Chapter 17: Nothing Endures But Change

“What’ve you been doing? You haven’t been paying any attention to the movie,” Justin commented when it switched to a commercial. Trace broke his stare and turned to look at Mack as well. The girl didn’t lift her head from the little book that was in her lap. Her glasses were perched on her nose and the end of her pen was in her mouth. When she didn’t answer Justin grabbed one of the many pillows that was behind his head and threw it at her. He grinned when it connected with her head and she glared at him. “Geeze, you’re almost as spacey as C. I asked you a question.”

“I heard you,” she replied, finally lifting her head. “I’m making sure I have this schedule down right.” She motioned to the book in her lap. “As soon as Lynn leaves that practically makes me responsible for you guys because I know that you’re not going to be able to get up and get ready yourselves. Otherwise I’m trying to figure out how to get the guys to Memphis, which you want so bad, but I’m getting stuck.”

“Stuck how?” Trace asked, crossing the small gap between the two hotel beds, sitting next to her and leaning over her shoulder so far that his chin was practically resting on it.

“They’ve expressed different times when they want to be with their families and where. JC and Lance want to spend Thanksgiving in Memphis with us and Christmas at their homes with their families. But Joey, Chris, and Justin want to switch it so they can have Thanksgiving with their families in their homes and have Christmas with us in Memphis,” Mack replied. “I’m trying to find a way around it but the only thing I can think of is the weeks leading up to a certain holiday they can spend in Memphis with us and use both holidays to go back home to be with their families but J really wants to be around them during either holiday.” She let out a growl of frustration before glaring at Justin. “You boys are so finicky.”

Justin gave her a blank stare. “Are you complimenting me or insulting me?” He questioned after a bit.

“A little bit of both, I’ll admit,” she replied, slamming the book shut with a sharp snap. She yawned and looked at the clock. “When do we leave?”

“Around seven,” Trace replied. “That means we’re going to get back around 1 AM because of the time difference.” He looked at the clock himself. “It’s 1 now; you might want to get some sleep.”

“God. It’s all ready 1? How aren’t you tired after the show, J?” Mack asked, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes.

“Too much adrenaline,” he replied, shrugging, turning his attention back to the TV. “The energy from the audience and all of that birthday cake got to me. I probably won’t crash until we get on the plane.”

“Whatever, I’m going to sleep like normal people.”

“I’ll walk you to your room,” Trace offered. Mack didn’t know whether to smile at his offer or to punch him in his face. Ever since her asthma attack, or what he likes to call her ‘Panic Episode’ he’s been stuck by her side offering to walk her places as if he were expecting her to drop dead at any moment. It was both endearing and annoying to her.

“Thanks but I think I can walk three feet without something happening,” she replied. He nodded and watched her leave the room.

As soon as the door closed Justin let out a scoffing sound. “What?” Trace asked.

“Why don’t you just run after her and profess your love for her instead of staring at her like some love-sick puppy,” he responded.

“What the hell is your problem lately?” Trace demanded. “I come over here to spend time with my two best friends and the only thing you’re doing is treating me like crap. What have I done? Tell me, I really would like to know.”

Justin jabbed his thumb into the power button and turned to Trace. “If you’re dating her…I want you to tell me right now,” he finally spoke up, locking eyes with Trace.

“I’m not dating her,” Trace groaned, holding his head.

“Bullshit,” Justin shot back. “I saw you two in the dressing room, hugging. That wasn’t a normal hug, Trace.”

“She was having an asthma attack, J,” Trace cried out, throwing his arms into the air. “I was trying to get her to calm down before she passed out from panicking or something.” He sighed heavily and shook his head. “Geeze, if you’re this paranoid around me I’m afraid to see how you’ll get once we get back home and she has the chance to date.”

Justin glared at him before getting underneath the covers. “That won’t happen,” he declared, punching his pillow a bit before settling down.

“What? Her dating or you getting paranoid?” Trace questioned, moving to his roll away bed which was brought up earlier.

“Her dating,” Justin replied, ignoring Trace’s jab.

“What makes you say that?”

“Just…because.”

Trace rolled his eyes. “It’s going to be inevitable, you know. I mean, remember Jake Murphy?” Justin looked at Trace in confusion. “He’s in our class. About this tall, blond hair, green eyes, freckles across his nose.” Justin got a look of recognition on his face. “He has a crush on her.”

“That asshole?” Justin demanded and Trace nodded. “No fucking way in hell is he getting anywhere near her. Not if I can do anything about it.”

Justin then grabbed his covers, pulled them over his head, and turned so his back was facing the other bed in the room. Trace stared at his friend for a few seconds before shaking his head and settling into bed himself. He couldn’t remember if Justin had always been that overprotective and that paranoid or if it was just an effect from Trace mentioning that Mack had grown up and Justin hadn’t noticed before. Trace wanted to believe the first one but deep down he knew the answer was the latter.

~*~*~*~*~

“You glad the flight is over?” Lance asked, picking up his carry-on bag and waited in the aisle for Mack to step in front of him.

“You have no idea,” she answered. The flight from Germany to Orlando was nonstop for them, which meant another nine hour flight she had to deal with the guys’ antics. They toned it down a bit since both Lynn and Diane were there. However, as soon as the women fell asleep the guys went back to their annoying ways. Justin’s ways were amplified because he had his partner in crime with him. Add those two with Chris and you get non-stop hilarity for the boys, annoyance for her. Add a heightened paranoia since Lou was sitting a seat away from her so she eventually resembled a shaken bottle of soda ready to explode. “I’m just glad you’re actually sane and know when to leave a chick-who-is-running-on-a-few-hours-of-sleep-alone.”

“Someone has to be the smart one of the group,” he said with a grin.

“I’m glad it was you. You’re the only one who can help me with math and not make me want to pull my hair out.” Lance laughed a bit and followed her out of the terminal.

“So what’s the plan again?”

“We’re all going to stay in Orlando,” Mack replied, suddenly having a pep in her step.  “Trace and I came up with the idea early this morning. Everyone’s families are all ready there, if not a part of it so it would be easy to fly the rest of them in. This way we can spend Halloween together as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas.” Mack squinted at the harsh light of the airport. She followed Lance out of the way of the others that were trying to get to their families. “Do you see my mom or my dad?” She asked, standing on her tiptoes, but it didn’t do much to help her look over the heads of the others around her. “Where are they?” She whined, stomping her foot on the ground. Lance chuckled at her childishness and lightly ruffled her hair. She made a face and slapped his hands away, smoothing her hair back into place.

“God, it’s about time we got here,” Justin commented as he dropped his bags by a set of chairs and stretched his arms over his head. “I’m ready to get some sleep. What time is it anyway?”

“A little after 1:15,” JC replied, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “Man, I could crash right here if I wanted to.”

“I don’t think your body needs permission,” Mack replied, lightly poking him in the side. He tumbled into a chair and let out a long breath, closing his eyes. Justin and Lance smiled sleepily as JC got comfortable in the chair.

“I have to say this is the first time that Chris is ever quiet,” Joey said as he lightly nudged Chris on the shoulder.

“Shu…” he paused to yawn, “Shut up.”

“Momma, can we go home now?” Justin asked as soon as Lynn and Diane came into view.

“I think you’re going to want to wait for a few minutes,” Lynn replied, smiling a little.

Justin was about to ask why when he felt small arms wrap around his legs. He looked down and instantly the tired look on his face was replaced with a look of excitement. “Jonathan!” He exclaimed, picking up his little (half) brother and hugging him close. “Oh, I missed you so much, Little Man,” he mumbled, squeezing his brother.

“Justie let me go!” Jonathan giggled as he tried to get out of Justin’s grasp.

Justin let out a fake gasp. “I’ve been away for a few months and all ready you hate me?”

“Maybe,” Jonathan giggled again.

“I know how to fix that.” An evil grin crossed his features. “I can make you change your mind by…tickling!”

“Nooo!” Jonathan gasped before dissolving into giggles as Justin’s fingers flew across his stomach. The others smiled at the cute exchange as they searched the terminal for their own families. Chris spotted his mother and jumped over the sets of chairs as if they were hurdles to get to her. Joey’s mother found him and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. Lance found his family when he recognized Stacey’s shriek of happiness, and JC met with his family when Heather almost tackled JC to the ground once she spotted him.

Trace tapped Mack’s shoulder. “I see your dad.” He pointed in between a few people. She followed the direction of his finger and saw her dad standing a bit away from the sitting area, holding a dog carrier, and waving.

“Daddy!” Mack threw down her bags and ran towards him, practically shoving people out of her way as she made a beeline for her dad. He put the carrier down on the ground and held out his arms, scooping up his daughter, easily lifting her off of the ground and swinging her around as he hugged her tight. “I missed you so much, Daddy.”

“I missed you too, Baby Girl,” he replied, putting her down and held her at arms’ length. She grinned as he stared at her head. “I like the dye job.” He nodded his approval and Mack beamed. “May I ask why you did it?”

“I needed a change,” she replied. “I was going with Lynn and J to a salon anyway and I thought, what the heck, why not dye parts of my hair blue?” She paused. “Do you really like it or are you just trying to make me feel good.”

“A little bit of both,” he admitted before pulling her into another hug. “I have a surprise for you, sweetie,” he said as he motioned to the dog carrier where barks were coming out of.

“Little J!” She exclaimed, dropping to her knees, reaching for the latch.

“Before you open it, you have to know something,” Philippe started but she had all ready tugged on the latch. Little J burst out of the cage and jumped onto her knees, reaching up to lick her face. Following it was a black and white puppy and a ginger and white puppy, yipping happily.

“Whoa. You got me more dogs?” Mack asked, scratching Little J’s head.

“Not exactly,” Philippe replied. “Turns out Little J had adopted a few lost puppies that we had found. Your mother and I decided to give some of them away. We wanted you to decide on what to do with the last two. If you want to keep them we can and if you want to give them away you get to decide who to give them to.”

“Cool.” Mack put down Little J and scooped up the small black and white puppy. “Hey cutie,” she cooed. The puppy looked at her with big eyes and gently licked her nose. “I want to keep this one. We’ll call”––she paused and looked under the dog–– “We’ll call him…Oreo! Yeah.” She then picked up the other puppy as Philippe ushered Little J back into the cage.

“What do you want to do with the other one?” Philippe asked.

“Hmmm.” Mack thought about it as she walked over to the guys who were conversing in a group with the other parents. “Hey guys, look!” They turned their attention to the puppies that were in her arms. “Little J ‘adopted’ some puppies. This one is Oreo,” Mack said as she held out the black and white puppy.

“Puppy!” Jonathan cooed, reaching out his arms. Justin gently transferred the puppy into his arms so Jonathan could reach him. All the while Philippe was taking pictures of the group cooing over the dogs.

“Did you name the other one?” Chris asked, scratching the head of the brown and white dog.

“Well, I thought JC could do it,” Mack replied, turning to him.

“Huh? Me? Why?” He asked.

“I remember how you said that your dog died a few years ago, Grits, right?” She asked. He nodded. “Mom and Dad said I could decide what to do with these two dogs. I decided to keep Oreo and I want to give the other one to you and your family. I know she won’t replace Grits but I figured this would be the perfect time for you to get a new one.”

“Can we keep her?” Heather asked Karen.

“Yeah, please?” Tyler begged. Heather grabbed onto Roy’s arm while Tyler looked at Karen with pleading eyes.

“I think that’s for JC to decided,” Karen replied lightly running her hand through Tyler’s hair. She chuckled when Tyler jerked his head away and ran over to his brother.

“Please take the puppy. Heather and I can take care of her when you’re gone, we promise,” Tyler begged, clasping his hands together and looking up at his older brother. “Please? Please?”

“You know if I say no to them they’ll be on my case until I make it up to them somehow, right?” JC asked Mack. She grinned and nodded. “Ok, but you have to clean up after her,” he told Tyler, “and you have to feed her,” he told Heather. They nodded eagerly and cheered, causing JC to chuckle. “Thanks Mack,” he turned to her.

She shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I’m sure my mom and dad wouldn’t want to have to look after two new puppies while I’m gone.” She then turned to Johnny. “Unless there was some way I could take them with me,” she added in a hope filled voice.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Johnny replied, laughing. “I expect you all to get the rest you need while you’re here. Too soon you’ll be back in Germany going on tour and I need you all as alert and ready to go as possible. If hear about any of you going clubbing into the wee hours of the morning–”

“Joey!” Justin fake coughed making Jonathan laugh.

“I won’t hesitate to keep you guys on lockdown from any outside form of entertainment on your off days,” Johnny continued. “Is that clear?”

“Yes sir,” the boys chorused.

“Good. Ok, get out of here and enjoy your break. You deserve it. Just have your phones ready just in case I need to reach you.”

The boys agreed, gathered their things, and made their way to the baggage claim, suddenly quiet as their drowsiness washed over them. Even Chris was too tired to make a comment on how much JC resembled a Zombie because of the way he was walking and how puffy his eyes were. Trace was the only one out of all of them who seemed to be the most awake so he took Jonathan from Justin so he could walk with his mother, which ended up being him leaning against his mother since he was so tired.

“As soon as I get home I’m going to sleep and not wake up until dinner time,” Mack mumbled from Philippe’s side. He chuckled and kept his arm around her shoulders. “Daddy, why isn’t Mom here? Was she too tired to come?” She asked after a few minutes of silence. She looked up when she heard, more like felt, her father suck in his breath. “What is it?” She asked, searching his face for an answer. “Is something wrong?”

“No, sweetie,” Philippe replied. “It’s just…your mother’s not there,” he replied.

Mack looked at him in confusion. “She’s not?”

“No, she’s in Memphis.”

“Is something wrong? Did something happen to Gramma and Pop-Pop?” Mack asked, her eyes wide in alarm. The sudden rise in her tone caused Oreo to wake up and frantically look around and she struggled to hold onto him.

“No, nothing happened,” Philippe replied. “She just wanted to take a break from the hustle and bustle of Orlando, that’s all.”

“But why?” She asked, holding onto Oreo tighter while he pulled her suitcase off of the slow moving track. “She loves Orlando.”

“She does,” Philippe reassured her. “She just wanted a break, that’s all.”

“But couldn’t she wait until I came back?”

“She’ll be back soon. She can’t wait to see you.”

“Ok,” Mack sighed. She studied her father’s voice when he wasn’t paying attention to her. Something about his tone made her worry. It was like he was uncertain himself, like there was something wrong. She wanted to ask him about it, to demand that he tell the truth but she knew he wouldn’t tell her anything. He would just feed her some sugar-coated fact and she was too tired to put her foot down. She nodded when Justin said something about calling her so they could do something later. She wasn’t paying much attention, the only thing that had her attention were her drooping eyelids.

~*~*~*~*~

“Ok, on a scale of 1 to 10, are these shoes better?”

“Is get the hell away from me before I punch you in the kidneys a choice?” Mack mumbled without opening her eyes. “How’d you get in anyway?”

“Your dad let me in,” Justin replied, sitting down at the end of the couch that she currently occupied. Little J and Oreo were sleeping in the small bed directly beneath her. “How can you still be asleep? It’s one in the afternoon. Come on, I want to do something,” he begged, grabbing her hand and tugging it like a little kid.

“Jus, if she wants to sleep let her,” Trace’s voice came from somewhere above her head.

“No, no, I’m up,” Mack said as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. “I have to go to the pet store anyway.” She took a look at the shoes that were in Justin’s hands. “The blue ones are better.” He nodded and dropped the other pair. The thud caused Little J and Oreo to wake up. “Oh no, you don’t want to do that.” Before Justin could ask why Oreo and Little J jumped out of the bed and started gnawing on his dropped shoes. “They like to chew on shoes.”

“They can have those, they’re old.” Justin shrugged and tied his shoes. “Hey, let’s call Jace and bring him with us. He’s going to need some dog stuff too.” He reached for the landline.

“Don’t!” Mack called so suddenly it caused him and Trace to jump. “I’m expecting Mom to call,” she continued.

“You have a cell phone, she’ll call that,” Justin said as he picked up the phone and dialed the Chasez number.

“Whatever.” She folded up the blankets that were on the couch and placed her pillow on top of it. She hummed a random song as she climbed the stairs and put the blankets and pillow away in the closet. She turned and jumped back when she saw Trace standing near her. “What the hell, Trace? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” She grumbled.

“I wouldn’t want to be responsible for your death,” he replied. “Are you ok?” He squinted a bit. “You seem on edge.” He got a little smile.

“Didn’t sleep well,” she replied, rubbing her eye with her palm. “I was waiting for Mom to call. She knew I was getting back today. I just don’t get why she hasn’t called yet.”

“Why don’t you try calling her?” He suggested.

“Goes straight to voice mail and whenever I call Gramma’s house she says that Momma’s out doing stuff. Come on, what can she be doing back home? She doesn’t have much to do except talk to some people down at the diner but even then she told me that it gets boring listening to the town gossip all day.” She paused. “Why would she suddenly leave without telling me?” She shook her head. “Something’s going on, I know that for sure. Dad won’t tell me anything either.”

“Maybe they’re planning a surprise for you,” Trace suggested.

Mack shook her head. “They’re too…obvious when they’re planning a surprise. I’m actually surprised they haven’t found out that I know when they’re planning one. No, they’re acting too secretive.” Her eyes suddenly widened. “Maybe Gramma or Pop-Pop has cancer!”

“I’m sure they would’ve told you if that were the case,” Trace pointed out. “You’re worrying over nothing, I bet.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she agreed.

“Of course I’m right. When am I ever wrong?” Trace asked.

Mack lifted an eyebrow.”That time you convinced Justin and me to mix soda with mentos.”

Trace laughed at the memory. “It’s not my fault you two were young and stupid.”

“You’re also the one who convinced J to pee on an electric fence, throw a flaming hair dryer into a full bathtub, jump off of the roof with a blanket, jump on a trampoline with bowling balls, throw a mini fridge out a window–”

Trace waved his hands, interrupting her. “I get it. But I’m right this time. Trust me.”

“I don’t think I want you. You’ve given me plenty of reasons not to,” she said with a teasing grin as the two headed back to the living room where Justin was trying to wrestle one of his shoes away from Little J. Oreo ran back and forth, barking as if to cheer them both on. She slowly shook her head as she chuckled.

“What?” Trace asked.

“Justin’s too cute sometimes.”

“Oh.”

“Heyyy.” Heather rushed over to Mack and pulled her into a hug which Mack eagerly returned. “C’mon, Josh is waiting in the car with Coco.”

“Of all the things to name that dog JC named it something as lame as Coco?” Justin snorted, rolling his eyes. Heather just shrugged and pulled Mack out of the house, leaving Trace and Justin to round up Little J and Oreo.

 “So how’s Maryland treating you?” Mack asked Heather as the group walked down the isle of Petsmart.

“Same as always,” Heather replied, shrugging. “It’s not like Orlando, that’s for sure. I actually had to get used to the cold again.” She laughed a little. “The only thing I didn’t get used to is being able to talk to you every day.”

“Yeah, I know. I miss hanging out after school all the time,” Mack agreed, keeping a tight grip on Little J’s leash with one hand and a tight grip on Oreo with her other hand. “Remember how we used to go to ride jet skis every day?”

“And then we’d go to the Sweet Factory and buy pounds of candy?” Heather continued, laughing a bit.

“And the candy we didn’t finish we’d give to little kids at the park and some of the parents gave us those evils looks because–”

“Their kids would be hyper for the rest of the day!” The two finished in unison dissolving into laughter. The guys paused to look back at them before shrugging and continuing their search.

“Man, we were some wild kids,” Heather said as she dabbed at her eyes which were beginning to tear from laughing so hard.

“Hey now, don’t make me sound old. I’m only fifteen,” Mack pointed out.

“Yeah.” Heather stayed silent for a bit. “So, I have a boyfriend now.”

Mack lifted her eyebrows. “Really?” Heather nodded. “When did that happen?”

“Uh, about a year ago. I would’ve told you but with the time difference…” Mack nodded. “His name’s Liam. He’s a lacrosse player. He’s really nice; you’d like him if you two met. I sent you some pictures.”

“Yeah, he’s…ok.” Mack shrugged.

“Ok?” Heather repeated. “Mack, he’s cute and so nice and…perfect. Even Josh would approve of him and he can’t seem to deal with the fact that I’m growing up.”

“I know what you mean,” Mack grumbled.

“What, you have a boyfriend and you didn’t tell me?” Mack laughed out loud. Her, have a boyfriend? Mack and boyfriend were like pickles and ice cream, they just don’t seem to work. “I guess not.”

“I mean the growing up thing,” Mack said. “Lance seems to be the only one who actually acknowledges the fact that I’m not the same fourteen-year-old they seem to want to hold on to. I get that they want to protect me and stuff but you know me, all I need is my sharp tongue and my ass-kicking feet and I’m good to go.”

Heather chuckled. “Same ol’ Mack.”

“Thank God I’m the same. I don’t think I’d be able to stand it if something else changed,” she muttered under her breath but Heather caught it.

“What do you mean?”

“Justin’s been acting funny lately and he won’t tell e why, which is weird since he always tells me stuff. Trace is acting funny but not in a way that Justin’s acting funny. My dad is acting funny whenever I mention Mom and my mom went back to Memphis without telling me and won’t answer whenever I call her. Basically, something funny is going on and I want to know what it is but nooooooo, no one will tell me anything!”

Heather laughed a bit at the frustrated look on Mack’s face when she realized she couldn’t throw her hands into the air in frustration. “It seems to me that Justin just doesn’t want you to grow up. For your parents, something may be going on that they don’t want you to know about yet. Parents are weird like that. For Trace, well, how weird is he acting?” She lowered her voice in case he heard her.

“He, I don’t know, he’s being more helpful even when I don’t need it. And, um, he kinda sticks around a bit more, not that I’m complaining. And he, um, he checks in from time to time to see how I’m doing, saying that he’s there to talk and stuff,” Mack replied.

“Damn, Macks,” Heather commented.

“What?” She asked in alarm, struggling to keep a tight hold on Little J’s leash as he tugged against it to bark at the tanks filled with fish.

“I hate to say it…but I think he has a crush on you.” Mack whipped her head up and Heather shrugged. “That’s what it sounds like to me. Guys don’t pay that much attention to a girl unless they’re interested and Trace is interested.”

“But–he–I…no!” Mack spluttered. “No. There is no way that Trace likes me.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Yeah, how much?”

“Twenty bucks says he asks you out today.”

“That’ll be an easy twenty I’ve ever made.”

They managed to shake hands, both of the girls smirking at each other thinking that they’ll easily get twenty dollars. After spending twenty more minutes in the store they finally picked things out and made their way back to the car to get back to their respective houses.

“Hey, no barking you two,” Mack scolded Oreo and Little J as she carried them in their bed to the front door. “You’re going to be sharing that space, you know.”

“Uh, Mack, wait up a sec,” Trace called, moving up the steps behind her. She stepped, holding her key up in the air, and looked at him, a questioning look in her eyes. “I was wondering if you’d, maybe, want to hang out with me tonight? If you’re not busy, that is. I mean, we never really got a chance to talk. I want to know how’re you’re doing with your dancing and stuff.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “So, um, will you?”

“Uhhhh…” Mack’s eyes shifted from Trace’s face to the car that was waiting in the driveway and back. She sighed. “Sure, Trace. Sounds like fun,” she said with a small smile.

He beamed. “Great. I’ll get you around seven, ok?” She nodded and he nodded in return, gave a small wave, and ran back down the stairs.

Mack managed to balance the bed in her arms and open the door. She closed it behind her with her foot, leaning against the door as she heard the muffled sounds of the car driving away. “Well guys,” she sighed, looking down at Oreo and Little J, “looks like I lost the twenty dollars.”