Chapter 2: Two Princes

“Explain to me that we’re not going anywhere to celebrate? That we’re just playing basketball like we always do?” Mack asked from the porch steps as she watched the boys run around the driveway.

“Well, what else is there to do?” Justin responded as he spun the basketball on his finger.

“I dunno. Go to the movies? Go out to eat? Order-in? Have a Friends marathon? Something other than play basketball. I’d even rather start moving my stuff into that house,” she sighed.

“Play a game with us so you won’t be bored,” Joey spoke up. “We can do one of those things afterwards. Just play one game.”

“Yeah, we’ll do whatever you want once we’re done,” JC agreed as he gave her a charming smile. She sighed and dropped her head, regretting what was getting ready to come out of her mouth.

“Ok. Fine. I’ll play,” she sighed. She just wanted to get it over with. She got bored watching them run around playing basketball all of the time. She was actually really bad at the game. She could run pretty fast to get away from someone and she could dribble, she just can’t pass or shoot at all. “Give me the ball.” Justin clutched it in both hands before throwing it at her. It sailed between her outstretched hands and hit her right in the nose.

“Ow!” She shouted as she held her head in her hands. The basketball bounced away as Justin burst out laughing. Justin had to hold himself up on his knee since he was laughing so hard. “Justin Randall, I swear to fucking God...” she growled as she walked over to where the basketball had stopped at the edge of the driveway. She picked it up and tossed it at him as hard as she could and they all watched as it bounced on the ground a couple of feet from him. There was a reason she didn't play basketball.

“There's a fucking God?” Joey asked with a laugh as he elbowed Chris in the side.

“Shut up!” Mack shouted.

“It was an accident and watch your mouth,” Justin mumbled

“Shut up!”

“Whoa. What did you do to her?” They heard Lance ask. He had just walked out of the house and looked curious about what was going on instead of being concerned about the yelling.

“I threw the ball at her and it accidentally hit her in the nose,” Justin replied. Lance raised an eyebrow.

“For someone who loves basketball so much you have crappy aim,” he said with a sigh, sitting down and loosely wrapping his arms around his knees.

“Him? Lansten, you’re the one who can’t even get the ball into the basket,” Chris said as he shook his head and chuckled.

“What about my nose? Doesn't anyone care that I'm bleeding?” Mack asked in exasperation, throwing her hands up into the air.

“No, not really,” Lance said, grinning. She took her shoe off and chucked it at his head. If throwing shoes at people was a sport, she’d win hands down. “What’d I do?” he whined. She stuck her tongue out at him and threw the other shoe at Justin. Score again.

“Ouch!” She shouted when the basketball connected with her again and almost knocked her over. “Give a girl a break! I’m bleeding here.”

“Don’t make excuses. Just ‘cause you can’t play–” Chris started.

“No, I’m really bleeding,” she said as she pinched her nose. A few drops of blood were on her finger and thumb as she tilted her head back.

“Oh man, you are. Come on, we’ll get you some ice,” JC said as he gently grabbed her upper arm and led her into the Chasez house. He led her right into the kitchen and practically shoved her down on a stool. As he was filling a bag with ice his mother, Karen, came into the kitchen with his little sister Heather.

“What happened?” Karen asked Mack, noticing that the girl was pinching her nose.

“Justin hit me in the nose with the basketball,” she responded in an annoyed tone.

“Oh dear. Heather, go get me some tissues please,” she said to her daughter. Heather nodded before rushing out of the room. She came back a few seconds later with a box in her hand and followed by her brother, Tyler. “Thank you,” she said as she took a few tissues form the box and kissed her daughter’s head. “Here, tilt your head,” she said as she pressed the tissues against Mack’s nose when she moved her fingers and tilted her head back. “Josh, did you get the ice?”

“Right here,” JC replied as he wrapped the bag in a dishtowel and handed it to Mack, who moved the tissues away and held the ice up to her nose. “Is your nose ok?”

“Yeah, yeah, just go back to your game and tell Justin I’ll kill him later,” she responded with a dismissive wave of her hand. He nodded and went back outside as she let out a low growl. “These boys are driving me crazy!”

“Well, it’s what you get for not having any friends that are girls,” Karen said with a small smile as she also sat down on a stool. Tyler and Heather climbed up on other ones and sat there quietly, listening.

“That’s not true. Brittany’s my friend,” Mack stated. “So is Christina.”

“Yes, but you don’t spend as much time with them as you do with the boys,” she pointed out.

“I can’t help the fact that they’re working on their music. I mean, I want them to be happy. I’m not going to be that loser best friend who makes them stay and give up their dreams,” Mack said as she threw her arms into the air, causing the bag of ice to fly out of her hand and land on the counter. ‘Might as well suck it up ‘cause I’m stuck with them for a while’ she thought. She slammed her palms down onto the counter and sighed. She raised an eyebrow when she saw Heather and Tyler imitate her.

“They’re just boys being boys. Admit it, if they acted any differently you wouldn’t want to be around them,” Karen said.

“Well, yeah, that’s true,” Mack admitted as she tapped her fingers on the counter. “Yet sometimes I think my life would be so much simpler if I hadn’t met them.”

“Your life would be so much more different if you hadn’t met them. Remember, you don’t know Joseph, Christopher, Lance, or Josh as well as you know Justin. Give them some time; I know you’ll learn to love them. You and Josh all ready have this…connection from doing some work on MMC with him; it’s only a matter of time until you get it with Christopher, Lance, and Joseph.”

Mack nodded but remained silent. Her mind was jumbled; thoughts were slamming into her head and giving her a headache, worse than her nose ache. Karen gently patted her on the shoulder and left the kitchen. With Heather’s and Tyler’s help she filled the bag with more ice and monitored her nose swelling. It went down a little bit, but it was still red and very noticeable, “like Rudolph’s nose” to quote Tyler who grinned cheekily.

“You’re very charming,” she muttered dryly, ruffling his hair. He made a face and slapped her hands away, immediately smoothing his hair back into place. Tyler stuck his tongue out at her and she returned the childish gesture with her own: putting her finger and thumb up to her head to form a L.

They all turned their heads when they heard footsteps moving swiftly towards the kitchen. Roy, Heather’s and Tyler’s father, rushed in holding the phone out at arm’s length in Mack’s direction. She took it from him and barley had the phone to her ear when her father’s voice bleated into the kitchen.

“Where are you!?”

“Oh, sorry Dad,” Mack lowered her voice and turned her back to the two kids. “After lunch we went over to JC’s place. That’s where I am now.”

“I need you home.” His voice was tight and she could practically see the little vein in his forehead throbbing. She guessed that he was pacing the kitchen, his free hand on the top of his head as if something had hit him.

“Um, ok. I’ll–” She was cut off by the dial tone buzzing in her ear. She hung up the phone and handed it back to Roy as she slid off of the stool she was sitting on. “I have to go,” she mumbled. “Thanks for the ice,” she added, nodding at Heather and Tyler.

“You’re welcome,” Heather chirped. “Hope your nose feels better.”

‘Me too.’ She waved to them before rushing out of the house. She ran across the lawn and picked up her fallen bike, straddling the seat while clipping her helmet. “I gotta get home,” she shouted over her shoulder when she noticed the boys staring at her, eyes filled with curiosity. They nodded and waved as she pedaled furiously down the street, trying to get home as fast as she could.

Twice, in her haste, she almost ran right into traffic but she managed to break in time, almost flipping herself over the handlebars. She knew she was being pretty reckless but she didn’t want her father to be mad at her, he could easily rip up her contract if she ever got on his bad side.

She finally made it to her house, gasping for air as she struggled to keep her burning legs up. She threw her helmet down onto the grass and dug into her pockets as she raced for the front door. Her key was barely in the lock when it swung open and she was pulled inside by her arm. She jumped when the door slammed shut and the bang made her head pound.

“What took you so long?” He demanded, still holding onto her arm. She winced and tired to pull out of his grasp but he held on tighter. “Did you forget? Your Mom comes home today; we have to go pick her up.”

“Ok, ok, just let go of me!” Mack said as she struggled to pry his fingers off of her arm. He finally let go and she rubbed the red spot. She was surprised that he hadn’t noticed how red her nose was, but he always ignored things that were right in front of him whenever his wife was involved. He was still as crazy about her as the day they first met in high school, him being the sensitive and quiet jock, her being the loud out-going artist.

“C’mon, get your shoes.” He practically shoved her up the stairs to her room and stood in the doorway impatiently as she searched for her favorite pair of Vans. Once she had them in her hand he grabbed her arm, flung her down the stairs, out the door, and threw her into the passenger seat of the car. He jumped into the driver’s side and they peeled out of their driveway. Mack clutched onto the armrests as she took deep breaths to calm her racing heart, telling herself that they weren’t going to crash, that he was just excited to see his wife after six long months.

She had to practically run to catch up with her father’s frantic pace, apologizing to the wake of disgruntled passengers as he shoved through them. Her father was in love, she couldn’t blame him for that, but she could blame him for embarrassing her at the same time. ‘Same ol’ dad, has a one track mind.’ She crossed her arms over her chest and waited by her dad, who somehow conjured up a bouquet of red roses. She rolled her eyes at the gesture as a scowl placed itself on her lips.

“There she is!” Her dad said as he slapped her repeatedly on the arm and grinned. ‘What is he, 12?’ She scanned the crowd to find the raven haired beauty that was her mother. She spotted her easily, adjusting the strap of the bag that was over her shoulder. She looked around before spotting the two and rushed over to them. She threw her arms around her husband’s neck and kissed him hard, her husband lifting her off of the ground with ease. Mack held her stomach as it twisted with a sense of nausea. “I’ve missed you, Charlotte,” he whispered once they pulled away and held out the roses.

“I missed you too, dear,” she replied with a bright smile, and then she turned to Mack. “How are you, babydoll?” She asked, using her nickname for her only child as she pulled her into a tight hug. She then held her daughter at arm’s length and studied her face. “What happened to your nose?” She questioned, biting her lip to keep from laughing out loud.

“Um, can we talk about it later?” She asked with a small smile of her own. She had to admit it was pretty funny, but that didn’t meant that she would let Justin off the hook that easily. “How was Canada?” She questioned as she grabbed her mother’s bag and the family walked towards the baggage claim.

“It’s the same, nothing has changed. David and Julie say ‘hi’,” Charlotte replied as she wrapped her arm around Philippe’s waist and he held his arm protectively around her shoulders. “I might have to go back at the end of the year, but that won’t be decided for a while.”

“Go back? Why?” Mack questioned, pulling her suitcase off of the baggage claim and placing it on the ground with the rest of her stuff. “I thought that was it.”

“There was some business that we never got a chance to finish there. But like I said sweetie, nothing’s been decided,” she said as she gently stroked her hair. Mack nodded and followed her parents out of the airport and back into the car. She lay down in the backseat and stared out the window as he parents talked quietly, mainly saying how much they missed each other. She eventually couldn’t take the sweet talking and dug around the pocket of the passenger seat and pulled out her CD player. She lifted the hood to her t-shirt to cover her headphones and pressed play. Automatically she relaxed when Two Princes by Spin Doctors filled her ears. It was her all time favorite song. She loved to dream up scenarios of the two boys and the girl of the story, each one ending in different ways once she chose one over the other.

Before she knew it they were home. Philippe carried Charlotte’s things to their room and immediately went to the kitchen to prepare her welcome back dinner while the girls sat in the living room in peaceful silence as they watched TV.

Charlotte broke the silence when a commercial came on. She muted the TV and turned to her daughter. “How’s school been?” She questioned.

Mack shrugged. Same ol’, same ol’. She went to school, did her work, went right to dance afterwards, hung out with Justin for a bit, went home, ate, bathed, did homework, went to sleep, and woke up to do it all over again. She shrugged again. “Nothing new. Even though freshman year’s just started we have a project in English due in two weeks. I’m halfway done.”

“You’re never one to procrastinate,” she stated.

“Not unless I really don’t feel like it, but Dad says I can’t let my grades fall so…” Mack studied her mom’s face. Her eyes were squinted slightly; she wanted to know something but was never one to get down to the root of the problem. “What do you really want to know?”

“What’s this I hear about you being a choreographer?” She questioned.

Mack went into the story on how the guys got a gig for Pleasure Island and how they wanted her to help them wow the crowds with choreography instead of just being a singing acapella group. Charlotte listened closely, nodding every now and then. “Dad said I could do it as long as I don’t let my grades drop.” She hesitated. ‘Should I tell mom about moving? She might not like me staying with a bunch of guys, but Lynn and Dianne will be there too so it’s not like I’d be the only girl there.’

“Sweetie, I can see the gears moving in your head. What is it you want to tell me?” Charlotte asked, gently nudging her daughter’s arm. Mack sighed; she hated how her mother knew her so well sometimes. It was no wonder she never got away with anything when she was younger.

“Lou Pearlman, the guys’ manager, wants them all to move into a house together so it’s easier for them to rehearse and work on their stuff. They…want me to move in too…so it’s easier to schedule dancing times with them.” She bit her lip, studying her mother’s face. It was blank. She let out a breath and continued. “I think it’s a good idea,” she rushed on. “And Lynn and Dianne will be there so I wouldn’t be the only girl in the house and it would be easier to schedule times and to reach each other to get this done. The Pleasure Island show is in October so it’s basically crunch time, we have to get a lot done in a month and being together will make it easier.” She let out a loud breath. She had crammed that all in one breath so she could get it out before her mother stopped her.

She looked at Charlotte out of the corner of her eye. She was deep in thought, lines on her forehead showing up as she tapped her chin. Mack waited, holding her breath, for her mother’s answer. “If Lynn and Dianne will be there…I don’t see why not.”

“R-really?” Mack’s blue eyes shone in excitement.

“Really. This will be a great opportunity for you. I don’t want to hold you back.”

“Wow, thanks mom!” She flung herself forward and hugged her mother tight. “We move tomorrow. I don’t have to move everything, they have dressers and beds all ready there, and I just have to move some of my clothes.” She hugged her mother again. “Thanks so much! Now, how was your trip?” She leaned back and waited for her mom to explain. It was Charlotte’s turn to get excited, she acted more like a teenager than a mother sometimes.

“It was amazing. My partner, Paul, and I made a lot of great deals for the company.” As Charlotte explained her experience Mack studied her mother’s radiant face as she spoke. Something was off, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She was talking about Paul and awful lot. ‘You’re just trying to find something wrong. Be happy for her’ she scolded herself as she smiled a little and nodded at what her mother was saying. ‘Everything’s finally going right for you guys.’