High pitched beeping barely registered through the haziness that’d wrapped around JC’s mind from sleep. Mornings were his least favorite time of the day, especially when he hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. Justin and Chris had fallen asleep almost directly after their talk, but JC had lied awake for another hour before sleep finally claimed him.

So it was with a tired groan that JC blindly reached out his left arm to shut off the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was time to get up. He’d hit the snooze button three times already and knew that if he didn’t get up soon then the guys would come in to wake him.

They usually got up sometime after six thirty to allow for each of them to get time in the bathroom they shared. It was important that everyone was up and ready by eight thirty so they could start their vocal rehearsals with Robin. And JC always made sure that he maxed out his time to sleep while making sure he had enough time to shower and get ready. But already his hour had been cut down to forty-five minutes, and it was only a matter of time before the guys came in.

Normally they would’ve already bothered him, but today was JC’s day to sleep in. They all took turns to give each other a chance to get at least an extra half hour of sleep. It didn’t sound like much, but they all looked forward to the day when they got to sleep in. JC always made the most of it, ignoring his alarm clock, which brought the guys into his room.

JC knew from experience how unpleasant wakeup calls from them could be, but he couldn’t motivate himself to move. It’d taken him so long to fall asleep from the time he’d originally gone to bed that now he didn’t want to get up. He didn’t even care that the bed sagged a little in the middle. All he knew was that it felt like heaven right then.

But then JC could hear footsteps making their way down the hall and let out another groan as he buried his head under his pillow. Depending on who was waking him would determine how bad the wakeup call would be. He desperately wished today Justin and Chris hadn’t volunteered to do it. They were the worst.

The footsteps walked into the room and hesitated briefly in the doorway. JC had to hold back a sigh of relief. It couldn’t be Chris or Justin because they would normally run in, not caring how much noise they made.

“JC,” Lance said from somewhere next to his bed. “Wake up.”

“You’ll never wake him up like that. Watch and learn.”

There were a few shuffled steps, and JC’s body tensed, knowing what was coming. Sure enough, Justin jumped on top of him and laughed as JC let out a wheezed breath. “C’mon, C! Rise and shine!” Justin said, far too cheerfully.

Justin’s cheerfulness was a sure sign that he’d been up for a while and had already eaten his cereal. It was unbelievable how a bowl of his favorite cereal could totally turn his mood around. When Justin first woke up, he was cranky and snapped at anyone who tried talking to him. But as soon as his sugary cereal kicked in, he was back to his normal energetic, annoying self.

JC moaned and pulled the pillow tighter around his head. Silently he cursed himself for naively believing he’d get a normal wakeup call for once. “Why can’t you leave me alone?”

“Because we have to listen to your alarm go off every five minutes since you keep hitting the snooze button,” Justin replied, yanking the pillow out of his grasp and smiling brightly when JC glared at him.

“Alright, alright. I’m up,” JC said, rolling over and sitting up. He yawned and caught sight of Lance standing by the door. Probably moved when Justin went running and jumped on the bed. “How did you get roped into this?”

“Justin,” Lance said simply, and JC nodded. Justin could be very persuasive when he wanted.

“Hurry up and get dressed. Mom made pancakes,” Justin told JC, ignoring the exchange between him and Lance.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re demanding?” JC asked.

“Anyone tell you you sleep too much?” Justin retorted. He grinned at Lance and stepped out into the hallway.

“Not possible!” JC yelled at their retreating backs. He smiled slightly to himself. Justin could be kind of annoying, but that was part of him being a kid. Something that JC was happy to see.

But his smile vanished as quickly as it’d appeared when Lou walked into the room a second later. JC felt that familiar churning in his stomach as he watched Lou smile at him before he closed the door. His heart beat rapidly against his chest, and he stumbled out of his covers and to his feet.

Being on the bed made him too vulnerable, and that wasn’t something JC wanted to be. Lou made him apprehensive enough as it was. No need to add to it. JC tried to tell himself that nothing was going to happen. The door could’ve been closed because maybe Lou wanted to say something to him that he didn’t want the others to hear. OK, no matter how he put it, it sounded bad.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” Lou asked.

JC swallowed the lump in his throat and said, “Sure.”

JC tried to force his muscles to relax. Nothing was going to happen. Lou just wanted to talk to him. That was it. But the repeated mantra in his head did nothing to calm him, especially when Lou stepped further into the room.

Immediately JC sprung into action. There was four feet between his bed and the door. He had to get to the door without alerting Lou. JC could feel the heavy gaze on him and knew that was easier said than done.

Slowly, he walked over to his dresser, trying not to show how tense he was. “So,” JC began and cleared his throat. “What did you want to talk about?”

“I just wanted to see if you were OK,” Lou said.

“Oh. Well, yeah. I’m alright,” JC replied as he pulled a shirt out of his middle drawer. At that moment all he wanted to do was bolt for the door. Screw getting a change of clothes and what Lou thought. But that wasn’t an option at the moment.

Lou wasn’t standing directly in front of the door, but was close enough that JC wouldn’t be able to slip out. He just had to bide his time until Lou did move away from the door. So he turned his attention back to his dresser.

“Why do you ask?” JC asked, stealing glimpses of the door out of his peripheral to check the availability of his only escape route.

“You seemed jumpy yesterday,” Lou explained.

JC froze momentarily from closing his bottom drawer. His eyes flicked up to Lou who had a small knowing smile on his face, and all of his fears from earlier intensified. Lou knew exactly why he’d been jumping out of his skin and was messing with him.

“I just…had a lot on my mind,” JC finally said once he was sure he could talk without his voice wavering.

“That’s good.” Lou stepped forward, away from the door and towards JC. It was only then that JC realized he’d made a big mistake by waiting by his dresser for the doorway to be clear. He’d gotten himself backed into a corner. Lou placed a hand on his shoulder and gently kneaded the muscles there as he said, “I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

JC’s left eye twitched. A result of trying to hold in the flinch he wanted to release. His eyes wandered to the unblocked door, and he pushed through his feelings of anxiety to try to figure out how he was going to get out. What he needed was a distraction. Something that would give him enough time to slip past Lou and out the door. A few seconds was all he needed.

But as the pressure on his shoulder disappeared, JC quickly focused his attention back on Lou. His hand moved down JC’s body without touching before hovering just below his belly button.

“No.” JC shook his head, knowing what was coming. “You can’t do this.”

Lou didn’t say anything, but raised an eyebrow. He stretched the elastic of JC’s sweatpants and boxers before lowering his hand in between the fabric and JC’s skin. His body stiffened and his breath hitched as Lou’s fingers fondled him. Then, his instincts took over.

JC brought his hands up to push Lou away from him only to have them intercepted roughly. Lou’s right hand continued to work below JC’s waist, making him squirm, while his left squeezed JC’s wrists together and raised them above his head against the wall. But JC’s struggles didn’t weaken.

He didn’t stand a chance against Lou who was twice his size. However, that didn’t stop him from trying to fight back. All his mind could focus on was how much he wanted Lou’s hands off of him. JC tugged at his arms, trying to pull them free, but neither of Lou’s grips lessened. Lou’s body weight kept him pressed against the wall, but JC wouldn’t stop struggling. If he didn’t fight back, it meant he was giving into Lou, allowing him to touch him this way.

“Get off me,” JC whimpered. He continued to struggle against Lou, despite the fact that he was losing the feeling in his arms. His legs were feeling weak too, but he was doing his best to ignore it. “Let me go.”

A shudder wracked JC’s body as Lou’s right hand continued its ministrations, weakening what little resolve he had left. The exertion from thrashing against the large man in front of him left him breathing heavily. His eyes were locked on the door about a foot away, but there was no escape. He was trapped.

JC closed his eyes, not wanting to look at Lou or the reminder that safety had been just a few feet away before he’d gotten backed into a corner. He wondered how much longer it was going to be before Lou was done with him. It’d gone on too long already.

His leg muscles spasmed before he sagged against the wall. JC tried to hold himself up, but his legs folded beneath him. He didn’t attempt to move because he was sure he couldn’t even if he wanted to. But his eyes snapped open when he heard the door close with a click.

Lou was gone, which made sense considering he was sitting on the floor. If Lou wasn’t finished with him, he’d probably still be pressed up against the wall. JC let out a shaky sigh of relief. But what’d happened quickly overshadowed that relief.

He sat there in disbelief, leaning wearily against the wall. JC had feared something like this happening. He’d even admitted that it might, but that didn’t take away the absolute shock of Lou touching him so inappropriately. And while JC had been scared, he never imagined how disgusted he would be. How could Lou be so sick?

It made JC wonder what exactly Lou hoped to gain from it. Nothing that he could see, but there had to have been some reason. That was when the image of Lou staring at him out by the pool with something JC had suspected was desire made itself known once again. Had Lou really just felt him up out of desire?

The thought made JC feel sick to his stomach, but it made sense. There was no other way JC could rationalize it. Unless Lou was just twisted. Either way, it didn’t change the fact that it’d happened and left JC feeling dirty.

Maybe a shower would make him feel better. JC leaned forward to grab the clothes that were just out of reach from when they’d fallen out of his hand earlier. Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet, using his free hand to take some of his weight. He managed to get to his feet even as his legs quaked, feeling like gelatin.

JC took a deep breath before he opened the door. He wasted no time in walking the few feet it took to reach the bathroom. Turning the lock, JC felt more at ease already. It was comforting to finally have a locked door between him and Lou. If he was around.

A minute later JC was under the spray of hot water. Steam collected in the small area as he let the water pelt against his skin. The temperature was probably hotter than it should have been, especially considering how humid it’d been lately, but the heat would guarantee that any hint of Lou still on him would be washed down the drain.

JC closed his eyes and tipped his head back under the showerhead, trying to relax. But that was difficult when he couldn’t stop thinking about what’d happened. The memory of Lou’s hand touching him in such a sexual way made JC shudder, despite the scalding water.

Shaking his head, JC opened his eyes and grabbed the bottle of shampoo. If he could, he would stand there all day. But in order for him to feel better, he needed to cleanse himself with soap. So he set about his usual shower routine as if it were just another day. The only exception was that he scrubbed his skin harder with the soapy washcloth, trying to get rid of the feel of Lou’s hands.

He watched as the suds carried water down the drain at his feet and continued to stand there, even though there was nothing more for him to do. JC wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. Never had he been put in this type of situation.

What he did know was that he needed to tell someone. But he dreaded the awkwardness of that conversation and he didn’t even want to think about that right now. It was nearly time for rehearsal anyway, and they’d be going nonstop from then on for most of the day. There wouldn’t be any time.

JC only hoped that no one had heard his cries of protest. Though, he figured that if someone had heard, they would have come to the room to investigate. JC thanked God no one had walked in on that. It would have been incredibly embarrassing.

The water turned cold, and that was enough to motivate JC to get out of the shower. He turned off the water and stepped out before quickly drying and dressing himself. After combing his bangs out of his eyes, JC scrutinized the person staring back at him in the mirror. His skin was tinged pink from the burning water, but that seemed to be the worst of it.

Satisfied that he didn’t look too terrible, JC walked out of the bathroom. He turned and headed down the hall for the kitchen where he’d last heard the guys. Lance and Joey were just rising from the table when he entered.

“Hey, Sleepy,” Joey greeted. “You just about slept through breakfast.”

JC just shrugged. “I’m not really hungry anyway.”

“You sure?” Lynn asked from the sink where she was washing dishes. “I can heat you up something.”

“No thanks,” JC declined. He wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t hungry. Normally he enjoyed Lynn’s pancakes, but his appetite had vanished by the time Lou had left him alone.

“Your loss, man,” Joey said as he led the way towards the front of the house. JC frowned, knowing that he would’ve much rather had been in the kitchen eating with them than trapped in his bedroom with Lou. Silently he sent a prayer, hoping that he wouldn’t see Lou for a long while. He’d had more than enough of him already.

Joey pinched the front of his t-shirt and shook it, trying to get air to circulate through the damp material. It felt like it was a hundred degrees in the warehouse where they practiced their choreography. And that was saying something considering that it was nearly eleven o’clock at night and the temperature usually dropped to a more manageable level in the evenings. Dancing was a big part of him feeling hot too though.

“Thanks for coming in late, guys. I’ll see you tomorrow,” the choreographer said as he slung his duffle over his shoulder and headed out the door.

They’d had gotten a call from him an hour before they were supposed to show up for rehearsal asking if it could be pushed back a few hours because another job he had was going to run over. There’d been no hesitation when they agreed, glad to have a couple hour break between rehearsals. Lynn took advantage of that and made dinner before they left. It’d been nice to eat at a normal time for a change rather than late in the evening.

“You boys want some ice cream?” Lou asked, coming closer to where the five of them stood.

Justin, who’d been leaning tiredly against the wall next to JC, suddenly stood up straight and visibly brightened. “Yes!”

Joey laughed at Justin’s enthusiasm, but he couldn’t blame him. Ice cream sounded great. It would be a nice treat, especially since they were all so hot. They could all use a little bit of sugar to pick them up.

“Guys, it’s late. We should go home and get some sleep,” JC said as he wiped sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.

“Don’t be such a party pooper, JC. We can sleep after we get ice cream,” Justin replied.

“Besides, we let you sleep in this morning,” Chris added.

“It wasn’t enough,” JC mumbled before he sighed and relented. “OK. Let’s go.”

Joey frowned slightly. He didn’t want to make JC go if he didn’t want to, but since they only had one car, the five of them had to go everywhere together. But maybe it would do him some good. They’d all been kind of stressed and overworked, and there was just something about how a few scoops of ice cream could make you feel better.

“So we’ll follow you?” Joey asked, turning his attention to Lou.

“Actually, I thought I could ride with you. I want to see if the van’s still driving OK,” Lou said. It was kind of a weird request, especially when he had his own car sitting out in the parking lot. But he’d been the one to loan them the car, so they could get around town.

“What about your car?” Chris asked.

“I’ll get it on the way back,” Lou said.

There was no further argument as the six of them left the building that served as their dance studio and walked into the dimly lit parking lot. They walked past Lou’s shiny compact to the rustic van behind it. It was probably at least ten years old and had definitely seen better days. But it was enough to get all five of them around town.

Lou accepted the keys that Chris offered to him before he walked around to the driver’s side. He unlocked his door before the rest of the locks sprung up, signaling that they had followed suit. JC was the first one in the van and climbed into the second backseat.

They all got in and settled themselves against the polyester seats. Somehow Lance had gotten stuck up front with Lou. Joey felt bad because while Lance was still awkward around them, it was even worse with Lou. But maybe this would help break him out of his shell a little.

The car was silent as they pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. It didn’t stay that way for long though. They’d gotten no further than a couple miles down the street when Justin suddenly said, “Aerosmith.”

“Beatles,” Chris said, grinning at Justin. Then he turned in his seat to look at Joey expectantly.

“Uh…” Joey thought for a second before he came up with, “The Carpenters.”

It was a game that they played often when they were driving around. Justin had been the one to start the game earlier in the week. They’d already done movies and places. Now it looked like they were doing musicians.

Silence returned and filled the car for almost ten seconds before Justin whined, “JC…”

JC, who’d been staring out the car window, blinked and met Justin’s impatient gaze. “What?”

“It’s your turn,” Justin said.

“For what?” JC asked, forehead crinkled in confusion.

Justin rolled his eyes and sighed. “The alphabet game.”

“Just give us a musician that starts with a d,” Chris said once it was apparent JC still hadn’t caught on to what they were doing.

“Devo,” JC said, barely pausing to think about it. It never ceased to amaze Joey just how many musicians JC listened to and could remember, especially the lesser known ones.

No one’s head swiveled towards the front of the car, but it was obvious that it was Lance’s turn now. Justin’s leg bounced rapidly as he waited for his contribution to the game. Finally Justin lost his patience and moaned, “C’mon.”

“I’m thinking,” Lance replied.

“Think king of rock ‘n roll,” Lou said.

“Oh. Elvis,” Lance supplied, embarrassment evident in his voice.

“Geez, Lance. You should’ve gotten that right away,” Justin said.

Lance turned in his seat to look at him as he defended, “My mind blanked.”

“Sure it did,” Justin replied, giving him a humoring nod.

“Well, it’s your turn. And seeing as you haven’t named a musician, it makes me think you’re stalling,” Chris said, smirking.

“I’m not!” Justin protested and his face scrunched up as he probably ran through a list of musicians that he’d heard of in his head. Chris’s smirk grew and smiled knowingly at Justin. A few seconds later Justin blurted out his answer and the game continued.

Lou continued to drive down the road while the rest of them moved through the alphabet with Lou helping or throwing out his own suggestion every couple letters. It went smoothly with barely any more pauses until they hit the letter w.

“Wonder,” Chris said.

“Stevie Wonder?” Joey asked.

“Yep,” Chris agreed.

Justin shook his head. “That doesn’t count!”

“Why not? It’s a w.”

“Yeah, the last name. The entire game we’ve been going by first names,” Lance pointed out.

“Well, w’s hard!” Chris argued.

“You could’ve said William Shatner,” JC said.

Joey shook his head. “Dude, he’s an actor. Not a musician.”

“He recorded an album,” JC replied.

“That doesn’t suddenly make him a musician. And even if it did, he’s not very good,” Chris said.

JC just shrugged in response, letting the argument go. Joey frowned at his odd behavior. Normally JC really got into this game. Almost as much Justin, and he never would’ve let that argument drop that easily. He would’ve gone on about what exactly qualifies a person to be a musician by certain standards of society. Or at least something to that effect.

Sure, he didn’t zone out again like he had at the beginning of the game, and he played along happily enough. But the problem laid in his tone. It’d been dull and just sounded off.

Joey was distracted from his thoughts as the car stopped. He looked out the window and saw that they were parked in front of the entrance to Dairy Queen. Chris slid the door open and continued to argue with Justin about the rules of the game as they got out of the car. The rest of them abandoned the car and went inside the brick building, the playful banter stopping to survey the menu and order.

It was dead at that time of night, so they’d ordered and received their ice cream in five minutes. They opted to stay in the air conditioning rather than eating at the picnic table on the sidewalk right next to the entrance. So they situated themselves around a large table.

“Aw, man,” Justin whined as he twirled his ice cream with his spoon. “I have nuts.”

“Well, I’d sure hope so. You are a guy,” Chris said dryly.

Joey chuckled around a lick of his chocolate ice cream. He glanced across the table to see a small smile play across Lance’s lips even as he blushed. But JC, who’d been drinking his milkshake when Chris had said that, was now choking and pounding on his chest as he looked warily at Lou.

Chris rolled his eyes even as he slapped JC’s back. “God, C. Don’t be such a prude.”

JC’s uneasy gaze at Lou made Joey realized what an inappropriate comment that was. Casually, he looked out of the corner of his eye to see what Lou’s reaction was. But Lou didn’t say anything. He just ate his ice cream and appeared to be content to let it slide.

“Very funny,” Justin said sarcastically before he turned serious. “I asked for no nuts on my ice cream.”

“So go back and get it fixed,” Joey replied.

Justin shook his head. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Then quit whining,” Chris said.

“Gee, Chris. You’re all heart,” Justin replied, sarcasm thick.

“What do you boys like to do for fun?” Lou asked, inadvertently stopping any further teasing between Chris and Justin.

“Basketball,” Justin answered immediately, quickly swallowing the ice cream in his mouth. “And video games.”

“Me too. Give me a game system, and I’m set. Or take me clubbing and buy me a drink. But no 151. That shit’s potent and fu-freaking burns,” Chris said, amending the end of his sentence when he caught Lou’s disapproving glare.

“You shouldn’t swear like that,” Lou reprimanded.

“I know. I’m working on it,” Chris said.

Lou nodded and focused his attention across the table on Joey. “So what do you do?”

“I’ll pretty much do anything. I play sports, games, and go clubbing with Chris occasionally,” Joey said.

“Do you drink?” Lou asked.

Joey shook his head. “I just go for the dancing.”

“That’s not all he goes for,” Chris said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“That’s just an added bonus,” Joey replied, grinning.

“You just dance with them though, right?” Lance spoke up.

“Usually, but I wouldn’t be opposed to decline something else if she offered,” Joey said.

“Is that what you’re going to say when an interviewer asks you?” Lou asked.

Justin frowned. “Interviewer?”

“When you boys become famous, you’re going to have to do interviews. And you have to keep it clean. No talk about sex or drinking, and you can’t swear,” Lou addressed all of them, but his gaze was more focused on Joey and Chris.

“So what are we supposed to say then?” Chris asked.

“Just that you go clubbing to dance and have fun. Don’t go into detail. You have to keep it clean because your fans are going to look up to you,” Lou said.

Chris ate the last bite of his waffle cone and wiped his hands with a napkin. “So the fans don’t really get to know us? We just tell them what they want to hear?”

“It’s going to be best for your image as a group if you’re not completely truthful about everything. I mean, you wouldn’t go around telling people about your sex life, would you?”

“I guess not,” Chris admitted and Lou nodded, apparently satisfied.

“But what if they find out we lied? Wouldn’t that make everything worse?” Lance asked.

“No because you’re not lying. You’re still going to be yourselves. Just a little more behaved in public. That’s all,” Lou assured.

Lou rose from the table and carried his trash over to the garbage can. Joey exchanged weary glances with the guys. Apparently the conversation was over, and Lou had really laid down the law as far as how to talk in interviews.

It was exactly how Joey thought it would be, but he wasn’t going to fight it. Lou had been in the business long enough to know what he was doing, so Joey trusted him. He could handle not going into too much detail because he wouldn’t have done so anyway. At most he would’ve made some joke or innuendo. So it didn’t seem like it would be much of a problem.

But that wasn’t worth thinking about right then. They would record the demo and see how things went from there. If a record company did sign them, then they could worry about their public image. Until then, Joey wasn’t worried.

“We should probably get going. It’s getting late and you boys have to be up early,” Lou said, coming back and standing near JC.

There was no argument as they walked out of the building with JC throwing his cup in the trash on the way. Joey figured they probably wouldn’t go to bed when they got back to the house, but it would still be nice to get back so they could relax. The sugar seemed to have done its job because as soon as the asphalt was beneath their feet Chris and Justin started bickering over who would get to ride shotgun.

“I’m older than you, which means I’m privileged,” Chris said.

“In a restaurant maybe. Senior special, anyone?” Justin replied.

Chris opened his mouth to fire back a retort when Lou stepped in front of them and said, “There’s only one fair way to decide this. All of you pick a number between one and twenty and who ever is closest gets to ride up front.”

“Seven,” Justin said immediately and looked over at Chris. “Lucky number seven.”

Chris matched Justin’s gaze evenly and said, “Thirteen. Just to counter your luck.”

Joey and Lance chose eighteen and four respectively. Then all eyes landed on JC as they waited for him to pick a number. But JC shook his head.

“I don’t want to sit up front,” JC said.

“It has to be fair,” Lou replied.

JC sighed heavily. “Alright. Sixteen.”

“JC wins,” Lou declared. “The number was fifteen.”

“Stupid seven,” Justin muttered and scuffed his sneaker against the ground.

“Really. I don’t want it,” JC insisted. “Someone else can have it.”

“Now, now, JC. You won fair and square, so go ahead and sit up front,” Lou said, smiling at him.

JC sighed once again before he opened the passenger door and got in. The rest of them piled into the backseat and a couple minutes later, they were heading back in the direction they’d come. But there was no game to fill the silence this time.

It didn’t bother Joey though. He didn’t mind the quiet because it could really be peaceful. Their days were always crazy, working around the clock that it was nice to get a few minutes to let everything kind of settle. Apparently Justin didn’t agree though because suddenly his head poked through the space between Joey and Chris’s shoulders.

“Want some gum?” he asked.

“I got enough from the smell thanks,” Chris said dryly.

“At least my breath doesn’t stink,” Justin replied.

“No, but you chew like a cow,” Chris shot back playfully.

Justin frowned as he glared at him. “I do not!”

“Moo,” Chris taunted and mimed Justin chewing heavily.

Joey couldn’t help but let out a laugh at his friends’ antics. Glancing behind at Lance, he saw that he felt the same. It was amusing to listen to the two of them bicker because it sounded like they’d known each other forever with the way they went on and on, continuously sending barbs back and forth.

But Joey’s laughter faded as he caught sight of JC. The center console was still flipped up from earlier in the week when they’d gone out to eat with Lynn since it served as an additional seat, so he could only see JC’s upper body. JC’s jaw ticked and his posture was rigid.

Then he shifted in the seat before moving an inch closer to the passenger door. Joey thought maybe it was just a one time thing. That JC was just tired and trying to get comfortable. But he did it again a few seconds later.

Joey frowned. His earlier thoughts that something was up with JC returned. First the lack of enthusiasm in the game and now this. It made him wonder what was going on. And JC’s tense body language made it seem like he was mad about something. There was no reason Joey could think of that would explain JC’s behavior.

But it was then that he remembered JC had missed a few steps at rehearsal. He was harder on himself than he had to be. Always striving for perfection. Though, considering what was coming up, it wasn’t hard to relate to his frustration. They all wanted the demo to go amazing, so they all rode themselves pretty hard. That’s probably what it was.

Joey let himself relax, certain that was it. He made a mental note to himself to get JC to lighten up though. If he pushed himself too hard, there could be dire consequences. And Joey believed there was nothing more important than their health.