JC stared at the TV, not seeing anything that was playing on the screen in front of him. Casey had enthusiastically insisted on watching the first Jurassic Park installment; she'd found it while channel-surfing and, not caring one way or another, he'd agreed. His thoughts were exactly where they'd been for the past twenty-four hours.

The fact that she hadn't mention the interview from the previous day didn't surprise him, but it bothered him. There were a couple of hours after soundcheck was over, when they were hanging out backstage at the arena, where he waited to see if she would bring it up. He even asked her how it had gone, hoping to prod it out of her gently. She'd shrugged, chirped out a nonchalant “fine” and continued on with another conversation. He'd let it go, but grudgingly.

With Justin's words rattling around in his head, he once again weighed his feelings for her against his fear of pushing her away. There was probably nothing positive to be gained from telling her how he felt right then. At the same time, he wanted to address the interview. It wasn't so much that she didn’t admit to their relationship; all things considered, it probably wasn't the best time for that. But it was the vehemence with which she denied it. A simple 'I don’t talk about my personal life' would’ve sufficed. Or even a straight up refusal to answer the question on account of it being nobody's business.

But he had to say something. Especially if he was going to bring up the fact that his parents wanted to meet her.

It made him nervous, more so than he would've expected considering the fact that he'd met her parents already, even before they were officially together. He'd told her when he’d told his parents about them, so it only made sense that they'd want to meet her. But after the altercation with Tony, and now her response on-air when questioned about the possibility of them being in a relationship, he couldn't quell the anxiety he was feeling about asking her.

It was the perfect opportunity to bring it up; they had a concert the following evening and would be on the road after that for four nights straight. As much as he wanted to, putting it off was only going to make him feel more anxious.

Like it was the sign he was looking for, he heard the bathroom door open.

***

"Oh, good. I didn't miss too much since Nedry's still alive.” Casey settled herself next to JC and against the pillows, crossed her legs in front of her, and picked up the bag of chocolate chips she'd been eating from.

Though she kept her eyes on the television, she could feel the weight of his eyes on her. He'd been kind of quiet since yesterday, and it was beginning to make her a little nervous. When he'd asked her how the interview had gone, she panicked for a half a second before answering quickly, and changing the subject. He'd let it go, so she assumed she was in the clear. And him being quiet wasn’t necessarily outside of the realm of normal. He was moody sometimes; he freely admitted it about himself. There were times that he just temporarily disappeared into his own thoughts. But he hadn't seemed upset or anything, and the morning and afternoon had been pleasant enough that she thought that maybe she was being paranoid.

She felt him shift closer to her, scoot down, and drop his head to her shoulder.

"I heard your interview yesterday," JC said casually.

Well, shit. There it was. Casey blinked rapidly but said nothing, instead pretending to be engrossed in Jurassic Park. “Yeah?” The chocolate in her mouth suddenly tasted like sandpaper, and she tossed the bag into his lap. “You should have some of these before I eat the whole bag.”

From the corner of her eye she saw him barely glance at the bag before placing it on the side table next to his side of the bed. She didn't want to talk about what she had said on the radio; she didn't want to have to explain it, but at the same time she knew that he deserved an explanation.

She said the first thing that came to her mind. “People are so nosy, huh?"

"Yeah, but you handled it, right?" His voice was still mild, and he hadn't moved his head.

"Mmmhmm." She kept her eyes focused on the TV, but she muted the sound and remained silent.  

After several moments passed, JC said her name softly. "Casey."

She recognized that tone in his voice. "Hmm?" She still wouldn't look at him.

"Casey," he repeated quietly.

With a slump of her shoulders, she realized he wasn't going to let it go. Feeling something like defeat, she clicked the television off and tossed down the remote. She finally looked down at him. "Yes?"

Straightening up, he leaned back on the pillows so he was shoulder to shoulder with her. He clasped his hands in his lap and peered over at her. “I didn't really expect you to just come out and admit to a relationship that we're….well, I guess we're still treading very carefully through.” He sighed, and the disappointment on his face tugged at her. “But I guess I also didn't expect you to just flat out deny it, either. At least not so...passionately. You sounded like you meant it. Like the idea of us was beyond ridiculous. And I guess I thought that, after everything, after everything recently, we were kind of beyond that.”

She dropped her head and covered her face with her hands, groaning softly. His voice, calm and careful, made her feel even worse than she already felt.

"Look at me, Casey.”

She took a deep breath and sat back up, meeting his gaze.

With a gentle almost-smile on his face, JC slipped his hand into hers and held it in his lap. "What's going on in your head right now? I mean about us? And I guess with everything else going on, maybe it's not fair for me to ask you that right now, but--" He stopped abruptly. “I'm just a little confused right now.”

"I'm sorry about what I said on-air yesterday. You didn't deserve that." She looked down at their interlaced fingers, then up into his eyes. “Nothing's changed for me, JC. About how I feel about you. About us. Yesterday was just…” She closed her eyes, using the hand that wasn't holding his to cradle her forehead.

"Yesterday I handled a really intrusive question really poorly. And there's no excuse. I still don't want a bunch of strangers commenting on us and things they don't know, but I still should've handled that better.”

He nodded slowly, chewing his bottom lip, and she saw something flicker briefly in his eyes.

"I mean, I know it's kind of late to ask, but…I just feel like…” She groaned again. “Being with you publicly is potentially going to be complicated for me. And I'm just not ready for the complication."

He watched her, not blinking, still working his bottom lip. "Is it because I'm white?" he said finally.

Her head jerked back as her eyes widened. “Of course not. Why would you even think that?”

"You have a certain image; we all do. And maybe...I don't know, maybe being with the white dude from the boyband isn't good for yours."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you talking about?"

He rolled his eyes. "I know that some people at the label thought it would be a bad idea for you to open for us. I think the way they put it was that you ran the risk of alienating your urban fan base."

"How...how did you know that?"

She had never told him about it; she had never told anyone about it. The idea had come from Tony, and he went over her head to the powers-that-be at Jive. A couple of people agreed with him, but most did not. Dara immediately came in and argued her case and ultimately everyone came to an agreement that she'd join the tour. So far it had done wonders for her career, and it hadn't alienated anyone.  

He chuckled; it was a small, mirthless sound. "I know lots of things, Case. And it doesn't matter anyway because you're here. But you still haven't answered my question. If I were Black, would we be having this conversation?" He eyed her levelly.

"This has nothing to do with your lack of melanin, JC. Or my abundance of it, for that matter. This is about…” she took a deep breath. “This is about me, a woman in an industry that makes things harder on women. This is about the fact that I'm in a position right now to actually be successful long term."

Her words, while factually the truth, were also a lie in the sense that that was a rather small part of why she didn't want to acknowledge their relationship publicly. It made her feel a little bad, knowing that her half-truth came out so smoothly.

He pursed his lips and blinked a few times. "So you think that being with me will what? Jeopardize that somehow?"

Casey groaned; she knew the conversation was heading in a bad direction and she wanted to cut it off at the pass. She pulled her hand away from his and stood up to pace.

"JC, you're one of the most popular members of what may be the most popular group in the country right now. People care about what kind of toothpaste you use, if you prefer your toilet paper hanging over or under. Your fans?” She blew out an agitated breath. “They can get kind of crazy. And if it gets out about us, I get spun into that whirlwind. I love being in the spotlight because of my music, not because of who I'm fu--” She caught the sharp look he threw at her. “Sleeping with."

"Is that all you're doing with me?" he asked tersely.

She paused mid-step and rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. Regardless of what's true about us, that's what it's going to be reduced to. That whole thing yesterday was based on a rumor; if people find out about us then every interview I do from here on out is going to be about you.

"Everything I do will be about the fact that I'm with you. And honestly, although some people will inevitably have something to say about the difference in our skin colors, that's gonna be small potatoes compared to the rest of it."

She flopped onto the bed next to him. "Lately, I've had about all the scrutiny into my love life that I can take, OK? And that's been on a very limited scale because no one who counts even knows who Tony is.” She rested her chin on his leg and made what she hoped was an appropriately pitiful face.

"People care about you, though. And they'll be interested in me because of you. And I'm just not ready for it. OK? Can you please try to see it from my point of view?"

He stared down at her, blue eyes bright and unreadable. “I understand, Casey. Don't think I don't.”

She got up and straddled his lap, taking both of his hands in hers. “I'm pretty sure there's a but coming…”

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I don't like it. I feel like we're lying and I don't like lying. I'm happy and--”

"JC—“ she interrupted.

"Let me finish.” He held her cheeks in his palms. “I'm happy with you, and I don't care what anyone else has to say about it. But I'll deal with it your way because I want you to be happy, too.” He slid his hands down to her hips and pulled her closer.

Casey ran her fingers through his hair while studying him. She loved the soft waves of his hair, his chiseled cheeks and jaw, and his full beautiful bottom lip. She loved his nose and the little gap between his two front teeth. And she loved the way he always looked into her eyes before he kissed her. It scared her, how very many things she was realizing she loved about him.

Before she could think about it any more deeply, she cupped the back of his neck and brought her mouth to his. “Know what'll make me really happy right now?”

Judging by the heat of his lips pressed against hers, and the intensity in his eyes, he knew.  She smiled against his mouth.

***

JC wiped the fog from the mirror and looked at his reflection. He'd felt a little guilty, at first. Like maybe he should've said more. But she was sincere. And then she was in his lap and he didn't want to fight. But maybe he gave in just a little too easily. But all in all, he was OK with things as they were. And maybe she'd been a little too convincing on the radio, but in private, between just the two of them, there was no denying that they were on the same page about each other. And that was OK. And now was as good a time as any.

When he emerged from the bathroom Casey's back was to him. Without a word or a warning, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her up against him. When she squealed in surprise, he nipped at her shoulder.

"You scared me!” She giggled as he rained kisses on her.

"Sorry,” he mumbled against her, not sounding the slightest bit sorry.

She covered his hands, which were holding her in place, with her own and leaned back against him. "Dude, we just got out of the shower; you can't be angling for a repeat already.”

He paused mid-kiss to reply, “I can't kiss you without it meaning I'm trying to get in your pants?”

He smiled as her laughter rang out. "I'm not wearing pants, baby, or much of anything else.”

"Mmmhmm, I noticed.” He let his lips continue to roam her skin. "My parents want to meet you. In a few weeks when we get to Orlando.”

He didn't stop kissing her, but he could feel the way she stiffened slightly beneath his touch. “That's OK, right?”

Several seconds passed, her fingers absently rubbing against his, and she said nothing.

JC moved his mouth closer to her ear. “That's OK, right?” he repeated softly. “Because they really want to meet the awesome girl I talk about all the time now. And I want them to.”

He felt the way she inhaled and exhaled slowly, several times, and he willed himself not to start second-guessing his decision to bring it up now.

"Of course that's OK,” she said finally. “I'd love to meet your parents.”

He exhaled in relief. “Good. I'm glad.”