Chapter 15: Momma Called the Doctor and the Doctor Said

The boys got right to work in the studio recording song after song as the weeks go by. Soon they found themselves getting busy without being in the studio. Lou had them booked for photo shoots and a couple interviews with a few German magazines through the rest of August. They had to relocate to Germany so it would be easier to reach the magazines for the interview, going first class all the way of course. On the 28th they were tipped off by Lou to watch a certain channel and they were shocked to find out that they were a news story for that night.

August turned into September and they found themselves getting increasingly busy. Lance had convinced his mother, Diane, to join them on tour so they had another mother figure with them telling them when to get to sleep, when to wake up, and to make sure they were where they needed to be. Of course Mack had a hand in that, she loved being able to boss the boys around without getting backlash for it. And if she did get backlash, Lynn was there to quickly scold the boys. Now that it neared the end of September Denniz and Max announced that they wanted to release their first single “I Want You Back” in early October Mack could finally put her dancing to good use.

Being the early bird that she was, Mack quickly ate breakfast, packed a few of her things, and asked their hired driver to take her to the rented out dance studio. She listened to the master copy of “I Want You Back” and “Tearin’ Up My Heart” thinking of a few combinations that could fit into the tempo of either song. By the time she got to the studio ten minutes later she had both songs memorized and a few combinations worked out. The challenge was to make it look good and effortless.

Mack thanked the drive for the ride with a nod and pulled open the shiny door of the building. She walked up to the counter and rested her arms on it as she waited for the man behind it to get off of the phone. “Ah, you must be Ms. Des…Des…” he hesitated.

“Desrosiers,” Mack offered before waving her hand. “It’s hard to pronounce, I know. Mack’s fine.”

“Ms….Mack, I have awaited your arrival. Lou has selected a room for you to practice in. Allow me to show you.”

“Thank you…” she leaned forward to peer at his name tag, “…Andreas.”

He smiled and motioned for her to follow him down a hall of doors. She looked at the walls that were filled with pictures of dancers and troupes. Some were pictures catching the group in action and some were pictures of groups holding up medals, plaques, or trophies.

“Ah, here we are, studio 7,” Andreas announced, pulling out keys and unlocking the door. “I hope the studio is to your liking.” He pushed open the door and took a step back, allowing her room to look inside. She stepped into the doorway and flipped on the light. The sight easily made her jaw drop. She was standing in her own piece of heaven. The hardwood floors were so shiny you could see your reflection. Mirrors lined the front and back walls and a couch rested on the wall closest to the door, the left hand side, next to an impressive looking sound system. A speaker was mounted in each corner. “Also, through that door,” Andreas pointed at the door that was a few feet away of the couch, on the front wall where the mirrors and the hardwood floor met with linoleum, “it takes you to a little locker room area. If you ever need to leave something here over night you have the liberty to.”

“Thanks.” She looked at her watch. “Could you send the guys in as soon as they get here? Just look for a curly haired kid.” Andreas nodded and closed the door behind her. She walked to the center of the room, taking in the faint pinewood-meets-lemon smell before sitting down Indian-style, taking everything in. It hit her like a ton of bricks. She was finally getting to do what she was signed up for. She finally got to dance and was paid for it.

After a few minutes of sitting and letting reality sink in she popped the master copy out of her walkman and put it into the stereo system. She then pressed play, turned up the volume, and laid down on the couch, waiting for the music to start playing.

The sound came out clearly and easily filled the room. The bass beats were a little louder than the rest of the song, and the guys’ voices for that matter, but it sounded pretty good nonetheless. She closed her eyes and listened to the song, taking in every word and trying to apply the dance moves she thought of to the song. She figured it would be better to have the tougher dance moves during the verses or the breakdown when not all of them sang, and have the easier stuff during the chorus so they wouldn’t be too tired.

After listening to the song two times she pulled her notebook out of her backpack and scribbled down different combinations for different parts of the song, also drawing pictures to go along with it. Once she had that done she decided to test it out and see how it looked.

She stood in the let out a couple of breaths to relax herself and pressed Play on the mini remote that was in her hand. As soon as Justin’s voice was heard she put her dance moves into action. She blocked everything out and only focused on breathing and moving her body in time with the music. She tried the whole dance a few more times before taking a break to get some water. Then she switched CDs to a dance mix she had made and fully let loose, getting lost in the music. Only when she turned around at the end of the song did she notice that she had been watched.

“See? I told you it was a good idea to hire her,” Justin said with a grin as he, Lou, Diane, and Lynn clapped and Mack shut off the music.

“How long have you been standing there?” She asked her eyes shifting to each person.

“About five minutes,” Justin replied. “How long have you been here?”

“A few hours.” Justin’s eyes widened in shock. “I couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t find a gym so I figured I might as well finish what I’ve been working on before you guys got here. I just told Robin where I went and the driver took me here no problem.”

“I would appreciate it if you called me next time, sweetie,” Lynn said with a small smile, letting Mack know that she wasn’t in trouble.

“Sorry,” Mack apologized. “I’ll tell you next time. I promise.”

“So you have the entire song worked out?” Lou spoke up, eyeing her. She nodded, shifting under his gaze. “I would love to see it.” A smile came onto his face and she fought the urge not to throw up.

“You have to wait for the rest of the guys though. They’re around here somewhere. Wait here, I’ll go find them,” Justin said eagerly before rushing out of the room as Lynn and Lou took their seats on the couch. Mack sat down where she was standing and started to stretch out her legs.

“How long have you been working on the routine?” Lynn asked, breaking the silence.

“Physically or mentally?” She asked, leaning forward to touch her toes.

“Physically.”

“Any free time I had,” Mack said. “Let me rephrase that, any time I wasn’t loaded down with homework and I wasn’t running around getting things for the guys ‘cause they’re too damn lazy to get it themselves.” She chuckled a bit. “I think I work this out…about four hours a day, give or take an hour on a few random days.”

“Don’t you think you’re overworking yourself?” Lynn asked, her voice laced with concern. “I mean, as you said you have homework to do as well. And you try and help out the boys a lot. You’ve gotten pretty sick twice in the past few months.” She sighed. “I think you’re wearing yourself thin and you’re not taking care of yourself properly. What’re you going to do once I go back home? I’m going to be out of my mind with worry. For you and for Justin.”

“Momma Lynn, you need to go back to work,” Mack said as she bent her leg and leaned all the way back so she was looking at the ceiling. “You know you can trust us. If Justin gets out of line I’ll make sure to put him back in his place.”

“Ok, but what about you?” Lynn pressed.

Mack sat up a bit and grinned at her. “I have five ‘brothers’ with me.” She put finger quotes around the word brothers. “Trust me, with them being all…protective 24/7 you have nothing to worry about.”

“Yet every time you or Justin say that it just makes me worry even more,” Lynn said softly as the door burst open and Chris ran in, laughing hysterically as Joey chased him around the room.

“Guys, knock it off!” JC called to them, glancing over at Lou who was sitting patiently on the couch. JC sighed when Chris and Joey continued running around, yelling at each other. He couldn’t believe after all of this time they were still making fools of themselves in front of Lou, the one person who made sure they got to where they were.

“Don’t worry about it JC,” Lou said as he chuckled a bit. “You might as well let them burn off their extra energy.”

“Yeah. Trust me, you guys aren’t going to have any after I’m through with you,” Mack joked.

“Are you insinuating something, sweetie?” Joey suddenly asked, wiggling his eyebrows. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, getting to her feet. “So, you ready to dance for us Twinkle Toes?” he asked, sitting on the floor in front of the couch. Lynn lightly hit him on the back of the head and he grinned innocently.

“Just remember that I can take anything you say and punish you for it,” Mack pointed out as she rolled her shoulders. “Now remember, this may look kind of weird with only one person dancing to the song but it’ll look a lot better once the guys know the moves.”

“Quit stalling!” Justin called good-naturedly.  Without waiting to see if she was ready he pressed play on the stereo system and blushed a bit when he heard his voice pour out of the sound system and fill the room. Pushing her slight nerves aside she started moving to the music and didn’t finish until the song had ended; a small smile was on her face the entire time.

She turned red when everyone in the room burst into an applause and she shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Aww, don’t be shy now,” Justin said with a grin. He still couldn’t wrap his head around why she always gets embarrassed whenever she gets praise or compliments for her dancing. She rocked, simple as that, but she kept saying something about still needing to get better.

“We should leave so the boys can get to work,” Diane spoke up as she stood. “You did a wonderful job, honey,” she added, smiling at Mack.

“Thanks Mrs. Bass,” she said with a small smile.

“Call once you’re done,” Lynn said, giving Justin a hug.

“I will, Momma,” Justin replied, hugging her back. He glared at Joey and Chris who, behind Lynn’s back, was making faces at him. He flipped them off but quickly retracted his finger when Lynn let him go and he smiled sweetly. “By Momma,” he called. As soon as the door shut he rounded on Chris and Joey. “Do that again, I dare you!” He snarled.

“Relax, they were just kidding,” Mack said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Before you guys start any dancing at all I want you to work out a bit.”

“Like…?” Chris asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Well, for starts, give me 50 pushups,” she responded, sitting down in front of the mirrors, resting her back against it.

“I’m sorry, did you say 50?” Chris asked. She nodded. “Are you crazy or do you just enjoy watching us in pain?”

“A little bit of both,” Justin said in a stage whisper. He ducked when Mack threw her shoe at him and chuckled a bit, giving her his patented Timberlake Charm smile. “I’m sorry.”

“I know but you still owe me 50 pushups. Good pushups. Go.” The boys grumbled to themselves before getting in pushup position and started doing their pushups. She scanned over them, making sure they were doing it right. “You don’t have to go fast, just get all 50 done, even if you have to take a few breaks in between.”

“Ha! Only wimps have to take breaks!” Justin called from where he was doing quick pushups, obviously trying to show off.

“Jace, put your ass down,” Mack called. She instantly regretted what she said because Justin, Joey, and Chris all looked at her with large grins on their faces. “Oh no,” she muttered. She really had to learn to keep her mouth shut.

“Is this the first time you’ve looked at JC’s ass?” Chris questioned, shifting his weight a bit. “Or have you been admiring it for some time?”

“What ass? C has no ass,” Joey commented as he looked over at JC who was staring at the ground, continuing with his pushups, trying to ignore them.

“And why’s JC suddenly so special?” Justin added. “I’ve known you longer?”

“Which means I won’t hesitate to put you on a three mile run in a few seconds,” Mack commented dryly. Automatically Chris, Joey, and Justin went back to their pushups. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She glanced up when Lance sat down next to her. “What’s up, Lancelot?”

“I like what you have in mind for the song,” Lance started. “I just don’t think I can do it. I’m a terrible dancer.”

“No you’re not,” she said shaking her head. “You’re almost as bad as Joey.”

“Hey!” He cried out in mock anger. “Just because I wasn’t dancing when I was coming out of the womb or I wasn’t turned into a sparkly dance boy like some Mouseketeers I could mention doesn’t mean I’m a bad dancer.”

“No, you’re a hammy dancer,” JC corrected, getting onto his knees and rubbing his arms a bit.

“A hammy dancer?” Joey repeated. “What the hell’s a hammy dancer? How am I a hammy dancer?”

“Have you seen your face when you dance?” Lance questioned, raising his eyebrows. “You have this…pursed lips thing going on.”

“And you have a funny look in your eye,” Chris added.

“And you exaggerate dance moves too,” Justin agreed.

“You all have your equal share of dancing problems,” Mack called over the shouting.

“Yeah? Like what? What’s mine?” Justin demanded.

“For starters, you like the spotlight way too much so you always try to be in it,” Mack replied. “JC you, like Joey, exaggerate the moves so you end up being off by half a beat which is noticeable. Chris, you spend too much time worrying about the audience than you do about the actual performance and Lance…um, you kinda cheat on some dance moves and that’s noticeable too.”

“Well, damn, do you want us to tear you apart too?” Justin asked sarcastically. “I have years worth of stuff on you that I’ve been waiting to unload.”

She jumped to her feet and stood in front of him, glaring. Although he was pushing six feet and she was a mere 5’2” her glare still got to him but he held his ground. “Oh yeah? I’m just dying to hear it.”

“Knock it off, you two,” JC said as he forced his way into the glaring friends. “I don’t know what’s gotten you two to be at each other’s throats lately but whatever it is you have to put it aside whenever we’re working or else we won’t get anything done.” She and Justin crossed their arms over their chests, not willing to let JC know that he was right. “Just relax, ok? You can talk it out after practice is over.”

“Fine,” they said in unison.

“I’m going to break it down into an eight-count to make it easier to transfer from one motion to the next, ok?” She said. They nodded. “Ok, Lance I need you to stand here…”

For the next two hours she taught them the dance all the way through the chorus, stopping every now and then to correct their position or to change a part of the dance if it looked wrong. The guys even came up with their own suggestions, some that had to be put aside but some were used, such as Justin’s suggestion of doing a flip or something when transferring to the next chorus.

“Sorry,” Just muttered so softly that Mack barely heard it. “Sorry,” he repeated. “I was just kidding around. I know you were only trying to help us.” He ran a hand through his short curls. “It’s just…you kinda take things to heart too quickly. We were just teasing you. You know I wouldn’t make you mad on purpose.”

“I know,” Mack said as she pulled the drawstring on her bag. “And you’re right.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t catch what you just said,” Justin said as he placed his hand behind his ear, bending it forward a bit. She playfully swatted him on the arm and he grinned. “You’re working too hard,” he suddenly stated.

She shook her head. “I’m doing fine. Just be glad I’m not on my period.”

“God, then you’d be a total bitch.” He chuckled a bit. “But seriously, you do so much for us. You should take a break. Relax a bit.” Mack shook her head. “Well, at least get some TLC.”

“Timberlake Loving Care?” Mack guessed.

“Actually in this case I’m talking about Tray,” he said as he waved his phone in front of her face. “He complains about not being able to reach you and it’s really starting to get on my nerves. That’s my prescription for your short fuse.”

“Ok, Dr. Timberlake. I’ll take that to heart,” she said with a roll of her eyes and a punch to his shoulder.

He grinned and draped his arm around her shoulders before leading her out the door. “Have you been avoiding Trace?”

“No, he just never caught me at the right time. I’ve been so busy doing your homework.”

“I’m surprised no one’s caught on to that yet,” he said as he rubbed his chin. “I’ll pay you back. I promise, as soon as I get enough time…or I understand what we’re learning.”

“Take your time. It’s not like I’m holding it over your head and know that you owe me exactly 67 favors,” she said with a shrug. He looked at her and she smiled innocently.

“Excuse me.” They stopped walking to see Lou coming towards the down the hall. Justin felt Mack tense under his arm and he took a peek at her face. Her jaw was clenched and her breathing was slightly erratic. “I would like to talk to Mackenzie for a second, if it’s not too much to ask.”

Justin dropped his arm. “They guys and I will wait in the lobby ok?” He nudged her arm, his way of asking what was up. She lightly pinched his palm, letting him know she’ll explain later. He nodded slightly and backed away, turning and jogging towards the sound of Chris’ maniacal laughter.

“I just wanted to let you know I think you’re doing an amazing job and I think I made the right choice in hiring you as their choreographer,” Lou started, smiling a little so the corners of his mouth were upturned. Mack merely nodded and turned to walk away but he grabbed her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. “Also, about halfway through October is your final show for a bit. You guys can take a vacation and go back home for a bit. You can come over to my place anytime.” He paused and slowly moved his hand from her shoulder to her neck, his thumb grazing her cheek. “All of you, I mean. You have to go back to Germany right around New Years for a TV performance and then you can come back home, but then you need to be back in Europe halfway through January to get ready for your first tour.”

She tried to move again but he moved his hand back to her shoulder and squeezed hard, his fingers biting into the bone. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip to keep herself from crying out in pain. Her stomach was churching and her mind was telling her to run, punch him, kick him, do something but she was frozen in place. “Your dancing is really working for you,” he commented, looking her over as she trembled slightly under his stare. He brought his other hand up and rubbed them over her biceps. His left hand traveled down to her stomach, lightly rubbing her sculpted abs. “Mmmm,” he muttered. Mack felt like she was going to gag. “Now remember, don’t tell anyone about this,” he muttered after what felt like an eternity to her. “If you do, I can easily take away everything those boys worked for. And that would be a shame, knowing that you were responsible for their demise. How would Justin look at you the same way?”

He could tell that he had hit a soft spot when she let out a gasp that was soft but audible and he grinned victoriously. He quickly let go of her and looked up when Lynn walked around the corner. Mack turned at the sound of clacking heels and noticed the stony look on Lynn’s features, which signaled that she was furious about something.

“Lou, we need to talk,” Lynn started.

“What seems to be the problem, Mrs. Harless?” Lou asked politely, keeping his eyes on the younger girl who stood next to the fuming woman.

“It’s about the boys and this young lady,” Lynn replied. “I think you’re working them too hard.”

“Mrs. Harless, they are all responsible for the hours they work. They’re the ones who put this much effort into their work, I’m not there telling them how long they have to practice or to sing,” Lou pointed out.

“Yes, but you’re not stopping them either,” Lynn continued, crossing her arms over her chest.”I’ve been watching them since they’ve started this daily routine and I have to say that I’m shocked. They’ve lost a significant amount of weight that you can tell just by looking at them. Also, they’ve visibly tired. They barely get a good night’s sleep as it is but with you taking them out to parties all of the time it’s just adding to their exhaustion.”

“What would you like me to do, Mrs. Harless?” Lou questioned.

“If these boys don’t get a day off every week I’m taking my boy and going home,” Lynn threatened. Mack smiled a bit when she saw a look of pure fear in Lou’s eyes. But as quickly as it appeared it disappeared.

“You got it,” he responded. “Their free days will be predetermined, though, so it won’t clash with potential interviews or show appearances.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “Is there anything else you’d like to talk to me about? Are there any other concerns?”

“No, there aren’t any,” Lynn replied.

“Good. You can always come to me if another concern arises,” Lou said with a pleasant smile. “I just want to help these boys. They’re all ready on the fast track to success; you wouldn’t want to slow them down would you?” He didn’t give Lynn a chance to answer. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

Lynn nodded and motioned for Mack to follow her back down the hall. “We’re going out to eat tonight; the boys don’t want to stay in the hotel. There’s a pizza place a few blocks from here and a restaurant near the hotel that I hear is amazing, but the boys can’t decide.”

“So they want me to decide?” Mack questioned, lifting an eyebrow. “Either way it should be three against two so what does my opinion matter?” She glanced over her shoulder and was filled with relief when she saw that Lou wasn’t in the hall anymore.

“I honestly don’t see how it does, they’re just insisting on your input,” Lynn admitted. “But you should be happy that they want to include you on this.” Mack gave Lynn a confused look. “I can see it whenever we’re at the studio. You’re lonely because the guys are always together, right?”

Mack nodded, surprised at how well Lynn had read her. “Do you think…we can get Trace out here for a couple of days?” She asked.

Lynn smiled. “I think that’s a great idea.”