Chapter 3: He Likes Me, He Likes Me Not

“Come on, Mom. I don’t have a lot of stuff to move, can we just go all ready?” Mack called up the stairs the next morning. She was practically up at the crack of dawn that Sunday because she was, well, she didn’t know whether it was because she was excited or apprehensive. Either way she was practically out the door by the time her mother came down the stairs. “What took you so long?” Mack questioned, looking up at her mother. She squinted when she saw that her lipstick was smudged slightly. “Never mind, I don’t want to know,” she said as she held her hands up before her mother could say anything.

“Is that all you’re taking?” Charlotte questioned, looking down at the two boxes that were by the front door.

“One has my clothes, the other has pictures and posters and stuff, that’s all I need,” Mack replied with a shrug. “Dad, can you help me with these boxes?”

“Coming, honey.”

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“Ok, a little to the left.” Justin let out a puff of air as he shifted his grip on the bed. He looked up to see JC’s cheeks puffed out and his face turning red as he struggled to hold up the other side. They took a few shuffle-steps to the left. “No, a little more to the right.” Groaning, the boys shifted their grip again and shuffled to the right. “Hmm, no, back to the left up against the wall.” JC and Justin moved the bed over to the wall and dropped it. JC moved out of the way and helped Justin push the bed against the wall. “Thanks. Hmm, I wonder what this extra mattress is for.” Justin and JC groaned before falling over onto the extra mattress that was on the floor. “I guess it’s for that.”

“How’re y’all doin’?” Lynn asked as she came into the room.

“I think I killed your son, Lynn,” Mack said with an apologetic smile. “Hey, just be glad that my room’s on the bottom floor,” she addressed the guys as they glared at her.

Chris bounded into the room with a fist full of pixie stix. Justin’s eyes widened, all ready knowing that the pixie stix in Chris’s hand wouldn’t last for long if they haven’t been eaten all ready. “Guys, what’re you doin’ lying around? We have a trampoline and a pool!”

“You’d be out of strength too if you had a tyrant on your butt,” JC groaned, covering his eyes with his arm.

“Depends on who the tyrant is,” Chris said with a grin and shrugs before ripping open a few of the packages and downing it into his mouth.

“But this just proves that you’re nice young gentlemen to help her out,” Lynn said as Mack smiled innocently. Justin and JC scoffed as they forced themselves to their feet.

“Don’t fall for that innocent act, Mom,” Justin said as he shook his head. “On the outside is this sweet girl but underneath is this devil munchkin that uses young, fragile, good-looking boys to do her bidding.”

“You have quite the imagination,” Lynn said as she gently ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead. He made a face and frantically rubbed his forehead with his arm. He glared when he noticed the smirk on Mack’s face as she tried not to laugh when Lynn left the room.

“What’s so funny?” He demanded.

“You,” she responded. “’Young, fragile, good-looking boys’,” she repeated, deepening her voice to imitate Justin. “You must have a huge head on your shoulders to think that you’re all that good looking,” she chuckled.

“We are, and you totally believe that too,” Justin said as he poked her in the ribs. She squirmed and moved out of his reach as he smirked, knowing that she was ticklish. JC watched as Chris bounced up and down in his spot, ripping open more pixie stix and shoving them into his mouth. JC knew that he should being trying to keep Chris away from the powdered sugar, but he was eager to see the result of him eating all of them.

“Sorry to burst your ego, but I don’t,” Mack denied.

“Ah, but you do,” Justin said as he poked her again, a devilish grin crossing his lips.

“No I don’t.”

“Yes you do.”

“No I don’t.”

“Yes you doooo,” he said in a sing-song voice.

“Oh my god, no I don’t!” She let out a yelp when Justin started tickling her ribs. She burst out laughing and tried to get away from him. “He…help me!” She gasped, struggling even harder to get away from Justin.

“Do you admit that we’re good looking?” JC asked, finally breaking his gaze from Chris. She shook her head as she bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. “No deal,” he responded. “Chris, help Justin.”

“N–no!” She managed to get out of Justin’s grasp but he grabbed her wrists at the last second and knocked her onto her knees. He was laughing manically as Chris descended on her and started to tickle her. He dug his fingers into her ribs so it tickled but hurt at the same time, which made her fight even harder. “Help! Someone!” She shouted in the middle of her laughter.

Lance suddenly appeared in the doorway and surveyed the scene. Justin and Chris were practically sitting on top of Mack, who was pressed against the floor, red in the face, laughing hard as she tried to get away from them. JC was moving around the three, a brush in his hands, speaking into it as if he were a referee.

“Do I want to know what you’re doing?” Lance asked, standing in the doorway as if he were torn between staying and running. He glanced back and forth between the wrestling group and the hallway, as if torn in making a decision.

“We’re trying to get her to admit that we’re good-looking guys that she’d want to date but she won’t crack,” Chris responded, bouncing up and down on her hip.

“Wait! Who…hahaha…ever said anything about...hahahahahaha…dating you?” Mack gasped. “You just said…hahaha…for me to admit…th-that you’re…hahaha g-good loo-looking!”

“I think that’s a confession!” JC said into his ‘microphone’. “And it’s all over folks! It’s Boys: 1 Girl: 0. Thanks for playing and have a nice day!”

“What part…of ‘help’…do you not…understand?” Mack gasped as she stared hard at Lance. He shrugged and gave a sheepish smile. She merely shook her head and punched him on the arm. He blinked and otherwise had no reaction to her punch. When she turned around to look out the window he grabbed his arm as his eyes widened. Chris, JC, and Justin chuckled. She muttered something incoherent under her breath as she placed her hands on her hips. “I’m all moved in,” she announced.

“Don’t ya want anything else in here?” Justin asked looking around.

“No, if I ever need anything I can always just go back home,” she replied. “So, I’m bored. Let’s do something,” she proposed.

“Play on the trampoline!” Chris said as he bounced and down as if he were on one. Justin cringed; he knew he should’ve stopped Chris from eating those pixie stix. He wasn’t at his sugar peak yet and he was all ready starting to bounce up and down. It was only a matter of time until he reached his peak and then he would annoy them to no end.

“Hey, you promised that we’d do whatever I wanted to do this time if I played basketball with you last time,” Mack pointed out while shooting a glare at Justin, who averted his gaze so he was suddenly interested in the ceiling.

“She’s right, we did make a promise,” JC sighed. “Ok, what do you want to do?”

“Ice skate!”

“When was the last time you got your butt on the ice?” Justin questioned. Mack didn’t reply. “Ok, just know that we’ll be laughing our butts off when yours doesn’t come off the ice.” She stuck her tongue out at him and he returned the gesture eagerly.

The group moved into the kitchen where Lynn, Dianne, and Charlotte were talking and laughing happily. They explained that they were going to go ice skating and would be back later. They then piled into the five-seat car that was in the driveway, but not before a debated over who was going to drive, JC or Chris. They eventually got JC in the driver’s seat because they “wanted to make it to the rink in one piece, not millions of pieces,” to quote Lance.

“Where’s Joey? He said he’d meet us here,” Chris said as he jumped up and down to try and see over the many heads of the skaters. He then started jumping around in circles like a dizzy kangaroo. When his arms started flying was when everyone ducked for cover and ran to pay for their skate rentals.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late,” Joey panted as he ran over to where they were lacing up their skates.

“What took you so long, man?” Justin questioned.

“I was with–”

“Kelly,” Lance, JC, and Chris said the same time Joey did.

“What’s wrong with him wanting to spend time with his…?” Mack looked up at Joey, waiting for him to supply an answer on their status.

“Really really good friend,” he responded.

“You mean you’re not dating yet? After all this time you’ve spent with her?” Lance questioned.

“Well, we hang out a lot but I never really asked her out in an official way,” Joey explained as he dropped down next to them on the bench and pulling his ice skates onto his feet. “Anyway, who’s ready for me to whoop their butts on the ice in a little race?” He grinned at Mack. “How about you?”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m going to stick to the wall,” she said as she shook her head.

“But you’re Canadian,” he stated with a confused look on his face.

“Part Canadian and being an expert on the ice is a stereotype,” she said through clenched teeth. She hated having to repeat that part about herself, she didn’t pronounce about like ‘aboot’ and she didn’t say ‘eh’ at the end of every sentence.

“Hey, we’re penguins!” Justin called from the back of the line they were walking, more like shuffling, in to get to the ice. The boys cracked up, as if it were the funniest thing in the world while Mack fought to not roll her eyes. It was obvious that there was a huge lack of maturity in the group. “And you’re a wallflower!” He added as Mack stepped onto the ice but clung to the wall to keep from falling. Justin laughed, earning himself a halfhearted glare. “Relax, Mack,” he said. “We’re here to have fun.”

“No, you’re here to laugh as I fall on my butt and make a fool of myself.”

Justin feigned surprise. “So you’ve figured it out.”

Mack punched her friend in the arm, only to grasp said arm again to keep from slipping. She quickly transferred her hold from Justin to the rim of the surrounding wall, leaning against it for support.

“I’ll help,” Lance offered as he held out his arm. Mack stared at it, trying to figure out if it were a trick or not. Lance wasn’t one to make as many jokes as the other guys so she trusted him and grasped his arm. He placed his other hand on top of hers, like a gentleman, and pulled her away from the wall, gliding easily. “All you do is put your weight on one foot and then push off in that direction,” he demonstrated. “See? It’s easy.”

“How about I just stick to clinging to you for dear life?” She suggested after she almost wiped out, trying what he demonstrated.

He chuckled, “Ok, that’s fine with me.” He increased his grip on her hand before leading her around the rink. He blushed whenever the guys skated past them, calling out and cheering. “Sorry about them,” he mumbled.

“It’s all right,” Mack muttered her face also red. “When was the last time they had a girl to ice skate with?”

“Good point,” he chuckled. He felt a tug on his arm and turned his head to see Chris shove Mack hard enough that she let go of his arm and fell onto the ice on her butt.

“Ahhh, you’re finally falling for me,” Chris said before he burst out in hysterical laughter.

“What the hell!? Chris, I’m going to freaking kill you!” Mack shouted at him. She clenched her hands into fists and let out a slow breath before placing her hands on the ice. She tried to get to her feet but every time she managed to get up a little bit they slid out from underneath her and she found herself flat on the ground again.

“Something tells me that you shouldn’t yell ‘hell’ when there are a bunch of little kids around,” someone behind her said.

“What makes you think I care what you…” Mack turned to see the person behind her and finished muttering her last word. “Think?”

Standing behind her, laughing a little, was none other than Tony Lucca. He was on MMC with JC and Justin, but he started the same time JC did, which was the main reason the two became really good friends on the show. She sat there, gaping at him, as Lance introduced himself. Tony always had that affect on her, not that she’d ever admit it.

“Mini, wow. It’s been a while, how’ve you been?” Tony asked as he grabbed her hands and easily pulled her to her feet.

“Uh…fine,” she mumbled. ‘Curse my lack of intelligence!’ She shifted the weight on her feet nervously, grabbing onto Lance when she almost fell over. “I’m helping Lance and his friends with the group they’re starting. I’m their choreographer.”

“Oh, that’s cool. You know, it really doesn’t surprise me that you would be a choreographer. You’re an amazing dancer, I’m really surprised the MMC execs didn’t try and get you on the show,” he said in thought.

“Yeah, well, I don’t deal with authority and control well,” she mumbled, lowering her head as her cheeks heated up.

“Tony?” Tony turned and grinned when JC and Justin glided up to them. “Tony, my man! How’re you doin’, buddy?” JC asked as they exchanged a guy hug.

“I’m doin’ great. How about you?”

“Great, man. Justin and I are trying to get a singing group together,” JC replied. “What have you been doing?”

“Playing guitar and singing,” Tony responded. “I’m trying to get a recording contract.”

“Oh, you totally will. Anyone that tries to turn you away would be kicking themselves later,” Justin spoke up. “Hey, you two loons!” He shouted to Joey and Chris who were wrestling each other down to the icy surface. “Those two idiots over there are Chris and Joey; they’re in our group too.”

“Hmm, should’ve known that you wouldn’t be able to sit around and do nothing, even for a while,” Tony commented.

“Hey, they’re doing a showcase at Pleasure Island in a month,” Mack spoke up. Her throat locked and the words refused to come out when Tony’s eyes rested on her. She felt her face heating up again and fought to keep herself from twisting a strand of her hair around her ear. “You…you should come.”

“That’d be great.” Mack beamed. “I’ll see if Keri can come too.” Her smile faded slightly. Tony glanced at his watch. “I gotta get going. It was great seeing you guys again.” He gave them a little wave before turning around skating towards the exit.

“Oh, guys we better go ourselves before my mom calls a search party on us,” Justin said, glancing at the clock on the far wall. “And trust me; she would go through with that.”

The group then, clumsily, made their way off of the ice, but they took the time to try and knock each other down along the way. Joey easily knocked everyone over and was able to skate out of the reach of their hands. They went back to their cars, Joey following them. Mack was silent the entire way back, even when some of her favorite songs came on the radio. Usually she’d be singing along at the top of her lungs but she stared out the window.

“Someone talk to her,” Lance spoke up. All of the guys were sitting in the hallway right outside Mack’s room. She had gone straight there once they got home and she hadn’t come out since. Dinner was in a few minutes and they didn’t want her to miss it.

“Ok, about what?” Justin questioned.

“About whatever’s bothering her,” Lance replied slowly, as if talking to a kindergartener.

“Do you happen to know what is bothering her?” Lance stayed silent. “Thought so.”

“Oh!” JC suddenly exclaimed, causing all of them to jump. “I think I just figured it out.”

“Good, now you can talk to her,” Joey pointed out.

“Wait, what? I don’t–”

“Nose goes!” Chris shouted, practically shoving his finger up the nose in the process of placing it on his nose. Justin, Lance, and Joey quickly brought their fingers up to their noses so JC was the only one without a finger to his nose.

‘God, I should’ve seen that coming!’ JC groaned as the other guys chuckled and ran away, to play video games probably. ‘Great, now how am I going to make sure she doesn’t get mad at me?’ JC sat there for about a minute longer before he finally got up and knocked on the door.

“Go away!” Mack’s muffled voice shouted back.

“Mack, let me in. I just want to talk to you,” he called through the door.

“I don’t want to talk to anyone! Is it that hard to understand?”

“Come on!”

“NO!”

JC sighed heavily when Charlotte came over to him. She backed away as she knocked on the door. “Babydoll, open the door. Josh is just trying to help you. You don’t have to say anything, just listen to what he has to say.” They waited as silence stretched. “Please, honey?” They waited in silence again. Charlotte lifted her hand to knock again when the door cracked open. “Please get her out, soon. Dinner’s ready in a few.”

JC nodded and stepped into the room. Mack was sitting cross-legged on her bed, scribbling furiously in a notebook. He was surprised that it hadn’t caught on fire by how fast she was writing. There was no doubt that there was a lot of friction. “Umm, what’re you doing?” He questioned before squeezing his eyes shut. ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid.’

“Are you blind as well as deaf?” She questioned in a harsh tone without looking up.

“No.” JC grabbed her swivel chair and sat down, watching her.

“Do you want to say something or are you going to keep looking at me?” She asked with a sigh after a few minutes of silence.

“I just want to say one thing to you, and then I’ll leave you alone,” he promised.

“Ok, go ahead.”

“They don’t call it a crush because it feels good.” Mack stared at him, hard. After a few seconds JC moved to get out of the chair but Mack stopped him. She motioned for him to continue. “You like Tony,” he stated.

“What makes you say that?” She questioned. Outside she was calm but inside she was sweating and the only thing she wanted was to get out of the room.

“If I recall, the first day you visited the MMC set with Justin you wouldn’t stop following him,” he stated. “He didn’t mind, but that was a big clue,” he quickly added. “Valentine’s Day one year, you gave him a massive block of chocolate. You can’t talk when you’re around him. You act, well, basically like a girl around him.” He had been counting on his fingers but he stopped. “Would you like me to go on?”

“I’d rather you leave,” she replied. “No,” she quickly corrected herself. “Actually, I’d like for you to answer a question. If you knew about my supposed crush on Tony, why didn’t you say anything?”

“’Cause I thought you knew that he and Keri were together,” JC replied honestly. “’Cause I thought it was just a little kid crush and that you wouldn’t do anything about it.” He sighed. “Honestly, I would’ve told you, but like I said I had no clue it would get this far, otherwise I would’ve tried to make you avoid it.”

“I can handle it,” she declared. “I may be a girl but I’m not a china doll.” She sounded stern but there was a smile on her face. JC sighed. She was slowly going back to her normal attitude, which was a good sign. “Is it dinner yet, I’m starving?” Her appetite was back, which was another good sign.

“I think it is. Let’s go check,” JC said with a bright smile. It seemed that as long as they keep her happy, nothing could go wrong. She did have their lives in her hand, so to speak.