a grin, shaking off her thoughts. "Did you see who we are up against?"

Justin looked over at the other side to the team gathered around and smirked. The green team. "Payback."

"Payback."

Chapter Six

Melissa laughed as Rachel and JC came up to them after the tug-of-war event concluded. The blue team the victors. She giggled seeing the dried mud caked on the blonde's legs, arms and face. Even her hair was coated. JC hadn't faired much better.

"This crap stinks," Rachel said as she rubbed at her arm watching as some of the mud flaked off. "I feel like I should stand in the open and let all the kids throw water balloons at me."

Melissa and Justin high-fived.

"That can be arranged," The blonde singer grinned.

"I'm sure it could."

"How many times did you take a trip into the mud?" Melissa asked her friend.

"I don't remember...four?" Rachel looked at JC for clarification. She couldn't stop the giggle that escaped seeing his face streaked with mud. She reached up and removed a clump that was clinging to his hair.

"I think so, after the first time, it really didn't matter anymore." JC could feel his skin starting to itch as the mud dried. "We need a hose."

"Need more than that Dawg," Justin waved a hand in front of his face, laughing. "That has to be the nastiest smelling stuff ever."

"I think they are too clean," Rachel said glancing at JC, their eyes conspiring.

"I think so too," JC turned toward Justin and Melissa grinning.

"Oh no," Melissa's expression quickly changed. "Don't you dare," she told them looking at JC, then Rachel. Melissa shrieked as arms wrapped around her from behind lifting her off the ground. "Put me down!"

"Not a chance," Lance laughed, caked in mud from his own tumble into the pit during the game.

"Lance!" Her protests proved fruitless though as Lance tossed her into the mud. "I hate you!" She yelled feeling the mud seeping into her toes. It oozed between her fingers as she clenched the bottom. She heard more commotion and looked up seeing Joey and Chris carrying a struggling Justin toward the pit. A crowd had gathered, cheering them on. Justin's attempts proved useless as well as he joined her, kicking up mud, sending it in her direction.

"I'll get you back, you fuckers!" Justin called and he wiped his face with his hands, making the mud worse.

Melissa laughed when she looked at him and before long Justin was laughing too. She cupped her hands, letting the mud pool in it. She caught his eye, looking down, then looking sideways. She grinned when he caught on.

"One...two..." he whispered, cupping his own hands. "THREE!" His yelled was followed by mud being slung toward the unsuspecting crowd.

"Son of a bitch," Chris shouted as mud hit him in the chest.

"Damnit!" Joey yelled, turning his head away.

Keeping it up for a few minutes, Justin and Melissa stopped and drug themselves away from the mud. Towels were handed out. Melissa held hers but didn't use it, instead made her way to Rachel. She grinned before pouncing.

"AH!" Rachel shrieked as her friend wrapped her into a crushing hug, smearing the mud she was caked in all over her. "You're such a bitch," she laughed and stood there accepting the hug.

"You love me," Melissa grinned at her after she released her friend. She finally used the towel to get the worst of the mud off. "I could use the hose now."

Rachel smiled at JC as she accepted the towel he handed her. Spending a few more minutes joking around as they cleaned up, they dispersed to get changed for the basketball game.

*~*~*~*~*

"How are you doing?" Rachel asked as they sat in the bleachers inside the arena. They had showered off the best they could and changed clothes. She had changed into jeans and a green shirt to hold up team colors. She still felt dirty as she pulled on the clean clothes, but it was as good as it was going to get until she was able to get back to her place and take a real shower.

"I'm... okay. Yeah," Melissa told her, clapping as Justin's team made a basket. The basketball team was red versus blue. Justin and Joey were on the blue team, leaving JC, Lance and Chris on the red team. Other celebrities filled up the rosters. "I'm okay."

"Good," Rachel threaded her arm through Melissa and leaned against her shoulder. "I was worried that today would be hard."

"Well it hasn't been easy," Melissa leaned against her friend, her eyes following the movement on the court. "I wasn't sure how it would go today. I am thankful I wasn't on Joey's team. That would have been too hard. But then I almost felt guilty being on Justin's team and having fun."

"Don't feel guilty. You had no reason to be guilty for having a good time. Joey is the asshat who couldn't see what was in front of him the whole time and do something about it."

"I know," Melissa sighed and looked at Rachel as timeout was called on the court. "But I still love him. I just can't stop. I can't turn it on and off on a whim. I wish I could. Believe me. I wish I could stop loving him and move on, but..."

"Yeah," Rachel sighed and squeezed her friend's hand. "The heart wants what the heart wants."

"What does your heart want?" Melissa asked with a sideways glance as she messed with the beaded bracelet still adorning her friend's wrist.

Rachel felt the blush creep up her neck, spreading over her face. "I don't know what you're talking about it."

"Yeah right," Melissa grinned, but let her friend off the hook. For now. "I'll find out later, but for now I'll just say that I'm happy if that's the case. He'll be good for you." She watched the blush deepen on Rachel's face and her grin broadened. She turned her attention back to the game in time to see Justin fall to the ground and tripping up Lance.

"What kind of blatant miscall was that, Ref!"

*~*~*~*~*

"You still going to do this?" Justin asked as they ended the halftime talk they had planned.

"Yeah. It's the only time I can sing it and know she's actually in the crowd to hear it." Joey said as the lights dimmed. "I don't know if I should. She seemed pretty happy today."

"A front man," Justin told him. "She was putting on a show."

"She did a pretty damn convincing job." Joey griped the microphone. "I don't even know if this will work. She'll probably think it's just a new song for us."

"Not if you're the only one singing it," Lance pointed out. "Since when do you sing lead?"

"True." Joey sighed. His heart hurt after watching Melissa laugh and joke around throughout the day. Every time he heard her laugh his eyes would follow the sound. And he had wished that he had been the one to put the smile and joy on her face. And he would have been, if he hadn't messed up and kept everything inside. She would have been on ‘Team Superman'. The day would have gone so much better if he could have shared it with her.

But instead he had been dealt an audible, finding out this morning that Melissa wasn't on his team, but Kat. He should have seen that coming. He should have known that Melissa wouldn't stay on his team. After what he had done to her, she probably wanted nothing to do with him.

"Stop over thinking it and just sing," JC clapped the man on the back. "The song is perfect and she'll know exactly what you're trying to say."

Joey took a breath and decided to sing the song like it was his only way to communicate with her. He ignored the voice in his head telling him that it was. The guys fell in line around him, leaving him in the middle.

"What are they doing?" Melissa whispered as she watched them stand at center court. Joey stood in the middle with JC and Lance to one side, Justin and Chris to the other. It was an unusual line up for them. Joey usually anchored one of the ends.

"Just listen," Rachel whispered as the men started singing ‘oo's' in their five part harmony. She was torn between wanting to watch Joey's face as he sang the song written for her or Melissa's to see her reaction.

Joey dropped out of the harmony, picking up his cue to start singing. The lights were dimmed low, a spotlight shinning on them. He wished he could find Melissa so he could look at her while he sang, but it was too dark. He stared out into the darkness making out the shadows of the crowd in the vicinity where Melissa had been sitting during the first half.

"She was my once in a lifetime. Happy ending come true. Oh I guess I should have told her But I thought she knew." He took a breath listening to the guys harmonize.

"What is this?" Melissa breathed. Joey's voice drifted out, wrapping her up. Her eyes were riveted to the court and she could swear he was looking right at her as he sang. What was he singing? She'd never heard it before. Her eyes prickled with tears and she reached for Rachel's hand squeezing it as the words washed over her.

"I thought she knew my world revolved around her. My love light burns for her alone. But she couldn't see the flame, only myself to blame. I should have known," Joey voice rang out, taking a higher pitch usually reserved for JC. A lump was rose in his chest as he sang the chorus. The song hit on his emotions. "I should have known."

Tears trickled down Melissa's cheek but she made no move to wipe them away. She was frozen in her seat. The words echoed in her mind after Joey sang them, wrapping around her heart. And she felt as if piece by piece the cracks where repaired.

"Damn him," she whispered her eyes slipping closed. The movement allowed more tears to slip through and roll down her cheeks. "Damn him."

"A heart full of words left unspoken now that we're through," Joey's voice cracked on the last word. Pain hammered in his heart. His voice rose as he continued on, "I sell my soul to have this silence broken. Oh I thought she knew. I thought she knew."

The guys came together to sing the chorus and Joey was glad. He was afraid his voice wouldn't hold steady. Emotions churned through him. The unknown was playing at his mind. Did Melissa like it? Was she listening? Did she understand what these words meant? Did she even care?

When their voices faded in the arena and silence rang before the clapping and cheers started. The lights were turned back on and Joey searched the crowd for Melissa. His heart stopped when he didn't see her. He scanned the area again and saw Rachel coming down the stairs. He searched again, but knew it was fruitless. His eyes met the blonde's and she gave him a small smile before continuing at a fast pace toward the doors.

Joey's heart plummeted to his stomach. Melissa was gone.

Melissa threw open the doors to the arena allowing the humid Florida air to engulf her. She choked on her tears and brushed passed the people milling around outside.

"Melissa stop!" Rachel called as she came out the doors behind her. "Damnit," she muttered and ran after her friend.

Melissa came to a stop in the parking lot, leaning against a car. She buried her face in her head and allowed the rest of the tears to break through with a sob. She cried and cried. And continued to cry even when she felt Rachel stop beside her and draw her into a hug.

"How... Why... He..." Melissa fumbled with the words not knowing what she wanted to say.

"I know," Rachel soothed. "Turns out, he's a pretty damn terrific guy. His only downfall was keeping all his feelings inside. Typical guy."

"He wrote a song. He sang a song. For me."

Rachel nodded. "JC said Joey showed up at his house in the middle of the night, a little half crazy. Had all these words and phrases written out; JC was half asleep trying to understand Joey babble on not talking in complete sentences. Said they stayed up the rest of the night working on it."

"Have I been an idiot?" Melissa raised her head to stare at her friend. "Should I have left well enough alone and just been happy with what we had? It's obvious that he... he..." she broke off in tears again.

"No you shouldn't have left it alone, Mel. You both should have opened your mouths and talked to each other. But you calling it quits to your relationship spurred him into motion and he realized that he was an idiot."

"He loved me all along and I accused him...accused him terrible things that night. I didn't know a damn thing."

"Because he didn't tell you! Mel, sweetie, listen to me." Rachel gripped Melissa's upper arms with her hands. "Stop beating yourself up. Something had to change in your relationship. Something had to give. If you hadn't have fought a few days ago, you have fought somewhere down the road. And it could have been different, bigger."

"He loves me." Melissa whispered. The phrase sounded foreign to her. She was still unable to comprehend.

Rachel smiled. "He does. He wrote you a song and sang it in front of everyone here tonight because he knew you'd be here and this might have been his only chance. And I don't think I've ever heard anyone sing like that before. It was all for you."

Melissa leaned and breathed deeply trying to calm her emotions. After a few moments she felt a smile form on her lips and a light laugh escape. "He wrote a song for me."

"He did," Rachel grinned.

"And I ran away," Melissa groaned and sank to the ground leaning against the car. "I'm an idiot."

"Yes you are."

"You're not helping!"

"Well you are an idiot! Why did you run away? The lights came back on and he was searching the crowd for you. When he didn't see you... his face... Mel, you should have ran to him not away. You still love him right? He didn't write that song in vain right?"

"I still love him," Melissa whispered. "Now even more. He didn't have to write me a song to tell me he loved me. He could have just told me..." she sighed at Rachel's look. "You're right. I never would have listened to him. Wouldn't have believed him."

"Why do you believe him now?"

Melissa shrugged unable to explain it. "I don't know. Maybe the fact that he woke JC up in the middle of the night to write a song. Or that he sang it - sang lead. But it was the way he sang it. How his voice sounded. How it flowed over the words. He sounded emotional, like it was the last thing he'd ever sing and he needed to make it count - for all that he was worth."

"It will probably be the most important song he'll ever sing," Rachel whispered leaning against Melissa. "He put everything he had into that song to make you understand all the things he felt but never said. You're grinning like a moron."

"I know," Melissa grinned. "He loves me. I love him."

"Yes," Rachel rolled her eyes. "And all this could have been avoided if you would have talked to each other."

"But then I wouldn't have gotten this song." She hummed the melody. "What am I gonna do?"

"Talk to him!"

"Well I can't do that now."

"So let's go back, sit in our seats and cheer them on. When it's over the first thing you do is go directly to him."

"Alright," Melissa stood up and pulled Rachel to her feet. She threaded her arm through Rachel's as they walked back to the arena.

*~*~*~*~*

The crowd cheered as the buzzer sounded, proclaiming the blue team the winners. But that wasn't important as the cause that brought them together that night - the children. And the money raised that would help them. Even with the game over, no one moved from the stands, each wanted to catch enough glimpses of the band and celebrities before they went into the locker rooms.

"Go," Rachel whispered to Melissa as she stopped clapping and gave her friend a nudge. The teams had lined up and gave each other high fives before the blue team converged together to celebrated on their own. The red team gave them a few minutes before they all congregated together; smiles and laughter afloat. There were no losers.

"I don't think I can," Melissa whispered frozen. "There's a lot of people watching."

"They are watching everyone, not you!"

"They will be if I kiss him."

"If you are kissing Joey Fatone and thinking of everyone else, that doesn't say a whole lot of his kissing abilities."

"You know nothing of his kissing abilities! I'll have you know..." Her words trailed off when she caught the grin on her friend's face. She sighed and her shoulders slumped. "You're right. Forget about all these people."

"Damn right. We're not even here." Rachel told her. "Now go and get your man before he writes another song mourning love lost and other depressing things."

Melissa took a deep breath before giving Rachel one last look. She walked down the steps, dodging hands as people waved them around trying to catch the attention of someone on the court. Finally making it to the bottom of the steps she glanced back at Rachel.

‘Go!' Rachel mouthed and made shooing motions with her hands.

Melissa squared her shoulders and scanned the blue jerseys on the court for Joey. Her eyes latched onto the silk jersey reading ‘Phat-One'. Not taking her eyes off it she made her way across the court. No one tried to stop her or step in her way. They must have seen the determination which was surprising because she was scared more than determined, but soldiered on.

Justin schooled his face when he saw Melissa approaching behind Joey. Seeing her falter made his decision. "Hey man," he said and gave a slight nod behind him.

Joey raised an eyebrow in his direction and turned to look over his shoulder wondering what Justin was pointing out. His eyes widened when he saw Melissa standing a mere ten feet away, fidgeting from foot to foot. He wasn't sure what to think. He still wasn't sure what happened at halftime and what made her run from the arena after the song was over. It made his heart hurt thinking she didn't appreciate the song. It had taken him most of the third quarter to push the depressing thoughts away and get his attention back on the game.

"Melissa," he said and took a couple steps toward her, leaving his group behind. "Are you alright?" He asked when she remained unmoving.

"You wrote me a song." Melissa said stupidly.

"I did." Joey nodded and braced himself, preparing for the onslaught. He was unprepared for her to jump at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her lips pressed against his. His eyes widened in surprised before they fluttered close. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her more firmly against him as he changed the angle of the kiss, deepening it.

Melissa sighed and sank into Joey's arms. Her lips moved softly beneath his. She slowly pulled her lips from his, their foreheads resting against each others. She stared into his brown eyes surprised at the emotion in the deep pools. She wondered if it had always been there and she just hadn't seen, or hadn't bothered to look.

"I love you," she whispered watching his eyes widen slightly before the corners crinkled as he smiled.

"I love you too, Bambina."

"I know that now." Melissa curled her fingers in his hair and pulled him down into a kiss.