Chapter 10: A Piece of the Puzzle
“Awwww, isn’t that cute?”
“They’re so sweet.”
“And they say they’re not dating? Please, that’s evidence!”
“Quick, get a camera!”
“You get a camera!”
“Ssssh, don’t wake them up! Just go get it!”
“Did you get the picture?”
“Yeah, I got it. Hey, when do you think we should wake them up and tell them they want to sign us?”
“WHAT!?” Justin shot straight up, accidentally hitting Mack in the process. She groaned and held her head, sitting up to glare at Justin, before looking up to see Lynn, JC, and Chris smiling at them. “I’m not in the mood for small talk,” Justin growled before JC could say anything. “What did you just say?”
“I said they want us to sign to BMG,” JC replied calmly. His eyes widened before he was tackled to the ground by Justin, who cheered loudly. JC covered his ears as best as he could as he laughed at Justin’s excitement. “They want to meet up with us at Lou’s around four.”
“Why?” Mack demanded, leaning against the back of the couch.
“To sign the contract! Gosh, you’re slow!” Chris replied, shoving a spoonful of Fruit Loops into his mouth.
“No, I mean why Lou’s place? Why not a restaurant or something?” She demanded.
“’Cause his house has the most space. What, do you not like going there or something? I mean, we can leave you behind if you want.”
Mack glared at him. “Leave her alone, Chris,” Lynn chuckled. “I’ve all ready called your parents and they want to come to read over the contract as well. Be dressed by 3:30 and please look nice,” she added looking pointedly at Chris. He noticed her look and rolled his eyes, although he nodded and continued chewing. Once she left the room Mack flipped him off and started folding the blanket that was on the couch.
“Feeling any better?” JC asked once he managed to get back to his feet and pry Justin off of him.
“I was,” Mack replied. ‘Until you mentioned going back to Lou’s’ she told herself, slightly shaking her head and letting out a sigh. ‘Be happy for them, Mack. Just be happy.’ “I’m fine,” she continued, noticing his concerned stare. “Call up Joey and tell him about the meeting. I’ll get Lance.” She looked up when he didn’t move. “Now!” She barked, causing him to jump and rush to do what she said. She ran into Lance’s room and jumped onto his sleeping figure, successfully waking him up. Before he could say anything to her she jumped off of the bed and ran out of the room.
She went into the kitchen to get something to eat. She was surprised to see that Lynn had laid out every breakfast food imaginable. Even with all of the pastries and warm food Justin still had to have his daily bowl of cereal. Lynn set a plate of eggs, hash browns, and grits into front of Mack and she grunted her thanks.
“Ok, what’s the deal?” Justin demanded, pushing his cereal away from himself and reaching for a muffin. He took a bite and looked up at Mack, waiting for an answer. He had waited until Lynn left the room to speak.
“What are you talking about?” Mack mumbled.
He sighed. “I’m your best friend, right?”
“Right,” she replied, looking at him as if he were crazy for asking.
“And we tell each other everything right?”
“Right,” she repeated.
“I mean everything, right?”
“Right!” She was slowly started to get annoyed of him beating around the bush.
“So why won’t you tell me the truth? What’s been bothering you? You haven’t gotten this ‘sick’ since we got home from the Pleasure Island gig.” He put finger quotes around the word sick. “Come to think of it, you’re only that ‘sick’ whenever something is really bothering you. Like, your mind makes you get sick.”
“How do you think I got out of school so many times?” She asked with a grin, pleased with her ability despite the circumstances.
“I was always mad about that,” he mused. He blinked and smirked. “Don’t change the subject. What is it? You know you can tell me, I won’t tell anyone. Unless…” he paused.
“Unless what?” She questioned.
“Unless…it’s a girl thing or an eating thing or…something,” he mumbled, his cheeks turning red.
“What, you think I’m pregnant or something?” She asked calmly. His eyes got wide when he started choking on his food. “Chew and swallow, Timberlake. I’m not pregnant. Who could I have been with anyway?”
“I don’t know, but I’d kill anyone that touches you,” Justin replied.
‘Can you kill Lou?’ Mack smiled before she continued eating. “I’m fine, Just. Honestly, it was just a little cold. I feel much better now. Especially with Dr. Timberlake here to help me get better faster.”
“Ah, it was nothing. A prescription of chocolate ice cream and a mini marathon of Friends will cure anything,” he replied with a wave of his hand. He glanced at the clock on the wall. “Do you still want to go by your parents’ house? Mom can drive you.”
“Ok. I just gotta get changed first.” She shoved a forkful of eggs into her mouth and jumped up from the table chewing. She raced to her room and pulled out the drawer, throwing clothes out as she looked for something to wear. She settled on a blue and white cap sleeved shirt with a peace sign in the middle, brown capris, and black vans.
She picked up her comb and ran it through her hair frantically as she walked into the living room where JC and Chris were playing Super Mario Kart. Chris tilted his head back and studied her. “Where’re you goin’?” He questioned.
“Home, ow,” she cried out, reaching a tangled chunk of her hair. “She wants me to meet Paul,” she continued with an eye roll. “I don’t get why they want me to meet their business partners–ow–all the time. I mean, they don’t–ow–stay that long. I see new business partners than–ow–my own family. OW!”
“You’re going to rip out your hair if you keep doing that,” JC sighed, getting off the couch. He yanked the comb from her hand and used it to point at the space on the floor in front of the chair. “Sit.”
“I’m not a dog,” she growled, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Well, your attitude begs to differ. Sit.” She huffed but did as she was told, sitting down in front of the chair. He sat down and started parting her hair around the knot. “Don’t move,” he spoke up after a couple of minutes of silence.
“I’m just going to play without you,” Chris called in a warning tone. When he saw that JC wasn’t going to do anything, he un-paused the game and tried to get to the finish line. “Yes, yes, that’s it. Closer…closer…NO! Damn banana!”
“That’s what you get for cheating,” JC called.
“Mack, come on. Mom’s ready to go,” Justin said as he and his mother walked into the living room.
“Finally!” She cried, moving forward to get to her feet. The comb was still in her hair and she jerked forward so fast that there was a painful tug. “Ow! Crap!” She shouted, clasping her hands behind her head.
“I told you not to move,” JC sighed.
“Ah, shut up, Chasez.”
“Hey hey, stay away from the arguing. Just for today,” Justin said as he grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet.
“Only ‘cause you’re my friend,” Mack replied, following him and Lynn towards the door.
“I know. It’s practically the only reason Trace and I are alive,” he muttered before closing the front door behind them. They got into the car and sang along to the songs that were on the radio all the way to the Desrosiers house. The two raced up the stairs to the home. They were about to crash into the door but it swung open and they ran inside.
“How’d you know I was coming?” Mack asked, hugging her dad.
“’Cause I’m smart,” he replied. “How are you doing, Justin? I heard about the record company. You must be excited.”
“Excited is an understatement. He’s been bouncing around the house all morning,” Mack said with an eye roll and punched his shoulder. He flinched and rubbed his shoulder as she smiled innocently. “Where’s Mom?”
“In the kitchen waiting,” Philippe replied.
She ran into the kitchen and flung her arms around her mother’s neck. “Hey Mom!”
“Hey, Babydoll,” she greeted her daughter back and kissed her forehead. “Mackenzie, this is Paul, my business partner. Paul, this is my wonderful daughter Mackenzie and her best friend Justin.”
Mack eyed the man that was sitting at the table, sipping coffee from a cup. He put it down and smiled warmly at her. His jet black hair was slightly scruffy and his face was clean shaven. His eyes were mint green and were bright against his Crest Whitestrip smile. Justin nudged her side a few times before she blinked and shook the hand that he was holding out.
“It’s nice to finally meet you. Charlotte tells me a lot about you,” he said as his smile got bigger, causing wrinkles to form in the corners of his eyes.
“How much?” She demanded, squinting at him.
“A fair amount,” he replied with a shrug.
“What do you know?”
“That Justin here is your best friend. You grew up in Memphis. You’re French-Canadian. You love to dance. You speak French fluently although English is your first language and you’re a huge fan of the Spin Doctors song Two Princes.”
Mack’s eyes were squinted so much she was glaring at Paul with her arms crossed over her chest tightly. “You know too much,” she mumbled.
Paul shrugged. “Blame your mother on that one. She has to be proud of you to talk about you so much.”
Charlotte laughed a little as Paul beamed. Mack grunted before tilting her head in the direction of the living room and Justin followed her silently. Justin could tell she was fuming by the way she was tapping her fingers against her arm rapidly to an unknown beat. She was sitting slumped on the couch, arms crossed, feet up on the coffee table. Although one of her favorite shows was on she wasn’t paying attention to it.
Justin watched her, studying her face as she let out a huff of annoyance whenever she heard Paul’s laughter floating from the kitchen. He bit his lip, trying to find a way to coax the information out of her without getting his head bitten off. Should he just talk to her about it? Should he bribe her with one of her favorite snacks? Maybe this was a situation best left to the girls.
“What’re you doing?” Mack asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye as he grabbed the phone and started dialing a number.
“What does it look like?” He questioned, holding the phone up to his ear.
“Who’re you–?” She started. He held up his hand to stop her from talking and randomly looked around the room before someone picked up on the other end. He stared at her as he talked to the person on the other line. Suddenly he held the phone out to her and tilted it back and forth until she grabbed it.
“You’re welcome,” he whispered, noticing that she was fighting a smile. “You have any cereal?”
“Pantry,” Mack whispered back. “But don’t eat it all.”
He waved her off in search for the perfect cereal that would satisfy his growling stomach. He could practically hear his mother scolding him for eating so much, but it wasn’t his fault he was a growing boy. So what if his appetite got bigger? He shouldn’t be punished for it. He was about to walk into the kitchen when he heard Charlotte’s worried voice.
“I hope my daughter’s behavior didn’t hurt your feelings or anything,” he heard Charlotte say.
“No, it’s all right. My son is the same way with any woman I let him meet,” Paul replied, chuckling. The sound of clinking dishes and running water filled the otherwise silence. Justin crouched down and peered around the corner. The once occupied table was now empty. Charlotte and Paul were the only ones in the kitchen washing dishes.
“Oh. Are you divorced?” Charlotte asked, shaking a plate to get some water off of it before handing it over to Paul to dry it.
“No. I’m a single father. John, that’s my son’s name, his mother left after she gave birth to him. I didn’t want to give him up for adoption so I decided to raise him with my parents’ help. He’s hated any woman that I was slightly interested in. I think it’s because he’s waiting and hoping that his mother will come back one day. He’s been holding onto that hope since I told him the truth about what happened.” Paul sighed.
Justin knitted his eyebrows together when silence suddenly fell. He slowly peered around the corner and his eyes practically popped out of his head at what he saw. He backed away from the wall as quickly as possible; keeping his hand over his mouth in case he made any noise that would give him away. ‘Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. What do I do?’ Justin let out a breath and frantically paced the short width of the hallway, racking his brain.
Should he tell Mack what he saw or keep his mouth shut? Be a good friend or pretend he didn’t see anything? Should he run away to Mexico and change his name and grow a beard so no one would find him?
“Hey J, do you want to–?” Justin interrupted Mack’s question by jumping and screaming in shock. “What the heck is wrong with you?” She asked, eyeing him.
“Nothing! Nothing’s wrong!” He replied, forcing a smile. “I was just on my way back. I wasn’t hungry. I guess I ate too much for breakfast, which is surprising. Usually I can get a whole lot and then you’d get mad at me and call me a pig. You’re overdue for that you know.” He stopped when she gave him a puzzled look. “What?” He questioned, keeping the smile on his face.
“I was going to ask you if you wanted to talk to Brit before I hung up,” she said as she waved the phone that was in her hand.
His eyes shifted back and forth from the phone in her hand to her face. “Um, no. I’ll talk to her later,” he mumbled.
Mack relayed the message before hanging up. “Are they done talking yet? I want to get back.”
“Why?” Justin asked sharply, sliding to stand in front of her as she tried to get around him.
“Whenever I’m not back at home I have a feeling that Chris is going through my stuff and I want to make sure everything is in its place,” Mack replied.
“Don’t you think you’re a little too paranoid?” he asked, chuckling a bit.
“No, because I know that Chris is going to do it and I want to catch him. I know it’s him that always goes into my room. You and Joey don’t really ever go into it unless I’m there and JC and Lance know better than to just barge in. It has to be him.”
“For all we know it could be Lou,” Justin joked with a shrug. He flinched when Mack glared at him.
“Don’t even joke about that,” she growled.
“Ok, ok. Sorry,” he apologized, holding up his hands as if surrendering.
“Hey Baby Doll, I was wondering if you’d like to come to lunch with your father, Paul and I instead of going back to the house,” Charlotte proposed, coming into the hallway as she dried her hands.
“It’s all right. I’ll just get lunch back home,” Mack replied.
Justin’s eyebrow rose. Charlotte had briefly clenched her fingers against the dishtowel when Mack referred to the other house as her home. He looked back and forth at the two girls who were staring at each other, as if having a silent conversation in their heads. Charlotte sighed. “Fine. We’ll just meet you all at Lou’s house.” She turned and walked back into the kitchen. “That is, if your father’s not busy,” she muttered somewhat bitterly. Justin glanced at Mack, waiting for her reaction. He was sure they weren’t supposed to hear that.
“Why’re you looking at me like that?” Mack questioned, looking over at him.
“No reason. Let’s go find my Mom so we can get back. If we have to get to Lou’s by four I’d rather get the bloodshed for the bathroom over now.”
~*~*~
“Do I have to wear this?” Justin grumbled, tugging at the lapel on the jacket he was wearing over his shirt and tie. “I look like a penguin.”
“A good looking penguin,” Lynn corrected, kissing his cheek. He made a face, backed away, and rapidly rubbed the lipstick stain off of his cheek as Lynn chuckled. “Are you too old for a kiss from your mother now?”
“I’m fifteen, Mom!” Justin replied with an eye roll. “Fifteen-year-olds don’t get kissed by their mothers anymore. It’s uncool.”
“So you might as well let Lynn kiss you anyway ‘because you’re not cool,” Mack commented with a smirk, lightly slapping his shoulder.
“Ah ha ha ha,” he laughed sarcastically. “Remind me not get you a birthday present this year.”
“That would only give me a reason to give you a bad present like Christmas ’91.”
“Please, I wouldn’t want a repeat of that,” Lynn sighed. “Now tell the rest of the boys to hurry up. Lou has cars waiting for us.”
~*~*~
“Mom, are you ok?” Justin asked lightly grasping Lynn’s elbow and shaking it. She blinked and looked at him. Justin was sitting in between Lynn and his step-father Paul at the large table where everyone’s family was sitting. His dad Randall was also there with his step-mom Lisa and his step-brother Jonathan.
“Yes, I’m fine sweetie,” Lynn replied gently stroking his hair as he smiled a little. “I was just looking over the contract one more time. I didn’t want to sign before I looked at everything.”
“Lynn, I assure you that letting your son sign this contract would be the best decision of his life,” Lou spoke up from the head of the table, looking at everyone in turn. “These boys will be big…huge. You wouldn’t want to stand in their way.”
“Could you run this by me again? One more time? Why has my daughter been given a contract?” Philippe asked, tapping his fingers on the table.
“Essentially I want the boys to work with people they are comfortable with,” Lou explained. “This is why I’ve hired Johnny Wright to be their manager,” he continued, nodding at Johnny who was sitting to his left. Johnny nodded but stayed silent. He had observed the parents’ reactions since he passed out everyone’s contracts. He wasn’t surprised to see some skepticism on some of the mothers’ faces. “Robin Wiley I have hired to be their vocal coach. She has sung praises about the boys all ready and I wouldn’t want them to work with someone different, someone who could potentially change their sound.”
“And my daughter?” Philippe pressed.
“Actually, Justin was the one who approached me with the idea of hiring her as the boys’ choreographer,” Lou continued, ignoring Philippe’s tone. “She has been able to get the boys to learn the steps and perfect them in a short period of time. And, from what Justin has told me, she has taught before. She seems like the perfect candidate. I understand if you have any qualms about having someone so young working with the boys, but she has given me her word that her relationship with them during their scheduled hours would be strictly professional.”
“If they sign this that means they’re going to Germany, correct?” Philippe asked.
“Daddy!” Mack hissed through clenched teeth. “What’s with the third degree?”
“You’re not going around Germany without supervision. You’re only fourteen and your mother and I definitely can’t get off work,” he said, turning to her. Mack huffed and slumped in her seat, pouting with her arms crossed.
“Phil, you don’t have to worry. If they’re sending my son off to Germany then I’m going with him. He’s a minor; he can’t go by himself, even with the other boys being of age. I’ll gladly be her guardian while in Europe. She’s like a daughter to me anyway.”
“We can’t impose on you like that,” Charlotte spoke up.
“It’s not imposing. I’d be glad.”
“Do I get a say in this?” Mack asked, raising her hand as if she were in school. “Dad, Mom, please let me go. You said if I ever wanted to do anything, like really wanted to do something, you’d let me do it no questions asked, no holding back. Well, this is a great opportunity to improve my dancing skills and maybe meet some of the top choreographers of all time.”
“What about school?” Charlotte asked.
“Justin, Lance, and Mack would all get a tutor to keep up with their studies,” Lou replied. “It’s up to the tutor to put the rules on their work. If at any chance one of them has to miss a show because of a failing grade then it is their responsibility to get their grades up.”
“Although I’m sure nothing like that would ever happen,” Randall said as he stared hard at Justin who gulped and nodded rapidly.
“If everything has been covered,” Joey spoke up, causing the attention to shift to him. “Dad, Mom. I want to sign this contract.”
“Go for it, Joe,” Joe Fatone Sr. said as he clapped his son’s shoulder.
“C’mon guys, this is what we’ve been waiting for!” Joey said, noticing the hesitant looks on JC’s and Lance’s faces. Chris eagerly dove across the table to grab a pen and scribbled his name down on the contract.
“That’s one of five,” Lou announced as he took the contract that Chris was holding out to him. Joey quickly wrote his name down on his contract and handed it over to Lou. “Two.”
“JC?” Joey asked, leaning across the table to look hard at JC, biting his lip and waiting for a response.
“You’re treating me well so far…what the heck?” JC said as he held out his hand. Joey eagerly slapped the pen down into his hand and wrote down his name on the contract and slid it across the table to Lou. Chris, JC, and Joey all turned to look at Lance and Justin who were reading over the contract once more.
“I’m in,” Lance said with a smile before writing down his name.
“Now, honey, are you sure you know what you’re getting yourself into? This means that we won’t be able to go to Memphis as much as before and you’ll be working 24/7,” Lynn said as Justin held the pen over the line where he was to sign.
“I know, Mama. But this is what I want to do,” Justin replied. “I’ve been dreaming about something like this since I started singing. This is what I want to do. I’m sure of it.”
“Then don’t keep us waiting! Sign the damn thing!” Chris shouted down the table, smiling a little when his mother slapped his arm for using a ‘bad’ word.
Justin chuckled and scribbled his name on the line. Almost instantly Lou reached forward and yanked it out from underneath his pen, looked at all of them, and handed the contract over to the BMG representative, Jan Bolz.
“Welcome to the BMG family,” Jan said with a small smile as he paper clipped the contracts together.
“Robin has all ready signed her contract,” Lou said before looking down the table at Mack. The boys followed his gaze and stared hard at her, as if begged her to sign with only the use of their eyes.
“Please? Please?” She asked her Dad, shaking his arm. “I’ll be on my best behavior, always. I’ll listen to Lynn all the time.”
“Will you call at least once every day?” Philippe asked, finally turning to look at her.
“Yes, I’ll–?” She stopped in the middle of her sentence and grinned. “I can do it?” He nodded. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You won’t regret it, I promise!” She grabbed the leftover pen that was on the table and carefully applied her signature and initials to the document before sliding it across the table to Lou, the smile never leaving her face.
“You boys need to be packed and out of the house by tomorrow morning,” Johnny explained, looking at a piece of paper. “By about…5.”
“AM!?” Joey shrieked.
“In this case it’ll have to be by four,” Mack corrected. He gave her a confused look. “It’ll take about an hour to wake up Sleepy,” she continued, jerking her thumb in JC’s direction.
His upper lip twitched slightly, a retort was on the tip of his tongue but he held it in, smiling peacefully, which earned a confused and frustrated look from her. He just smiled triumphantly before saying, “I’ll set an alarm clock.”
JC: 1 Mack: 0
~*~*~
“Joshua?”
“Yes, Mom?” JC asked as he stuck his head out the bathroom door. “What is it?”
“Your friends are going to be here soon,” she called from the kitchen.
“All right.” He closed the bathroom door and turned back to the sink. He picked up the clippers and turned them on one last time. After taking away the last part of his long hair, which he dubbed his MMC hair, and ran a brush over it, he stood back to admire his new short hair. He left the bathroom and bounded down the stairs and went straight to the kitchen where Heather and Tyler were putting snacks on trays to move out to the table in the backyard where the party was going to be held.
As soon as the groups went their separate ways to celebrate over a late lunch Karen, who had come down with his siblings for the occasion, told him that they were having a celebration part that night. “Mom’s got you working too?”
“Mhm. She wants everything to be perfect,” Heather responded before looking up. “Joshie, I love your hair. Did you just get it cut?”
“Yeah, I did it myself,” he responded. “What do you think of it, Ty?”
“It’s cool,” was his only reply.
“You should’ve expected that,” Heather said in a singsong voice. JC smiled a little before picking up a tray himself and ushering Heather and Tyler into the backyard to help finish setting up. He appreciated all that his mother was doing for them, but it wasn’t as if they had a record yet. The people from BMG could easily change their minds so the celebration didn’t seem as necessary to him. He welcomed the praise and support of the parents but sometimes he thought they went a little too far. In the back of his mind he knew that it could all come crumbling down but he didn’t dare bring down his friends’ optimism, especially Chris’ or Joey’s.
“I’ll get that, Mom,” JC told Karen when they heard the doorbell ring.
“Thank you, dear.”
He went back into the house and navigated towards the front door. He opened it and blinked, staring at all of the people who gathered on his front porch. “Did you all plan on coming at the same time?”
“No, it was just a coincidence,” Justin replied as he stepped through door, leading everyone in. JC smiled politely and greeted the parents before giving them directions to the backyard. Justin watched as JC quickly counted. Before JC could open his mouth Justin spoke up. “I called her as soon as I was leaving. She’s taking a walk with her Mom I think. She’ll be over soon.” He stared at JC. “You cut your hair,” he stated.
“Yeah, I just did it.”
“Why?”
“Well, it started to get annoying having to constantly move my hair out of my eyes every five minutes so I cut it. Why, is it bad?”
“No, it really suits you,” he said with a smirk before going to the backyard. JC rolled his eyes before following them. He hovered in the doorway that lead to the backyard, watching everyone talking to each other and laugh over a joke. Heather and Tyler were sitting around; talking to Chris’ sisters but one of Heather’s eyes was on Justin. She’s always been smitten with him; JC never heard the end of it whenever he left the place. He felt bad for Tyler being the only young boy there but he had fun with Heather so at least he’d be entertained. He spotted Lance lying down on the hammock underneath the trees. He hadn’t said a word when he came in, which was odd because Lance usually told him a completely random fact to keep him “educated”, as Lance put it.
“What’s up with Lance?” JC asked Joey over the snack table where Joey had a handful of cookies and was in the middle of stuffing one into his mouth.
“I don’t know. He’s been like that since we left Lou’s,” Joey responded, spraying JC with cookie crumbs in the process. “Sorry man.”
“That’s all right. But did he say anything? At all?”
“No man. I wanted to ask him about it but I decided to wait for him to come to us,” Joey shrugged. Suddenly a grin crossed his face. “Ah, there’s Hot Chick again.” JC turned to see who he was looking at. A blond, no surprise there. “My Mom invited her. She’s my Mom’s friend’s daughter.”
“Go man,” JC said with a laugh. “I’ll go check on Lansten.” He patted Joey on the shoulder and turned to where Lance was. He had to dodge a couple of the little kids who were running around, moved around the dancing couples, and avoided a run-in with a dog before he reached Lance. “Hey,” he greeted. Lance looked up at him as he leaned against the tree that held the top portion of the hammock up. “What’s goin’ on?”
“Nothing,” Lance replied, looking back up at the clear sky. “I’m just not in the mood to party.”
“Come on, man. My mom and dad put a lot of work into this. They even got Tyler and Heather to help.” Lance didn’t reply. “What’s bothering you?”
“It’s nothing, really.” He had an edge to his voice, which was rare, but it was also a signal that he really wanted to be left alone so JC complied, going to play keep-away with Justin and some of the neighborhood little kids.
Lance let a slow breath out through his nose. He knew he was overreacting, and over the smallest thing too. JC and Justin were his friends and they proved that many times. He didn’t know why he was still jealous of their close friendship; he was close with all of the guys. But their friendship was closer and Lance wanted that.
“Hey Lance.” He blinked and looked at Mack who settled down on the grass next to him. She pulled out random blades of grass as she let out a small sigh.
“What’s up?” he questioned. “Why were you late?”
“I was taking a walk with my Mom,” she responded, locking blue eyes with green. “Yeah, she’s kinda mad at me.”
“For what?” he asked, curious about what she said. From what he’s seen the two were more like friends than mother/daughter and they rarely got mad at each other.
“I was kinda…rude…when I met her business partner,” she replied slowly. “You can’t blame me, though,” she quickly added. “The guy was pretending he wanted to be my friend. I mean, come on! People only do that when they want approval, like he wants to date my Mom or something.”
“Well…what if he does?” Lance asked slowly, studying her face. “I mean, it’s not uncommon for people to chase after people who are taken, especially if they’re lonely.”
“Have you been watching Oprah?” She asked with a smile.
“My mom does,” he mumbled, blushing a little as she laughed. He shook his head. “I’m probably putting things into your head. I take it back. He just wants to make a good first impression.”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Hey, Shortie!” Justin yelled from across the backyard. “Can you throw me the ball?” He asked, pointing to the basketball that had rolled over to her. He shook his head, laughing, and walked over to them. “Never mind, I might as well get it myself. You throw like a girl, no offense ‘because, you know, you are one.”
“Ta gueule!” Mack shouted in French, throwing the basketball at him as hard as she could. Almost automatically her eyes widened and she slapped her hand over her mouth. Lance guessed by her reaction that it was a bad word, or phrase, that was never allowed to utter. She glanced at her mother and sighed with relief when it seemed as if she didn’t hear. “Dammit, Justin–”
“I’m sorry,” he quickly apologized, widening his eyes. “I didn’t mean it, you know that. Please, don’t be mad.” Mack’s lip twitched as she tried to fight off his patented ‘Timberlake Charm’ but it was proving to be hard. She let out a breath and nodded. He grinned and pulled her into a hug, kissing her forehead. “Thanks! You’re the best. Don’t…mention this to my Mom, ok?” Before she could reply he ran back to the basketball courts where Chris and Tyler were waiting.
“If you don’t mind me asking a question,” Lance started, gaining her attention, “why do you let him walk over you like that?”
“What’re you talking about? He doesn’t,” she replied, her eyes narrowing slightly as she turned to look at him in bewilderment.
“Yes he does. He always does that. He makes you mad about something and he charms you right out of being mad at him. He makes you stop studying because he wants you to play a video game with him. A few times that’s gotten you pretty bad grades on tests, if you don’t remember.”
“He doesn’t walk over me,” she denied. “He just…he knows I’m the only one who’ll do stuff with him. You guys are busy a lot of the time.” Lance opened his mouth. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m going to go find Heather.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said as he jumped to his feet.
“I know,” she replied turning around. “Just…don’t talk about Justin like that again, ok? He doesn’t deserve it.”
“Ok.”
The rest of the party went by without a hitch. A cake war between the kids erupted all because of Chris still being a sore loser over a basketball game against Justin and Tyler. After talking, eating, and playing a few more games everyone gathered together for a group prayer before going their separate ways.
Lynn, Justin, JC, Chris, Lance, and Mack decided to walk back to their home. Lance, Chris, and JC were walking ahead, talking about what could happen while they were in Germany. Justin was walking in between his mother and his best friend, holding both their hands, swinging their arms as he walked with pep in his step.
“I can’t wait until we leave!” Justin said with a wide smile.
“Now, don’t get your hopes up, honey,” Lynn said in a warning tone.
“Aw, Mama. Everything will work out fine,” Justin said as he squeezed her hand. “As long as I have the guys and my two favorite girls with me, everything will work out fine.”
Chapter End Notes:
The boys head to Europe in the next chapter! Please read and review.
Story Tags: friendsturnedlovers unrequited presync eurosync love bestfriendj tourj jealous originalcharacter boybands
