At Home

“Yo! We’re gonna be late dip-shit!” Chris yelled, pounding down on the bedroom door.

“Chris!” Lance scolded, opening the door opposite to the one Chris was pounding on. “Leave’em alone would ya? You know how he’s been lately. It’s only been a week”

Chris rolled his eyes and turned to face Lance. “You know, I don’t see what he’s so down about anyways. He should be glad that gold-digger is out of his life. She just used him for his publicity and fame, not to mention the way she went through his money just about as much as Justin went through hair bleach.”

“Hey!” Justin said defensively stepping into the hallway to join Chris and Lance. He ran a hand through his bleached blonde head of curls and frowned. “Girls dig this new do”

Lance stifled a laugh but Chris just shook his head and turned back to pounding on the door. “Joshua Scott Chasez if you don’t get out here in the next 5mins we’re gonna have to think of ways to break it to our millions of fans that there’s only 4 NSYNC members left instead of 5!!”

Still no answer. Chris sighed, looking at Justin and Lance.

Joey came out of the bathroom a little bit further down the hall, the sound of the toilet flushing echoing behind him as he walked up to join his band mates.

“Jeez Joe you could have used some Febreze or something! God!” Chris complained holding his nose. Joey just gave a smirk. He was the only NSYNC member that was just completely shameless.

“Sorry, burritos and root beer for breakfast didn’t exactly cooperate too well with my stomach this morning”

“No shit” Justin mumbled waving his hand by his nose.

“What’s the problem out here, anyways?” Joey asked, ignoring Justin’s remark

“JC’s still in is room, and he’s taking forever.” Lance explained.

“- And he’s gonna make us all late” Chris but in, yelling, just to get JC to hear him.

Just then, the bedroom door swung open, and an irritated JC stood in the doorframe. Chris, Lance, Justin and Joey all stood in a semi-circle around JC’s door and stared at him. His cheeks were flushed, and his hair was disheveled. His shirt was wrinkled and he wore faded denim jeans. Thank God they’d have makeup/hair done and costume change at the video shoot.

“Let’s go” JC growled slapping his baseball cap on to his head pulling it lower over his eyes and forehead and pushed his way through Justin and Lance, not making any eye contact, to make his way up the corridor and through the front door, slamming it so hard on his way out it made the framed picture of the five of them next to the door shake.

Chris, Just, Joey and Lance just stared after him, speechless. They had never seen JC act the way he just did. Whenever he had a personal problem, he usually kept to himself, and dealt with it in private, rarely ever filling in the rest of guys on the major details much less taking out his emotions on them.

Joey was the first to speak up. “He’s still taking it pretty bad huh?”

“I didn’t realize it was that bad” Justin said

“Should we try to convince him to talk to us?” Lance asked

“I don’t think so Lance” Joey replied. “He’ll talk to one of us when he’s ready. For now I think we should just leave him be, and let him deal with this on his own, if he feels it’s what he needs”

Justin nodded.

“I just don’t see why he’s taking it out on us. We’re just trying to help.” Chris mumbled

“I don’t think being impatient and judgmental is helping him Chris” Justin spoke up softly.

Chris glared at him.

 “Look, I don’t think what Allison did to JC is right. Hell if she was standing here right now I’d probably give her the cursing of her lifetime, but let’s face it, even though we all hated her, JC loved her, man. She broke his heart, he’s entitled to some moping around”

Lance and Joey both nodded.

Chris sighed. “Alright I’ll lay off. But if all this even has the slightest effect on his commitment towards NSYNC, then don’t expect me to sugarcoat my words when I talk to him”

“Fair enough” Joey said.

Just then, the front door opened so quickly, you could feel the breeze. It caused the four of them to look up.

JC stood glaring them. “You’re the one who wanted to leave. So get your asses out here so we’re not late for our video shoot” He then slammed the door, again rattling the frames on the wall next to it.

They sighed and left the house, already to see JC seated in the passenger seat of the van with his elbow propped up on the door and his fist supporting the side of his head. He just stared ahead, not looking at anything in particular. Justin, Joey and Lance piled into the backseat while Chris headed for the driver’s seat. The car was silent while they all got settled in.  Chris started the engine and backed out of the driveway of the house the five of them shared. They were a good half hour from the studio where their ‘Tearin’ Up My Heart’ video shoot was supposed to take place so Chris suggested they play a game to help pass the time.

Everyone agreed, besides JC who just kept staring straight ahead and said nothing.

“What about ‘Do Run Run’?” Justin suggested, knowing it was one of JC’s favorite car games.

Lance, Joey and Chris all agreed.

“Who’s gonna start?” Lance asked

“I will!” Chris volunteered, keeping his hands on the steering wheel and his gaze focused on the road in front of him.

“Go ahead”

“Alright, umm..” He looked at the digital clock in his car and started in song, to go along with the rhythm of their ‘Do Run Run’ song. “Today we are really late!”

The three in the backseat broke out too. “Do Run Run Run, Do do-do-do yea”

Justin: “If we get in trouble we can use Lance as bait” Everyone laughed, Chris could even see the corners of JC’s mouth twitch.

Do Run Run

Lance:  “If you keep bleaching your hair you’ll never get a date” he sang

Joey: “I wanna learn to ice-skate!” Random ol’ Joe.

They all looked at JC to hear his part, and he sensed it.

He sang softly. “Because of Allison I’ll never have a soul mate”

Joy kill!

The car became silent again. Chris looked over again at the digital clock, seeing they had only killed 4mins, plus they were victims of rush-hour traffic. He sighed but JC was actually the first to speak up, to their surprise.

“Sorry” he murmured, so quietly it was practically a whisper.

“Wanna talk about it C?” Chris offered.

JC lifted his head for the first time and took off his baseball cap. He ran a hand through the dark waves of his hair and leaned back. “I just don’t get it. I don’t get her! I mean, I loved her! And to turn me down is one thing, sure, but to turn me down because she’s been fucking some other guy for God knows how long is another!”

“We’re sorry C” Justin said quietly.

JC heaved a big sigh. “I’m sorry too. For snapping at you guys. I just, I need some time to get my head together alright?”

They all nodded. Atleast they had gotten JC to talk to them, and he apologized! Bonus!

Now if only they could get him through the shoot.

At the Video Shoot

“..And no matter what I do I feel the pain. With or without you..” JC sang the words with his with his eyes closed, ending the the song looking down to his feet while the cameras rolled. All the singing and dancing caused him to breathe heavily. They had been at this for the past 9 hours, and this had been their final take. By now it was almost 11pm and they guys were exhausted, but yet glad they had gotten the shots they wanted. Turns out they had gotten to their shoot late and just like he promised, Justin blamed it on Lance, which caused a friendly and amusing bickering between the two.

The shoot started off a little tense. The audio & video crew could tell that something was up with JC but the guys just told them to ignore it. JC did what he had to do. He cooperated with everyone, he didn’t speak unless he was spoken to, and he used the song to express the tornado of emotions that spiraled within him. By now he was just ready to go home and return to his beloved bed.

“And.. we’re done” The director called out with a smile. “We did it! We got a video!”

“Woohoo!” The other 4 members of NSYNC all started cheering and high fiving each other, while JC just nodded and barely gave a smile. He was happy they had gotten through the video, but.. The spark just wasn’t with him right now.

He quietly crept off the set and headed for his duffel bag resting on the ground next to the lights and yanked it onto his shoulder. He quietly and patiently stood there while everyone else was all smiles, satisfied they had gotten through the day.

“Good job C!” Their manager Johnny said to him while passing by.

“Thanks” JC replied

Joey and Chris ran up to him while Lance and Justin went to get the rest of their bags.

“Atleast put on a smile Jace! We’re done with the video and we don’t have any more NSYNC stuff to do until Friday!” said Joey

“You know what that means” Chris said mischievously wiggling his eyebrows

“I’m not up for any of that tonight guys. I’m tired” JC said

Lance and Justin joined them.

“We don’t care!” Justin began. “All 5 of us are going out tonight and we’re gonna celebrate!”

“Justin you’re not even old enough to go clubbing with us” JC put in reminding Justin that he was only 17.

“He’ll get in C. We have the hook up remember?” said Lance. “Now come on! You can sleep in tomorrow morning, but right now, we’re getting your mind off of Allison and you’re gonna go out, and have a good time with your friends. Kapeesh?”

JC looked up at his friends and sighed. “One hour. And then I’m taking the car, leaving your asses to find some other way home”

“Oh no you’re not. I’ve got the keys” Chris said holding up the silver object. “You’re leaving when we leave. We’re not letting you mope around tonight. Now c’mon let’s go”

Joey grabbed JC by the arm and pulled him out to the car, yelling their ‘Good-bye’s and Thank you’s’ to everyone on their way out.

“Can’t we atleast go home and change first or get something to eat?” JC whined.

“No!” The other four said in unison. It was the fourth time JC had asked the same question, each time saying it in a different way.

“If we go home, you’re probably gonna lock yourself in your room and you won’t come out. We’re gonna get sweaty again at the club so it makes no sense to go home and shower right now. And you can get something at the bar. Now quit your whining! We’re here” Chris said pulling to the side of the road. They could already hear the loud music exploding throughout the club doors.

Inside The Club

The music was pounding and JC could feel the adrenaline run through his veins. The dance floor was packed! Bodies were backed up against each other.

“Pstt” Joey hissed as a girl wearing a strapless bra under fishnets and a black shorts with stiletto heels walked past them. JC barely noticed her.

“Damn, this place got all sorts of fine ass chicks walking around” Justin said as he scanned the crowd.

“And they’re all too old for you Timberlake” Chris remarked.

Justin ignored him.

“C’mon, let’s see if we can get any of the girls here to dance with us” Lance said

The four guys started walking onto the dance floor but turned around and looked at each other hesitantly when JC called out to them.

“I’ll be at the bar”

They nodded and moved onto the dancefloor.

JC stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans and sat down on one of the stools at the bar.

“A beer please” He told the waitress politely.

“Coming right up” She replied. She slid the cold drink over the counter towards him and popped it open for him.

“Thanks” JC said handing her the $10 dollar bill.

“You got it” she said

He took a sip of his beer and leaned back on the counter, his eyes scanning the dance floor. He saw Justin flirting with some blonde near the speakers and Joey and Chris were grinding to the music with a couple of brunettes while Lance made conversation with a red head while moving in rhythm to the music. JC took another gulp of his drink, the alcohol in it briefly burning his throat. He heard some commotion a few stools away and the other end of the bar so he shifted his focus to see what was going on.

“Leave me alone you freak!” a girl in a blue halter and black mini with knee high boots said, her left hand pushing against some drunk guy’s chest. She had a drink in her right hand.

“C’mon baby don’t be like that” the guy said pushing his hips up against her. “You know you want this” She raised her hand and threw the alcohol in his face.

“Shit!” He exclaimed.

“Get away from me!” the chick said

“Fuck you bitch!” he spat. The girl looked hurt, staring after him as he walked to the other end of the bar, having to pass JC while doing so.

JC used the remainder of his and casually spilled it on the area in front of him on the ground. The guy passed, frustrated still rubbing his eyes and angrily mumbling to himself. A few steps later, JC turned to the side, trying to look normal. He knew what was about the take place.

The guy kept walking nearing closer to JC’s stool. His quiet mumbling turned into a semi-loud yelp as he skated on the spilled drink he hadn’t noticed on the floor and fell on his back. JC had to bite his lip and hold his breath to keep from laughing out loud in front of him.

“Fuck this” the drunk muttered. “I’m outta here”

JC smiled as the watched the guy get up and angrily push his way past the crowd of people in front of him, disappearing in the crowd. JC turned back to the side to face in the direction where the girl was still sitting with a smile, but her mouth was open in amazement. She had seen what JC  did.

JC gave her a shy smile and winked at her, in a way to say “No problem”. He turned back to the bar, he elbows flat on the marble counter (that was kinda sticky too), his forearms on top of each other.

He waited patiently for the waitress to come back and get him another drink. He was about to signal for her but he felt a hand tapping gently on his shoulder. He spun around on the stool only to come face to face with the woman who he thought was at the end of the bar. Well she works fast.

“Uh, hi” she said shyly. She was holding two beer bottles.

“Hi” JC replied, giving her a small smile. She had awesome chocolate brown eyes and her cinnamon brown hair with auburn highlights fell in waves effortlessly past her shoulders.

“I saw what you did a while ago. Thanks, I appreciate it. Some of the guys here are pure losers”

JC chuckled. “It was no problem, really.” He looked down at the beer bottles and back to her. “Are one of those for me?”

“Oh, yea!” She handed one of the beers to him, she had momentarily gotten lost in his sea blue eyes. “You kind of wasted your drink on the floor so I thought I could repay you”

JC accepted the drink. “Thank you. But like I said, it really wasn’t much. That dude caused you to waste your drink on him and I made him get hurt using my drink. All I really did was help karma out”

The girl giggled. “Well, um, thank you.”

There was an awkward silence that lasted for about less than a second before someone spoke up.

“Uh, I’m Josh by the way” JC extended his free arm out to her

“I’m Liz” she shook his hand

Man her hands are really soft! JC felt the electricity shoot up and down his spine and run through his veins as their skin made contact. If Liz felt it too (and she did), she didn’t show it, so neither did he.

“Liz?” JC repeated her name. “That’s a cool name”

“Thanks, but it’s actually Elizabeth. I think it sounds too formal and well, not me so my friends call me Liz, sometimes Lizzie”

“So if I call you Liz, am I considered a friend?” JC asked with a smile

Was he seriously flirting here?

“Sure”

“You from around here Liz?” JC questioned

“Nah, I’m from Chicago. The windy city” she giggled. “I moved here when I turned 18 though, so yea, I’ve been living here for about 4 years now.”

“Why’d you move?”

“School, mostly. And I like the warm weather. What about you? Where’re you from?”

“Maryland” JC replied. “I moved to Orlando when I was about 14, to uh, you know, better job opportunities” He didn’t want to ruin their conversation talking about himself and/or MMC or NSYNC.

Liz laughed. “You were thinking about jobs at 14?!?”

JC laughed. “Long story”

They both took a minute to drink their beverages and absorb the music.

JC noticed the way she moved her body to the rhythm of the music. He put his drink on the counter and smiled.

“Wanna dance?” he offered to her

“Oh, I’d like to but I don’t really dance”

“Sure you do. I could tell, all you gotta have is rhythm”

She looked at him hesitantly.

“C’mon” he urged her. He took the drink from her hand and placed it next to his on the counter. “We’re friends now, right? I’ll teach you if you like”

“Okay, but don’t blame me if I step on your feet”

JC chuckled. “Deal. Now c’mon”

He led her onto the dance floor while It's No Good by Depeche Mode blared through the speakers.

“Just let the music consume your body and move with it” he advised her, speaking louder than usual so his voice could be heard above the music. They both rocked to the beat of the music for the next 3 songs, JC ever so often grinding behind her, and Liz, not at all minding it. At the end of the Mariah Carey's Butterfly, they made their way back to the bar.

“You’re a terrific dancer! You got skills man!” Liz complimented.

JC blushed. “Thanks. You’re not too bad yourself”

Liz smiled. “Hey I’m gonna go use the bathroom k?

“Yea, I’ll just be.. here” JC said sitting down on the stool at the bar.

When she left, he ordered another drink for himself and an extra one for Liz if she was thirsty from all the dancing. He was sipping on his drink when Justin, Lance and Chris bounced up behind him startling JC.

“Hey man! I see you met a new friend. She’s hot! We saw you guys on the dance floor” Lance winked

JC said nothing but sipped on his drink.

“So?” Chris urged on

“’So’ what?” JC asked

“You’ve forgotten about Allison?” Chris asked happily

JC’s face fell.

Seeing the change in JC’s facial expression caused Justin to swat Chris behind the head.

“Oops” Chris said

“Jace he just mea-”Lance started but JC cut him off.

“Don’t worry about it” JC said turning back to face the bar.

“Alright we’re heading back to the dance floor for a little while longer okay? We’ll drag Joey out of there and head back home in a half hour or so” Chris said

JC just nodded, the back of his head facing his friends.

Justin gave him a pat on the back before heading off with the other two.

JC felt the familiar pang of pain hit his chest. It wasn’t an actual medical related chest pain however. It was more like the pain of a bleeding, broken heart, that he only felt when thinking about him and Allison. He felt his eyes tear up and took another gulp of his drink, the alcohol burning his throat. That way if the tears did decide to fall he’d be able to blame the alcohol.

“Why so glum, chum?”

He looked over to his right, where the voice came from. Liz was back. She slid into the stool beside him and smiled.

“Hey” he said

“Hi yourself. I’ve been gone a little over 5mins and you’re all glum. Miss me that much?” she teased

JC managed a laugh. “I was just thinking, that’s all. Long story” He didn’t feel the need to discuss the elements of his personal life with a someone he barely knew. “Want me to buy us another round of drinks?”

“No I’m okay. I already had three, I’m at my limit”

“Oh well, how are you getting home?”

“I came with my best friend, she’s around here somewhere, probably flirting with some guy on the dance floor. I’ll go find her in a while. You?”

“I came with some friends, they’re on the dance floor somewhere. I think we’re leaving soon”

“Oh” Liz sounded disappointed.

“You know, I had fun tonight. I didn’t expect to but I did. And I made a new friend, so thanks for that” JC smiled at her.

“How come you didn’t think you’d have fun?”

“Like I said before, it’s a long story” He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and saw it was Joey calling him, probably wanting to tell him they were ready to leave. “And I don’t have much time to tell it. I gotta go”

Liz nodded. It was time to go but they both just stood there.

“It was nice meeting you Josh and hopefully I’ll see you around again” she pulled out a card from her back pocket, seeing that she didn’t have her wallet on her. “Here’s my number. If you ever wanna hang out again, let me know” She gave a shy smile.

JC smiled genuinely. Usually when girls slipped him their number at a club he’d accept them politely and just hand them down to Joey or he’d eventually lose them, never really planning to call. But this time, he’d accept. “Thanks”

“See ya around Josh. Have a good night”

“You too Liz. You too”

He exited the club and saw Chris, Justin, Joey and Lance standing around their car, obviously waiting for him.

“What were you doing in there for so long? We’ve been trying to call you” Lance told him

“I made a new friend” JC simply said

“A new friend huh” Joey teased. “Any new numbers for me?”

“Not this time Joe”

“Just get in the car” Chris said

JC was the first to go in, this time in the back seat.

The same thing was running through the minds of Chris, Joey, Lance and Justin as they piled into the vehicle. “A new friend huh”

;)