Chapter Twenty-one

(Later that day, at the venue, 6 p.m.)

"Hey ... you need any help?" Marki asked from the  doorway of the costume room, breaking Shannon from her thoughts.

"Sure," Shannon smiled one of the first real smiles she had in days. "You can start hanging up Lance's stuff if you want - it's in the green bins."

Marki looked around at the neat stacks of plastic bins, organizers, and hangers - each neatly labeled and sorted by color, a different color for each of the guys.

"Green ... Lance always complains he gets stuck with whatever's green." Marki grinned. "And I just have to ask ... who got stuck with pink?"

Shannon couldn't keep a straight face. "Joey," she answered and Marki burst out laughing. "Well ... he wouldn't pick a color! Chris just had to have orange, and Justin just had to have blue, JC picked red -"

"I get the picture," Marki laughed and shook her head. "I have to say, though, you're really organized, I'm impressed."

"Thanks." Shannon finished the bandanna she had embellished for Justin and started going through the blue bins. The two women worked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes until Marki spoke up.

"Have you talked with Joey yet?"

Shannon kept her concentration fixed on the shirt in her hands. "You could say that."

"Didn't go too well, did it?" Marki glanced over at her friend.

"Oh, Marki ... it was awful!" Shannon turned to face Marki, tears of frustration in her eyes. "He wants to say 'I'm sorry' and for me to say 'Okay' and everything to go back to how it was ... and it can't."

"Do you think you two will ever be okay?" Marki asked with concern.

"I don't know, everything is so confusing right now."  The tears spilled down Shannon's cheeks. "My heart is so torn ..."

"About what?" Marki gave up any effort at hanging the costumes and sat down on a couch. "Don't you love him?"

"Which one?" Shannon whispered.

Marki gasped. Lance and JC had told her everything that had happened on New Year's Eve, and the whole group knew about Chris's crush on Shannon, but no one had begun to think of Shannon's feelings for Chris. "This is bad."

"I know! I don't know what to do. I love Joey ... but when Chris and I ... when we - Marki, there was more than lust there." Shannon looked at her friend, the fear evident in her eyes.

"Well ... do you think Chris feels the same way?" Marki wasn't sure how much Shannon knew about his crush on her.

"I don't know, I'm afraid to ask." Shannon tried to pull herself together and started hanging costumes again. "I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"Do you love Joey?"

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Shannon answered. "Yes."

"Are you IN love with him?"

Shannon paused before answering. "I don't know."

Both women jumped when the door of the costume room slammed open and Meaghan stormed in and shot daggers at Marki.

"What are YOU doing in here? I'M the one who's supposed to be the costume assistant, not YOU." She said the last word like it tasted bad.

Marki threw up her hands and backed away from the bin of Lance's costumes. "Whoa, okay, I was just trying to help Shannon and the guys out, since you were nowhere to be found."

"Why don't you do your job - you are still JC's P.A., right? Or are you too busy making out with Lance?" Meaghan spat back.

"What is your problem, Meaghan? What did I ever do to you?" Marki crossed her arms and waited for her to answer as Shannon stared at the scene before her in shock.

"You're trying to take my job, THAT'S my problem." Meaghan then turned on Shannon. "And you? Why aren't you saying anything? You ARE my best friend, you're supposed to be supporting me here."

Over her shock, Shannon finally found her voice. "You're being rediculous, Meg. How can I support you? Marki was only trying to help me out, she didn't mean anything by it."

"Whatever, Shannon. If you're this loyal to your best friend, no wonder Joey slept with me."

Before anyone could blink, Shannon slapped Meaghan as hard as she could across the face. She barely had time to register what she had done before Lance and Chris were in the room, pulling her away from a shocked Meaghan.

"You bitch! I can't believe you fucking hit me!"

"From what I heard, I'd say you deserved it," Lance glared at Meaghan.

"Are you okay?" Chris pulled Shannon into his arms.  "You're shaking."

"I'm okay ... I think." Shannon shivered, her heart racing.

"Maybe you'd better leave, Meg." Lance said seriously. "We don't need the tension back here."

"Well, Lance, that's not really up to you, now is it?" Meaghan smirked.

"But it is up to me." The people in the room turned around quickly to see Justin leaning against the doorjamb, his arms crossed over his chest. "I have plenty to say about it, too."

Meaghan tried to hide her look of surprise and quickly turned a fake smile on Justin. "Baby, I didn't know you were here yet ..."

"Nice try, Meg, but you can just drop the act. I see you for what you really are - a heartless, conniving liar - a woman I should have never trusted my heart with." Justin's eyes were cold and dark, his jaw tense. "A woman I never want to see again. Get out."

"But, Justin ... I-" Meaghan's chin had begun to tremble.

"Just leave!" Justin roared at her, his rage overcoming him at last. "I never want to see you again! Don't you get it? Just get out!"

Lance placed a comforting hand on Justin's shoulder. "I'd listen to him, Meg. I think it's best for all of us, you need to go."

"So that's it? I'm off the tour? For what?" Meaghan's tears quickly turned bitter. "For sleeping with someone else? I'm not the only guilty one here, Lance. Shannon and Chris are just as guilty, why don't you kick them off the tour, too?"

"Get out of my sight, Meg. Don't make me call security." Lance's cool resolve broke at last.

"Fine, kick me out ... but keep the slut?" Meaghan looked over at Shannon who was staring at her former best friend, tears of shock and rage streaming down her cheeks. "That's what you are, Shannon, a slut. You're nothing better than me, and you never will be." Marki lept from her seat on the couch next to Shannon, fists ready to fly, but was held back by Chris. "It's not worth it, Mar. Just let her go." Chris looked at Marki with calm brown eyes.

"I didn't want to do this, but ... Lonnie!" Lance yelled and instantly the large man entered the room followed by three other members of *N SYNC's security.

"What's the problem here?" Lonnie's dark eyes scanned over the scene before him.

"Can you please escort Ms. Fraser back to the hotel so she can get her things and then drop her off at the airport?" Justin requested, and Lonnie nodded.

"Sure thing, Timbs. Come on, miss, let's go." Lonnie placed his hand on Meaghan's arm, only to have her pull away and rush to Justin, begging.

"Justin, baby, you're just mad ... it's all gonna be alright, we just have to talk! Please, Just -" Meaghan touched his arm.

"Don't. Touch. Me." Justin's eyes shot blue fire.

"I said, let's go." Lonnie pulled Meaghan from the room, the door slamming shut behind them.


(One hour later, backstage)

Joey entered the backstage area with trepidation, something wasn't right, and it wasn't just the fact that he and Shannon were still on the rocks. His heart beat faster as he neared the costume room, especially when he didn't hear any of the normal commotion coming from inside. He knocked on the door lightly, waited a few moments, and just when he was about to open it himself, it swung open to reveal Shannon.

"Oh, hey." Her green eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, a sure sign that she had been crying recently. "I was just lying down, did you need something?"

"I didn't mean to bother you ... I just wanted to talk, if that's okay." Joey shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from brushing a strand of her hair from her face.

"That's fine, come on in." Shannon stood aside and let him enter the room, all the costumes neatly pressed and hung, ready for showtime.

"Wow, everything looks ready ... except for you, and I have a pretty good idea that it's mostly because of me." Joey smiled wanly at her.

"No, it's not you. Meaghan was here ..." Shannon's tears started anew. "I can't believe ... I don't know why she did what she did. I don't know why I did what I did - god, what was it about that night?" She began to sob, Joey pulled her into his arms and held her while she cried.

"I don't know Shan." He tilted her face up to look into her eyes. "We need to talk about us ... is there still an 'us'?"

"I don't know ..." Shannon whispered. "I do love you, Joey."

"I know you do, and I love you." He fought to get his words around the lump in his throat. "I just don't think that I'm IN love with you ... maybe I never was. Wait, that sounded so bad -"

"But it's true, Joey. I think we were both pushing this too fast - it was too much too soon." Shannon felt strangely calm, not nearly as sad as she thought she would be. "I don't want to lose your friendship ..."

"And you won't." Joey smiled gently at her. "Shannon, you are such a dear friend to me, I don't ever want us to stop being friends. If I can't be with you as a boyfriend, I at least want to be there as a friend." They both rushed to hug one another, giggling with relief.

"God, this wasn't so bad," Shannon wiped the last of the tears from her eyes. "Why is that?"

"Maybe because we both did what our hearts knew was right." Joey shrugged. "But there's one more thing I have to talk to you about."

"What's that?" Shannon raised her eyebrow.

"Chris."

"Uh, Joey, maybe that's not such a good idea ..." Shannon rose from the couch and started rifling through a bin.

"Shan, sit down and listen to me - I know what I'm talking about here." Joey looked at her pointedly. "You're in love with him ... admit it." Shannon blushed darkly and squirmed uncomfortably. "See? I told you I know what I'm talking about."

"It's just weird, me talking to you about this." She looked at him closely. "Wait a minute ... you aren't just trying to get me to tell you all this so you can go out there and kick Chris's ass, are you?"

Joey laughed. "No, you dork. I'm trying to be mature, here."

"Whoa ... careful there, stud. You might lose that rep you have going." Shannon grinned.


********

The stadium clock was counting down and the fans were getting louder, screaming for the five guys who stood in a circle backstage, playing the required game of hackey sack. Justin, who's eyes were still red from crying, hugged each one of his brothers tightly, thankful to the God who had placed him in their care. JC hugged Joey the tightest, still thoughtful of the fight they had had earlier. Lance hugged them all, wonderous as to how he'd ever been so lucky to land there. Joey and Chris faced each other with some wariness, but embraced tightly, each reminded of what they could have lost.

"Okay, gentlemen, you're on!" The backstage manager announced, waving them all towards the stage entrance.

The five men looked at each other with excited grins.

Pop Odyssey had officially begun.


THE END!!!!!!!!!!!!