“Joey, please don't,” I whisper, helpless as he drags me toward our destination. The closer we got the more nervous I get. It's not like the whole thing isn't odd enough, because who in the world would believe there are two Joey Fatones. We're marching toward the real one while 'my' Joey has a death grip on my hand like I might suddenly decide to run for the nearest place to hide.

“Quit freaking out woman,” he mutters, a smile on his face that is too pleased with the whole situation. “You act like you've never seen me before in your life, Mel. What the hell? I mean,we've been intimate,” the last word dripping with sensuality as he looked at me.

If I could have been swallowed up by a giant hole or Godzilla would have come, I would have been thankful, but that didn't happen. Instead Joey turned his head and then did a double take and slammed his shot and looked again.

“I need another shot,” Joey told the bartender, who seemed unfazed by the doppelganger who'd appeared beside him.

“You're not that drunk, Fatone...Geez, I'm telling myself I'm not that drunk. Ha,” my Joey says, looking at the real Joey. He still has a grip on my hand and I'm hiding behind him like a total coward, freaking out.

“Who the fuck are you?” Joey says, looking at the dead ringer for him. Other than the earrings, it was him. He'd seen a few boy band impersonators and some were damn good, but this was something else totally.

“Well, I'm you,” my Joey replied, pulling me out from around him. “I'm hers..but I'm you. Mel, meet Joey. Joey, meet Melly.”

I could see him grinning out of the corner of my eye and I would have griped right then but here I was staring at the Joey Fatone. Unicorns and glitter and dear baby Jesus, he was as good looking as he was in pictures. It was the same and yet, it was different. I knew I was blushing and couldn't think of a response to save my life. Even a sarcastic one that would embarrass me forever was lost until I felt my Joey nudge me.

“Listen, buster. You're about this,” I held up my finger and thumb at my Joey, “close to being in so much damn trouble. Sometimes you make me so crazy...” I give him a glare and he just gives me that smirk that says he's getting out of trouble later.

“So...” Joey looked between himself and me, raising an eyebrow. “What is this? Some sort of joke?”

I could see this getting out of hand and he didn't look happy. Hell, I don't know how I would feel if someone had a fictional me to drag around everywhere. “No..no joke.” I let go of my Joey's hand and felt his fingers on my lower back, rubbing lightly to comfort me. “This Joey is my muse. My version of you.”

Joey looked between me and him, taking another shot. “So what do I..does he do?”

“Well, he..I write. And he's my inspiration. Or sometimes a pain in the ass,” I say and hear my Joey chuckle. “He's not the only one, but he's the one who's here the most.”

Joey looked at my Joey. “There's more of..me? Or muses?” he asked him.

“Muses. Mostly it's just me and Chris. Sometimes that little pecker head Justin tries to butt in. We've threatened to tar and feather him a few times. The other guys are there. They come and go. Me and Chris stay,” my Joey explains with a shrug.

“Why?”

It was a question that I wanted an answer to from my own muse. I had even tried to ask myself that question, knowing the muse was a part of me. I looked from Joey to my Joey who grabbed the seat next to him and sat down. It wasn't until then I noticed the differences. The real Joey had on that damned gray toboggan I hated while mine was hat-less with his hair not cut as close. Their goatees were similar except for the fact that I liked Joey with the thin strip of hair lining his jawline. And my Joey's goatee was thicker.

“Well,” my Joey pulled me to him where I was leaning on him and looked at the real Joey. “She needed us. So we stay. It's a lot of reasons man. It doesn't make sense sometimes, but we don't mind. Mel loves us being there.”

“She realizes you're not real,” Joey tells him.

“Totally, but if it makes her happy, what the hell? I mean, you wouldn't deny making someone happy would you?” My Joey asks the real one.

“Sort of an insane way to do it,” Joey mutters.

“Using me in writing never hurt anyone. Hell, she's not tracking you down in a parking lot and showing you a nipple ring is she? Cause that was fucked up. Sorta cool, but mostly fucked up. You looked like you could have swallowed your damn tongue and TMZ recorded the whole thing... I mean, technically, I'm just your twin in looks and voice and some personality. The things that are publicly known about you. Or facts. Other than that, I'm made up.”

“It's true,” I spoke up. “I mean, he looks like you, but he's mine. I like him the way he is. I'm sure you're a nice guy. A great guy... And..” my mind went to where it shouldn't and I heard my Joey chuckle quietly. “He knows what I like and don't like. What upsets me. How I feel about things and when I write, I can put him in any situation and have him react mostly the way I want. Of course, I try to think of you,” I gesture to the real Joey who is sitting there with a bemused look on his face now. “However, my Joey usually has some smartass comment to make or some way of driving me crazy. If it were you, I think I'd just have to kick your ass out.”

“Is she always this mouthy?” Joey asked, laughing.

“Mostly, but she's good people,” my Joey said, ordering a beer. “I have to say that or I'm kicked out of the bed later. Well, I'd say it anyway,” he rolled an eye toward me and I flipped him off. “Be nice, little girl or I will make your next story a living hell.”

“I'll just put Chris in,” I reply, smirking when he gives me a dirty look.

“Chris who?” Chris comes up and kisses my cheek, before looking at Joey and the real Joey sitting there. “Is this the Twilight episode where they're all aliens? Or is this the rabbit hole?” he looks around, studying the people around us.

“How can you tell the real Chris from this one?”

My Joey shrugs. “I think you could interchange them and you couldn't tell. Karly might kill this one. He's a little goofier than the real Chris, but who knows. We're good though. I just knew if we didn't come say hi, I'd have hear about it for weeks that the real Joey Fatone was in the same place as us,” he rolled his eyes and shrugged, smirking at the real version of himself. “She still freaked out so that was funny as hell.”

“Thanks a lot,” I mutter, shaking my head looking between them. As exciting as it was to meet Joey, I realized I was happy with my Joey and my Chris. That the muses I had in my head were enough. They were always close when I needed them and had been there for me through so much. “You ready to go?” I ask my Joey and Chris.

“Sure,” my Chris says, raising an eyebrow at me. “You sure you wanna leave?”

“I'm good. It was nice meeting you Joey...” I tell the real Joey, who gives me a hug and replies in turn, slapping hands with his virtual twin.

“That was fun,” my Joey says as we get out of the club. “What do you have planned for tomorrow?”

“I'm not sure,” I said. “I just know I'll need both of you.”