Joey unconsciously tapped out the beat to the song playing on a local radio station against the side of the car. He, Chris, and Justin were on their way back from the mall. They’d had a couple of hours before they had to meet at the warehouse for choreography, and Chris had wanted to use that time to buy a new pair of sneakers since his were getting pretty worn.

It’d been a while since they’d been to the mall, so Chris had invited the rest of them to join him. Joey hadn’t needed anything, but figured it’d be a nice way to relax for a bit before they continued their hectic day. And Justin had jumped at the chance to get out of the house. JC and Lance, on the other hand, had declined, and Justin had just accepted JC’s refusal. That’d surprised Joey because normally Justin would pester JC until he agreed to go, but he figured that Justin must’ve recognized how tired JC had looked.

Everyone seemed to be dragging more than usual today. Probably because they’d all stayed out so late. They’d gotten back a little after one, only to find Justin and Lance still up because they’d come home from the movies just a half hour before them. So needless to say, none of them got a whole lot of sleep.

Up ahead, golden arches caught Joey’s attention. They hadn’t gone to McDonald’s last night because by the time he and Chris had caught up with JC, it’d been late and JC had just wanted to get back. That’d been fine, but now Joey wanted to satisfy that craving.

“Hey, let’s stop at Mickey D’s for lunch,” Joey suggested.

“Sounds good,” Chris said, flicking his right turn signal on before switching lanes.

“What about JC and Lance?” Justin asked, leaning forward from the back seat.

“We’ll get them something and take it back,” Chris said.

They pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot then, and it took them a minute to find an empty parking space. Since it was during the lunch rush, it was packed full of people. The drive-thru was backed up, so they were hoping that it wouldn’t be as bad inside.

Together the three of them walked into the restaurant, and Joey groaned when he saw the line wrapped around a couple railings. They took their place at the end of the line and looked up at the menu. It wasn’t that they really needed to, but it was something that would kill time while they waited.

“What kind of happy meal do you want, Justy?” Chris teased.

Justin shrugged and said, “Doesn’t matter. Just make sure it comes with the toy you want.” At Chris’s raised eyebrow, Justin added, “I saw the way you were looking at that Barbie.”

Joey burst out laughing and slapped Chris on the back. “I didn’t know you liked dolls, man.”

“I was looking at the Hot Wheels car,” Chris mumbled, trying to keep a straight face and failing miserably.

Joey chuckled to himself, glad they’d gone out. It was nice to get out of the house without having to worry about preparing for the demo or behaving for Lou. While they liked to have as much fun as they could during rehearsals, the whole situation was really stressful since they were striving for perfection. So it felt good to put some distance between themselves and the large amount of responsibility that rested on their shoulders. At least for a few hours anyway.

“Ugh. That’s disgusting,” Justin blurted. Joey inched forward as the line moved up before following Justin’s gaze. A young kid, that was probably no more than six years old, had sneezed and gotten snot on a blue ball in the ball pit at the base of the indoor playground.

“Just think, J. You used to be a snotty kid like that,” Chris said, smirking at the disgusted look on Justin’s face.

Justin shook his head. “I was never like that. No way would I still be playing in the balls after I just sneezed all over them.”

“Aren’t those things supposed to be like really diseased anyway?” Joey asked.

“Well, that’d make sense. Kids carry so many germs, and it’s not like they disinfect those things,” Chris said.

“They should because that’s just nasty,” Justin replied.

“Would you clean up after kids that’ve probably left all kinds of bodily fluids in there?” Chris asked. Justin wrinkled his nose, and Chris nodded. “Exactly.”

“Guys, we’re up,” Joey said, nudging them forward towards the waiting cashier.

They approached the counter, and Joey and Chris ordered for themselves as well as Lance and JC. Chris glanced over his shoulder at Justin and said, “What do you want, J?”

“I’ve got it,” Justin told him.

“Just tell her what you want, and you can give your money to me if you really want to pay for yourself,” Chris said.

Justin sighed, but rattled off his order to the woman behind the register. Once all of their food was ordered, they scooched down to the left where they could wait for their food. They watched as the employees behind the counter hustled to get all of the orders fulfilled.

“Hey,” Chris elbowed Justin in the side, “better hope Drippy Nose Guy doesn’t lean too far and drip on your burger.”

Joey focused his attention on a guy that looked to be about his age who was putting the fixings on a burger to make it a Big Mac. The guy suddenly sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. It wasn’t hard to miss the smirk on Chris’s face at the grossed out expression on Justin’s face.

About five minutes later, they were handed three paper bags. They grabbed a few packets of ketchup at the island with condiments before walking out of the crowded restaurant. Justin reached into the bag and pulled out a couple fries to shove into his mouth as they piled back into the car.

Joey joined Justin in snacking on fries so there wasn’t a lot of conversation during the short drive back to the house. They pulled into the driveway behind Lynn’s car and wasted no time in getting inside, anxious to eat their lunch. As soon as they walked in they saw JC lying across the couch, and Lance sitting on the loveseat, watching TV.

“We didn’t know what you’d want, so we got you one of everything,” Joey told Lance as he placed the bag he was carrying onto the coffee table in front of the couch.

“And whatever you don’t eat, Joey will,” Justin added.

“Hey!” Joey protested. “I resent that.”

“Well, it’s true, isn’t it?” Justin asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t like you insinuating I’m a pig,” Joey complained even as he reached into the bag and grabbed two burgers and a fry.

“JC, we got food,” Chris said, ruffling his hair as he passed by the couch.

JC didn’t say anything, but rolled over so he was facing the cushions. He buried his face into the pillow, obviously not enticed by lunch. Joey wasn’t surprised by JC’s actions. They’d all come to learn that he hated to be woken up, especially when he was as tired as he’d look when they’d left.

“C’mon, C. You’re hogging the whole couch,” Chris said. Justin, who was already chowing down on his burger, had taken the last available seat next to Lance.

There was no reaction from JC. So without another word, Chris grabbed him by the waist and started to pull him off the couch. But he didn’t get very far because JC startled awake and lashed out, forcing Chris to let go and take a step back.

“Whoa, calm down, man. It’s just me,” Chris said.

JC’s eyes were wide with fright and seemed unfocused. He was panting as he sat up and looked around, taking in his surroundings. His breathing started to slow and he glanced over at Joey and Chris, calmer than he was a minute ago.

“Are you alright?” Joey asked.

“Fine,” JC mumbled, his voice kind of rough from sleep as he rubbed at his eyes.

Before anyone could say anything else to him, JC rose from the couch and left the room, heading towards his bedroom. He’d much rather sleep than eat lunch, so he was going to take advantage of the others eating to do just that. JC walked through the kitchen and entered the hallway before he caught Lynn in her bedroom out of the corner of his eye.

She was sitting on her bed, reading a book. JC didn’t really want to interrupt, but he wanted to ensure that he’d be left alone to get some sleep. He was exhausted and wanted to use the last hour they had before rehearsal to continue his nap.

Lynn caught him hovering just outside her doorway and smiled at him, asking, “What’s up, JC?”

“Do you know where Lou is?” JC asked. If he was taking a nap, he’d feel much better if he knew exactly where Lou would be. Lou hadn’t shown up at the recording session that morning, and JC worried that he’d show up at the house at some point that afternoon. After all, that’d been what’d gotten him in such a vulnerable situation in the first place.

“I think he mentioned he had some meeting to attend,” Lynn said. “Why?”

JC shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. “Just curious.”

“Are Justin, Chris, and Joey back from the mall yet?” Lynn asked.

“Yeah.” There was a pause before JC asked, “Can you do me a favor?”

“Of course, hun. What do you need?”

“Can you make sure that no one bothers me? I’m going to take a nap, and I don’t want Chris or Justin to wake me up until we have to leave,” JC said.

Lynn’s smile fell. “Are you feeling OK?”

“I’m fine,” JC assured. “Just really tired.”

“Alright. I’ll make sure they leave you alone,” Lynn said.

JC offered her a small smile. “Thanks.”

With that settled, JC continued down the hall until he reached his bedroom. As soon as he walked in and closed the door, his eyes fell onto his bed. He really didn’t want to sleep there, despite the fact that Lynn had washed his sheets the day before. Cleanliness wasn’t enough to make him forget what’d happened in that bed, and the memory of it haunted him, making it hard for him to sleep.

That was when he noticed Justin’s bed. It was unmade and looked a lot more inviting than his own. JC knew he should try to sleep in his own bed, but he was so tired. He didn’t want to spend his last hour of free time tossing and turning instead of trying to catch up on his sleep. Having made up his mind, JC climbed into Justin’s bed and sighed as he relaxed into the sheets. And sleep came much faster than it had the past two nights.

Justin crumpled up the hamburger wrapper and tossed it into the empty bag that sat on the floor in front of the loveseat that he and Lance were sitting on. He wasn’t really sure what to do with himself now that he’d finished eating. The others were watching a rerun of The Adam’s Family that they’d managed to find among all the talk shows and soap operas, but Justin wasn’t interested in watching TV at the moment.

He shifted in his seat, so his legs were hanging off the large arm of the loveseat. His movement caused the plastic bag at his feet to crinkle, reminding him that he’d dropped his bags from the mall there when he’d come in. And since there was nothing better to do, Justin rose to his feet to take it back to his bedroom and put it away.

Justin had picked up the bag and walked into the kitchen where his mom was at the counter fixing herself a sandwich. She turned and smiled at him before she noticed that he was heading for the hall.

“Where are you going?” Lynn asked.

Justin stopped and stared at her for a second. Was she seriously asking where he was going? The house was only so big, so it should be pretty obvious.

“My bedroom to put my stuff away,” Justin said, lifting the bag slightly as proof.

“Why don’t you just wait and do it later?” Lynn suggested.

“You always yell at me to clean up after myself and now that I am, you’re telling me to wait?”

“JC’s sleeping,” Lynn said.

“I’ll be quiet,” Justin replied dismissively. He’d thought that maybe there was something else going on, but JC taking a nap was pretty normal. No reason for Lynn to make a big deal about him going into the bedroom.

“He doesn’t want to be bothered,” she told him. “And he looked pretty tired, so I don’t want you waking him up.”

“I’ll be quiet. I swear,” Justin insisted.

Lynn was silent for a moment before she sighed, nodding. “Alright.”

Having that settled, Justin entered the hallway and walked the length of it until he reached the room that he shared with JC and Chris. The door was shut, so he carefully turned the knob and slowly pushed it open, trying to make as little noise as possible. He left it open, so he didn’t have to worry about it squeaking again when he was ready to leave.

Since he hadn’t opened the door all the way, Justin didn’t notice that JC was sleeping in his bed until he fully stepped into the room. He looked at his best friend lying in his bed and glanced at JC’s empty one in confusion. It wasn’t like he had a problem with it. Justin just didn’t know why JC was in his bed, especially since his own was closer to the door.

But it didn’t change the fact that JC was sleeping or the warning his mom had given him. JC had looked pretty tired while they’d been recording this morning, so Justin was more than happy to let him sleep. After all, he’d lived with JC for a while now, so he was used to it.

Justin gently lowered his bag onto the floor in front of his dresser since his bed was occupied. He’d bought a couple new t-shirts that he wanted to wear and didn’t have the patience to wait for his mom to wash them first. Kneeling down, Justin opened the bag and grabbed a shirt that was on top of the pile, trying to be quiet.

The bag rustled, seeming much louder in the silent room than it normally would. Worried that the noise had woken JC up, Justin immediately stopped what he was doing and looked up at his bed. JC’s eyes were still closed and he was lying just as he was when Justin had first entered, causing Justin to sigh in relief.

He didn’t want to risk waking JC up though, which would be hard since the plastic bag made so much noise. So Justin decided to just put the stuff away when they got back later that night. Carefully, he lowered the shirt back into the bag and stood up.

Justin crossed the room and stopped in the doorway to double check that JC was still sleeping. Satisfied that he was, Justin stepped back out into the hall and closed the door behind him as softly as he could, wincing at the knob squeaking as it was returned to its original position. Having nothing to do now, he headed for the living room to hang out with the guys before they had to leave.

They were all just as Justin had left them when he walked into the living room. The only difference was that the channels were flashing since Chris was searching for something new to watch. Justin rejoined Lance on the loveseat since Joey and Chris had stretched out and were taking up a lot of the couch.

“Would you guys sleep in someone else’s bed?” Justin asked after a minute of watching snippets of TV shows flicker on the screen.

Joey glanced over at him and said, “Yes. If it’s a woman.”

“I’m not asking if you’d have sex in someone’s bed,” Justin replied. “I’m asking if you’d sleep in a friend’s bed. Like mine.”

“I don’t know if I like what you’re getting at,” Chris joked.

Justin rolled his eyes as the other three laughed. “JC’s sleeping in my bed.”

“So?” Chris asked, going back to flipping.

“So isn’t that weird?” Justin pushed.

“No, but apparently you think so,” Chris said.

“Well, I’m just confused. I mean, why wouldn’t he sleep in his own bed?” Justin asked.

“Maybe it’s lumpy,” Joey offered and chuckled at Justin’s skeptical look. “Why are you getting all worked up over this? Possessive much?”

“No. I just thought it was weird, but whatever,” Justin replied. Chris landed on some game show that Justin didn’t recognize, and he focused on figuring out what the object of it was, all thoughts of the oddity of JC sleeping in his bed dissipating from his mind.

Tiredly, Lance sagged against the cool concrete wall. They were taking a much needed break from their choreography routines. Dave’d had them go over the steps they’d learned yesterday for Give into Me because he wanted to make sure that they got it before they moved on.

The steps weren’t overly complicated. At least in comparison to some of the other routines they’d learned. That didn’t mean it was easy though, especially since all of them seemed to be lacking energy, despite the restful afternoon they’d had. So they’d been more than ready for the fifteen minute break Dave was giving them.

JC was sitting next to where Lance was standing with his legs sprawled out in front of him and his head tilted back, resting against the wall. His eyes were closed, which, at first glance, made Lance think he was relaxing. But when he looked closer, he noticed that JC’s forehead was creased slightly and his eyes scrunched up more. It wasn’t until he reached up to massage his temples that Lance realized he must be suffering from a headache.

But he had a feeling there was more to it than that. JC had been acting kind of strange all day. His weird behavior could be attributed to the lack of sleep and a headache, but it seemed like something was bothering him. There was nothing that explicitly made it true, but throughout the day JC had almost seemed detached from what was going on around him.

“Don’t get too comfy. We have to get back to work soon,” Joey said, approaching them from where he’d been talking to Justin and Chris.

JC opened his eyes and looked up at Joey. “I’m just resting.”

“You still look pretty energized…considering,” Lance told Joey.

Joey took a swig of water and laughed. “Do I? Because I feel so drained.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t stay out so late then,” Lance said.

“Look who’s talking,” Joey replied with a knowing smile. He glanced down at JC and said, “At least it was worth it, right JC?”

“Yeah,” JC agreed, listlessly.

Joey frowned slightly before his lips turned up into a mischievous smile. “Chris! C’mere for a sec.”

“What’s up?” Chris asked after he crossed the couple of feet that’d separated them. Justin had wandered over to Dave and they were talking.

Joey didn’t answer, but tossed the rest of the contents in his water bottle at Chris. There hadn’t been a lot of water in the bottle, but it’d been enough to get the front of Chris’s shirt wet. They laughed at the surprised look on his face. Even JC broke into a genuine smile.

“What the hell was that for?” Chris exclaimed.

“A little payback,” Joey said, winking at JC, who let out a short laugh. Lance grinned, glad to see that Joey had managed to bring JC out of whatever funk he’d been in. He just hoped it’d last.

“Normally you’d be dead for pulling a stunt like that, but you were actually doing me a favor,” Chris said, looking more refreshed. That was another thing that always made rehearsal tough. The warehouse always got so stuffy, especially once they started dancing. So it wasn’t uncommon for them to leave covered in sweat.

Joey and Chris started to joke around, and Lance looked on in amusement. Things were never boring with them, which was a good thing for a day like today when they all needed a little pick-me-up. It certainly helped JC get in better spirits.

Just then Lance noticed JC tense out of the corner of his eye before rising quickly. He frowned, wondering what elicited such a reaction and followed JC’s gaze. Lou had just entered the warehouse and was walking towards them. Lance couldn’t figure why JC would react like that to seeing Lou, but he rationalized that maybe JC was afraid he’d somehow get into trouble for injuring his shoulder since he hadn’t seen Lou since it’d happened.

“Hey, boys,” Lou greeted as he got closer. “How’s it going?”

Joey and Chris sobered, and Joey answered, “Good.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Lou looked over at JC and said, “Now what’s this I heard about you hurting your shoulder?”

“It’s nothing. I’m fine,” JC replied, avoiding Lou’s gaze.

Chris eyed JC for a moment before returning his attention to Lou. “The doctor says he overworked it.”

“What happened?” Lou asked, concerned.

“He was doing a back flip, and it gave out on him,” Lance supplied when it seemed that JC wasn’t going to offer an explanation. He must still be worried about Lou’s reaction, even though Lou didn’t seem angry.

Lou glanced at JC. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” JC said, quietly as he played with the hem of his shirt.

Lou smiled. “Good.”

“OK, guys. Break’s over,” Dave announced, drawing their attention to the middle of the room where he was standing.

They joined Justin and Dave and got into the positions for We Can Work It Out since Dave wanted to start going over the routines they’d learned earlier that week to make sure it was cemented. The five of them started once the music was cued with Lou standing off to the side watching. It was nerve wracking to have Lou there, especially since Lance wasn’t as comfortable with the steps as the others.

But it turned out that JC was the one having the problems, not him. JC was a beat behind the rest of them for the majority of the song. So Dave restarted the music and they went at it again. Instead of getting better, JC seemed to be off even more. He stumbled through a lot of the steps and really seemed to be struggling, which wasn’t normal for him.

Dave offered for JC to take a break or at least refrain from doing all of the arm movements, but JC refused, insisting that he was fine. They tried it once more, but nothing was different. It was clear he was having difficulties focusing, and Dave seemed to recognize that because he decided to call it a day.

As they gathered their stuff, Lance couldn’t help but wonder if his distraction came from more than his shoulder. Because if his mood from earlier was a factor, Lance hoped that JC talked to someone before he let whatever was bothering him eat him up inside.

Justin pulled one of his new t-shirts out of the bag. He was finally putting his purchases away. They’d just finished dinner and nothing else was planned for the rest of the evening, giving Justin the opportunity to finally complete the task he’d started that afternoon.

Like last time, JC was in the room, only he wasn’t sleeping. He was sitting on his own bed, watching as Justin put his stuff away. JC’s body language was relaxed, but he looked kind of distracted like he was wrapped up in his thoughts.

That wasn’t anything new though. JC often would don a distant expression, lost in whatever preoccupied his mind at that moment. And Justin knew there was probably no point in trying to talk to him about it. At least not yet because there was no indication that it was anything serious.

The only thing JC was probably thinking about was how he’d messed up the choreography just a couple hours ago. He was a perfectionist, which usually caused him a lot of stress. So Justin knew that screwing up a few dance steps was consuming him, and he wished that JC would let the little stuff go.

Justin reached into the bag and grabbed the Michael Jackson album, HIStory, he’d bought. He tossed it into JC’s lap, not bothering to try his hand at opening it. The stupid thing was packaged so tight that he always had difficulties tearing it away from the jewel case.

“Can you open that?” Justin asked, noticing that JC had looked over at him with a questioning expression.

JC just nodded and started to patiently work at pulling away the plastic. Justin turned back to the bag and lifted another shirt out of it. It was still folded from when the sales woman had done it, so he just laid it in his drawer. The two of them worked in silence until there was a noise in the doorway. They glanced over and saw Chris standing there.

“We’re gonna start a movie in five minutes if you guys are interested,” Chris said before leaving the room.

“I don’t feel like watching a movie,” JC said quietly. He managed to create a tear in the plastic, making it easy to separate it from the case. “Here, J.”

Justin accepted the CD from JC’s outstretched hand and placed it into the stereo that sat on a small table. He didn’t really want to watch a movie either. Instead, he was content to just listen to music and hang out with JC, especially since he hadn’t gotten to spend a lot of time with him lately.

Music flooded out of the speakers at a comfortable volume, and Justin settled himself on his bed, sitting cross legged. A few songs played while they sat there happy to just listen to it. They were some of Michael Jackson’s greatest hits, but Justin still marveled how great they were, even years after they’d first been released.

“I wish I could write songs like this,” Justin said.

JC looked over at him. “Why can’t you?”

“Well, I guess I could, but I don’t think I’d be very good. I mean, it’s not like I have a lot of experience. What am I supposed to write about? Basketball?”

“You’ve experienced things that other people haven’t, and anything can be a good song if you approach it in the right way,” JC said.

“You’re right, but I don’t really know what I’m doing, you know?” Justin flipped the stereo remote that he was holding as he continued to talk, “I want to learn how to write songs, but I’m not sure how to go about it. You’re always writing, and you seem to be pretty good at it. So maybe—”

Justin stopped abruptly when he heard JC’s bed creak and looked up to see his best friend bolting from the room. He frowned and jumped up to follow him. “JC!”

JC had run down the hall to the bathroom and flung the door behind him. The door didn’t close all the way though, so when Justin got closer he heard retching and saw JC kneeling in front of the toilet. He figured it was probably just the flu, but he went to get his mom.

Quickly, Justin made his way down the hall and towards the kitchen where he’d last seen her. As he reached the end of the hall, he could see that she was loading the dishwasher. She looked up and frowned at him.

“What’s wrong, Justin?” Lynn asked.

“JC’s sick,” Justin said bluntly before turning and heading back for the bathroom, knowing that she would follow.

There was a slight pause before he could hear footsteps behind him. Justin stopped outside of the bathroom more than willing to let his mom handle this. She was good at making him feel better when he was sick, so he knew she’d take care of JC.

Without hesitation, Lynn entered the bathroom and wetted a washcloth with cold water. JC was still kneeling in front of the toilet with his head hanging so low that his chin nearly touched his chest. Lynn placed the washcloth on the back of JC’s neck, causing him to jump and a shiver to wrack his body. “It’s OK, honey,” she soothed.

“’m alright,” JC mumbled even as he breathed heavily and had a painful grimace on his face. He was probably embarrassed to have Lynn taking care of him, especially since he wasn’t feeling well. But Justin knew he’d appreciate it once he was feeling better because moms were a comforting part of being sick.

“Of course you are,” Lynn said, rubbing JC’s back gently. “How’s your stomach? You up for moving?”

JC nodded slightly and groaned as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, Lynn removing the washcloth and stepping back to give him some room. He let out a shaky breath before looking over at Lynn, signaling that he was ready. Without a word, she led him out of the bathroom. They crossed the short distance to the bedroom, and Justin followed, wanting to make sure that JC was OK.

Once they were in the room, Lynn eased JC onto his bed and under the sheets. She pushed back his hair with her hand as she felt his forehead. “You feel a little hot,” she said quietly, more to herself than to JC.

Justin sat at the foot of JC’s bed as his mom left the room, only to return a minute later with a thermometer in hand. She instructed JC to open his mouth, and it was obvious that JC didn’t really want to be bothered with it. But he ended up opening his mouth, letting her place the thermometer inside. About twenty seconds later, it beeped and Lynn removed it.

“100.8,” Lynn read, frowning. She glanced down at JC, whose eyes were half closed. “It’s probably just a bug, so you should try to get some sleep. We’ll see how you’re feeling in the morning.”

JC just nodded and closed his eyes. Lynn left the room once more, and Justin stared at his friend with sympathy. It sucked being sick, especially now since they’d been so busy and were only a few days away from the demo. And it was weird to see JC sick because he didn’t get sick very often.

It didn’t help that it came at such a bad time. There was still so much work to be done, but it was more than that. JC had already injured his shoulder, so it really seemed unlucky that JC got sick in such a short amount of time after. He couldn’t seem to catch a break lately, but hopefully once he got over this, that’d be the end of it.

“Justin, let’s leave him alone. He needs to rest,” Lynn said, startling him out of his thoughts.

Justin glanced at JC and saw that he now had a washcloth laying on his forehead. He slowly rose from the bed, careful not to jostle it and maybe cause JC’s stomach to turn. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too long before he started to feel better. Justin stepped out into the hall and Lynn closed the door to ensure that JC got the rest he needed.