“Whoooo! That show was so awesome!” Justin shouted as he ran off of the stage, pulling off his blue shirt and throwing it into the bin with the rest of their sweaty clothes from that night. He, like the rest of the guys, were wearing wife beaters and long white pants as they always fo after their shows.

“Quick, we gotta get to the bus,” JC called back to the guys before he started running out of the venue, the other boys following close behind. Some people from security ran with them to protect the boys in case some fans made their way backstage.

“Ok, we got one…two…three…four…all five boys, let’s move out,” their bodyguard, Tiny, said into a walkie talkie before getting onto the bus himself. The boys, wiping off their sweaty faces, sighed and dropped down either on the couch, the seats at the ‘kitchen’ table and on the floor.

“Ugh. Guys, you know the rules: put a towel down wherever you lay down after a show,” Mack groaned, coming from the back of the bus. The boys merely looked up at her before returning their attention back to the TV that was turned on. “I hate it when you do that,” she grumbled, sitting down in the empty seat on the couch next to Lance.

“We hate it when you nag but you’re not going to stop that either,” JC pointed out.

The boys then fell into their nightly routine of arguing over who gets to shower first, then racing each other to the bathroom to see who could actually get into the shower first. Next came the yelling through the bathroom door and, finally, the acceptance that they hadn’t gotten there first.

Justin was the only one who broke the routine. He had taken Lance’s place on the couch and was lying down so his head was resting in Mack’s lap. She was absentmindedly running her fingers through his short curls. His eyes were closed and a small smile was on his face. He loved the feeling of fingers moving through his hair, it instantly calmed him. This was one of the moments he looked forward to after their shows.

“What’s goin’ on in your mind, Juppy?” Mack finally asked. She sensed that he had something on his mind since he woke up that morning. He tried to hide it by being his usual energetic self but she––like usual––could see through his façade.

“Nothing,” he replied instantly.

“Don’t you lie to me, Justin Randall,” Mack said in a warning tone. “Or I’m going to have to tickle it out of you. It’s your pick.” She raised her hands and held them over his stomach. He finally opened his eyes and looked up at her, trying to see if she were serious or not.

“I’ve…been thinking lately,” Justin replied. “About how I miss MMC sometimes.”

“Ohh. This is a conversation you need to have with C,” Mack said, nodding as if she understood. “Joshua, come here please!” She shouted in a slightly sing-song tone. Justin let out a sigh. He really only wanted to talk to her but she had a point. If there was any person to talk to about MMC, it would be JC.

“What is it?” JC asked, pulling a clean shirt down over his head. Justin and Mack stared at his shirt of choice. It was a pale pink shirt, but a pink shirt nonetheless. “What?” He demanded when he noticed them looking at him. “It’s a shirt, get over it.”

“Are you sure you’re not–?” Justin started.

“Are you sure you two aren’t dating?” JC immediately shot back, sitting down at the table. His back was resting against the wall so his legs were stretched out. He rested his palms on his stomach as he grinned.

“Touché,” Justin mumbled.

“So, what’s up? You needed me up here for a reason, right?” JC finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah,” Justin replied. “I was just thinking about MMC.” He paused and looked over at JC. The thoughtful expression never left his face. “I was thinking about how I missed being able to see each other every day. I miss being able to hang out every day after we’re done on set. I miss the close community we had built up. Now we’re split up in different places barely having any time to talk to each other. What happened to us, C?”

JC squinted at Justin as if trying to probe the younger man’s brain to find the reason behind the sudden nostalgia. “J…is it the community you missed or a specific person?”

“A specific person?” Justin repeated, chuckling a bit. “Like who?”

“I dunno…Ryan? TJ? Christina? Britney, perhaps? After all, you were her first kiss.” Justin sat up so fast that Mack didn’t have time to move out of the way and his forehead collided with her nose. The two groaned in pain as JC smiled. He turned his head and looked out the window when he felt the bus shudder to a stop at a gas station. “Judging by your reaction I’m right, like always.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Justin said as he swung his legs down and pulled his shoes towards himself. “Should we wake them up?” He asked, changing the subject and gesturing to the back of the bus where snores were heard now that the bus engine was cut off.

“We’ll bring them something back and don’t change the subject,” JC replied pulling his own shoes onto his feet. Justin didn’t reply, he merely jumped off of the bus and sprinted towards the Wawa building. JC chuckled when he saw Tiny, one of the men on their security team, hustle after him.

“He’s like a scared little boy,” Mack remarked, watching through the window. She stood next to JC, arms crossed over her chest, a smile making its way onto her face.

“You have an idea?” JC asked without looking at her. He watched as Britney’s bus stopped at another gas pump and she got off, walking arm-in-arm with Felicia across the parking lot towards the mart.

“Don’t I always?” Mack replied.

“Unfortunately.” He paused. “I’m not on the receiving end of this one, am I?”

“No, I’m saving something better for you,” she replied with a cheeky smile.

“Oh, aren’t I the lucky one,” he muttered sarcastically with an eye roll. “To ease my mind, what are you planning for those two?”

“They’re going to spend some…quality time together and you’re going to help me set it up.”

“What do I get out of helping you?” JC asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I won’t be mean to you or make fun of you for a week. That includes insults, name calling, and jokes.”

“A month.”

‘Two weeks.”

“Deal.”

As the partners in crime got off the bus Mack filled JC in on her plan. He listened intently and nodded, giving his two cents to make the plan more believable. Once they entered Wawa they split up and went their separate ways, searching for their targets.

Justin grumbled to himself as he scanned the Gatorade bottles that were on display. He was having a hard time deciding which flavor to get. He couldn’t choose just any flavor; it had to be the perfect one. The flavor would have to get him energized and ready for the day.

“Hey.” Justin jumped and whirled around, backing into the shelf that held the drinks. “What’re you so jumpy for?” JC questioned, raising his eyebrows.

“Why the hell are you sneaking up on me like that, man?” Justin retorted.

“You never answered my question,” JC continued as if ignoring what Justin had just said. He waited for Justin to acknowledge him but he went back to studying the flavors of the sports drink. “What suddenly brought on your nostalgia?” Again Justin stayed quiet. JC looked up over the shelf and his eyes rested on the tuft of blond hair that was moving down another aisle. JC looked back at the young boy who was staring too hard at the labels to actually be reading it. “Look, man,” JC started, lowering his voice.  He hesitated, licked his lips, and continued, “We have the day off tomorrow. Britney wants to know if you’ll have lunch with her. Around three o’clock at a cafe called Garden of Eat’n.”

Justin tore his eyes away from the drinks and locked eyes with JC. Was JC telling the truth? Did Britney really want to spend time with Justin? Justin was stuck on how to answer. He wanted to go out with Britney. Really wanted to go, but there was something about her that’s…different. He couldn’t put his finger on it but it was a good thing. Something about her made him smile whenever he was around her, made him feel like he was floating on air, made him feel…alive.

“Why isn’t she asking me herself?” Justin asked slowly, studying JC’s face to see if the older boy was lying.

“She’s a chick! Do you really think I know what goes on in their minds? If I did, I’d quit the band, write a book, and answer the one question that boys have been dying to answer,” JC replied, throwing his hands into the air. “Do you want to go or not?” He looked over Justin’s head––even though he was still growing, Justin was still a bit shorter than him––to see Britney starting to turn the corner into their aisle.

“Uhh…yeah, sure,” Justin said with a nonchalant shrug. Inside he was doing backflips and trying to hold in his excitement. ‘Finally I can hang out with Brit. This will be so cool, we can finally catch up on things.’ The smile slowly slid off of Justin’s face.

“What?” JC asked, alarmed, as he continued to dart his eyes back and forth between the curly haired boy and the blond at the end of the hall.

“What if she, I don’t know, thinks this is a date or something?” Justin mumbled, oblivious to JC’s antics. “Dude, what if this is a date?”

“Just ask her,” JC replied.

“I can’t do that. What if I think it is and she doesn’t? Then it’ll be weird. Oh man, what am I going to say?” Justin rambled. “I can’t go by myself. C, you have to go with me.”

“What? Why?”

“You’ve been on dates and non-dates before. You can coach me through it. Please? Please?” Justin asked, grabbing JC’s shoulders and shaking him. JC stared at Justin, half amused that Justin was panicking over something that neither party ever described as a date and half scared over the fact that Justin was panicking about something seemingly insignificant.

“Ok, ok!” JC said as he pried Justin’s hands off of his shoulders. “Just tell me one thing.”

“Yeah. What?”

“Why are you panicking so much? It’s just B.” Justin slowly shook his head and walked away, leaving JC in his wake. JC turned around and jumped when he saw his partner in crime standing behind him. “My half is done. The only problem is that I have to go with J on this ‘date’,” JC groaned.

“You too?” Mack raised her eyebrows. “B said the only way she’d go if I went with her.”

“Great plan, genius,” JC said with an eye roll. “Now we’re going on this date too.”

“Hey, my plan isn’t over yet. I’ll make this work.”

~*~*~*~

Britney hummed as she brushed her hair, smiling at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were brighter than before and a smile seemed to be stuck on her face since she found out that she’d get to hang out with Justin that day. She could barely sleep when she heard that Justin wanted to take her out to lunch. She’s always dreamed of this day, ever since she met the curly haired twelve-year-old on the set her first day.

She was instantly smitten with the Tennessee native when they first met. She loved everything about him: the way he respected his elders, his smooth dancing style, and his cute accent. She especially loved the way he could light up the room just by walking into it.

Being the youngest allowed them to work with each other a lot. The writers had to have noticed their chemistry, that’s why they were put together in skits. At least, that’s what she convinced herself. Even when the show was cancelled and she started working on her own career she couldn’t stop her thoughts from drifting over to him, wondering how his career was going and if he was seeing anyone.

Once she heard that they were going on tour together she jumped around her room, cheering as she hugged the stuffed bunny he had given her unknowingly on their last day. When they actually met up at the airport in Florida her breath got caught in her throat and her palms flooded when she rested her eyes on the now older curly haired boy. She swore she was in love at the moment.

“Fe, can you help me with my hair?” Britney shouted after frowning at her reflection for the third time.

Felicia, her personal assistant, laughed as she moved into the back of the tour bus and noticed the distraught look on Britney’s face. She took the brush that Britney was holding out to her and began to brush the blonde’s hair. “So, are you excited?” Felicia asked, her southern drawl thick and filled with excitement.

“Of course, Fe,” Britney replied, a grin spreading across her face. “I’ve been waiting for this moment since I met Justin.” Her smile faded a bit. “I just don’t understand why he didn’t ask me out himself.”

“He’s a boy, he was probably shy or afraid of how you’d react,” Felicia replied, calming Britney’s nerves almost instantly. “Where are you two meeting again?”

“Garden of Eat’n. Isn’t that cute?” Britney gushed, clasping her hands together.

“You’re going by yourselves?” Felicia asked, looking at Britney in the mirror and raising an eyebrow.

“I…I was actually kind of nervous so I asked if Mack could come with me,” Britney admitted, blushing as Felicia put down the brush and fluffed her hair with her fingers.

“Brit!” Felicia gasped before laughing. “You wanted this moment and you can’t even go by yourself?”

“I…I needed someone there to help me in case something went wrong or there was an awkward pause or something. I would’ve asked Christina if she were here,” Britney defended. “Don’t you laugh at me, Felicia!” She lightly swatted her friend’s leg.

“I’m sorry, B,” Felicia apologized, the smile still on her face. “What I really meant to ask is if you are taking a bodyguard with you? It’d be too easy for fans to get to you and interrupt your date if you didn’t.”

Britney giggled at the word ‘date’. She couldn’t help it. “Justin said something about bringing Tiny with him. Oh, you should come too, Fe. You can keep Tiny company.”

“Ok, but what is Mackenzie going to do? She’d probably end up feeling like a third wheel.”

Britney shrugged. “Maybe Justin can get JC to go, that way she has someone to talk to.” She suddenly got up and started jumping up and down on her bed. “Oh, I’m so excited!” She stopped jumping and landed on the bed in a sitting position. “What am I going to wear? Fe! You have to help me pick something out!”

~*~*~*~

Justin gulped and stood as Britney crossed the café and walked in his direction, smiling brightly. Suddenly his palms sweated and his heart fluttered as he took in her appearance. If there were a better word than beautiful in the English dictionary he would use it to describe her.

“H-hey Brit, glad you could make it,” he said with a smile while mentally slapping himself for rhyming.

“Thanks for inviting me,” Britney replied. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought Mack with me,” she added, motioning to the dark haired girl who had an annoyed look in her eyes and her arms were crossed over her chest.

“Oh, I don’t mind. I brought C with me,” Justin said as he jerked his thumb in JC’s direction. “Oh, and Tiny came too, for protective measures.”

“Same with Felicia.” Britney tilted her head in the direction of her assistant who took a seat in the corner with Tiny, away from the table but close enough in case the two needed a quick getaway. An uncomfortable silence fell between the two as they sifted nervously; sneaking a glance at each other when they thought the other wasn’t looking.

“I’m…going to go to the bathroom real quick,” Britney finally broke the silence. She grabbed Mack’s upper arm and pulled her to the bathroom with her.

Justin let out a breath and dropped down in his seat, holding his face in his hands. “Wow…that was a very stimulating conversation,” JC joked. Justin glared at him through his fingers.”I’m trying to lighten the mood, so sue me.”

“Shut up, Jace,” Justin groaned. “God, I’m such an idiot.”

“No you’re not,” JC said as he patted Justin’s arm. “You’re just…young to put it simply. You’re being too hard on yourself. I don’t get why you’re making a huge deal about this.”

“Because it’s….Britney,” Justin replied after a few seconds of struggling for the right thing to say. “It’s…she…I…it just is a big deal.” He couldn’t bring himself to say what he was thinking. He wanted to tell JC that it’s a big deal because his feelings for Britney have changed. When they first reunited Justin was frozen in shock. She has really grown up since they last saw each other. Sure, she was still the same sweet southern girl that he hung out with on the MMC set, but now…Justin couldn’t put his finger on it but there was something about her that made him wish they were more than friends.

“Becaussssse?” JC asked trying to hide the smile that was forming on his face. He had his suspicions on why Justin was acting weird but he wanted to hear it from the younger guy himself.

“Because I, kinda, maybe…like Britney?” It came out more as a question than a statement.

“Annnnnnnd?”

“And…I want to, I don’t know, impress her I guess.” He shrugged.

“There, now was that so hard to admit?” JC asked, smiling. “Don’t you worry about a thing, man. Let me take care of this.” His smile got slightly bigger when the girls sat back down at the table. When Britney and Justin hid behind their menus JC lightly kicked Mack to get her attention.

“What?” She seemed to be asking with her eyes.

“Your plan is going down the drain. Allow me to step in,” JC’s smirk replied. “So guys,” he spoke up. Justin and Britney lowered their menus at the same time. They glanced at each other and blushed before looking at JC. “How about we go roller blading after lunch? There’s a great park nearby and we can just rent the skates on the spot.”

“Sure. That sounds like a lot of fun, JC,” Britney said brightly with a smile. Justin merely nodded his agreement and grumbled under his breath. The waitress finally came by and took their orders.

The silence was filled with small talk, mainly about how the other was doing in the music business, where they wanted to go, and what kind of music they wished they could try out. Justin stayed quiet most of the time, mentally kicking himself from time to time for not saying something clever to make Britney laughed.

He loved it when she laughed.

~*~*~*~

“Aaaah! Justin, help!” Britney cried and giggled at the same time as she tried to stay on her feet.

“Whoa, girl,” Justin laughed. “I got you.” He quickly wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her on her feet. The two blushed at their close contact and Justin quickly let go of her. “Better?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” He flashed her his patented Timberlake Charm smile. “Uh, B? I want to tell you something.”

“Ok, what’s up?” She asked, pushing off with her foot and the two glided forward on the asphalt path. “Whoa!” Her arms flailed as she tried to regain her balance. Justin was by her side in an instant, holding her around the waist again with his right arm and holding her left hand with his left. “Thanks, Stinky.”

He laughed at her nickname for him. “I still don’t get how I got that name,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Anyway, what I wanted to say was…I’m glad you decided to come on tour with us. I really wanted to see you again; I just didn’t know how to ask.”

“Just asking me would’ve been fine,” she replied, giggling a little at how shy he was acting. “For the record, I really wanted to see you too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Hey slowpokes, come on! If we move fast enough we can catch the ice cream trolley!” Mack shouted a little bit down the asphalt road.

“Shall we, Stinky?” Britney asked, giggling a bit.

Justin let go of her waist and switched hands so he was holding her left with his right. “We shall, Pinky.” He gave her a little squeeze and followed the path to the trolley in the distance.