J.C. couldn’t sleep. Through a lot of blood, sweat, and tears they’d done it. No Strings Attached was finished and would be released tomorrow. They’d be celebrating the launch with an appearance on Total Request Live, singing the first single “Bye, Bye, Bye” and doing an interview with Carson Daly.

 He knew the fans were clamoring for it. At least that’s what they were told by their record label. If the show of support they’d been given at the courthouse was any indication, fans would be out in droves tomorrow. Still, he was nervous. The success or failure of this album could make or break their career. If it failed, then what would they do?

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door. “J.C.? It’s Lance. Can we talk?”

J.C. opened the door for his younger band mate. “What’s up?”

“I can’t sleep. I’m too nervous about tomorrow.”

“Me too.”

“What if it flops?”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. Our fans seem to be even more enthusiastic than we are. We might not break the Backstreet Boys’ record, but it definitely won’t flop.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. We’ll be okay. You’ll see.”

“Thanks for the talk J.C.”

“You’re welcome.”

J.C. just hoped that what he told Lance would turn out to be the truth.

They couldn’t believe it. The crowd outside of Times Square for Total Request Live was so massive that MTV could barely contain them in or outside of the studio. *NSYNC’s fans had been camped out for hours, some overnight, some for the past week once the date of the album release and their appearance on TRL were announced.

They really did have the best fans in the world.

“What does it feel like to see a crowd like this?” asked Carson Daly.

“Unbelievable,” answered Justin.

“Amazing,” said Lance.

“Humbling.” J.C. managed to find the right words to describe what he was feeling. It truly was humbling.

“Hopefully, the album lives up to their expectations. We worked really hard and want them to enjoy it.” Lance added.

“And buy lots of copies!” exclaimed Chris.

Everyone laughed.

“That, too!” smiled Joey.

Jake and Kristen couldn’t believe it. They had actually managed to get inside of the MTV studio and get seats good enough to see *NSYNC’s performance and interview. They were sitting behind them, but still. That was better than nothing. And they were closer than they’d been in Orlando.

As *NSYNC was being interviewed Kristen began to glance between J.C. and Jake. Looking at J.C. up on the screen and Jake sitting next to her, she suddenly saw what everyone else did when they mistook Jake for J.C. They had the same eyes, cheek structure, lanky build, hand gestures and even the same haircut, not to mention hair color. It was almost like they were . . . twins. Identical twins.

How had she not seen it before? It was so obvious to her now. Should she tell him what she thought, knowing his theory about his adoption? If she did what would his reaction be? She didn’t want him barging up to J.C. afterwards to confront him about it. But if she said nothing what kind of best friend would she be? She didn’t want him mad at her either.

Thankfully, she was distracted when she heard Lance say,

“We want to reward our biggest fans with a contest to meet us backstage at one of our concerts on the upcoming tour. All they have to do is show us the craziest way they’ve supported us, whether it’s their room decorations, following us on tour, whatever. Anything that shows just what a die-hard fan they are, along with a letter explaining why they think they should be chosen. They’ll be five winners, in five different cities. You can only enter once, though. No double dipping.”

“What cities are eligible?” asked Carson.

“Baltimore, Maryland, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Memphis, Tennessee, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Los Angles, California.”

“You mean there won’t be one in Orlando?”

“Not right now. We want to see how well the album and tour do first, then we’ll come up with some other contests,” answered Joey.

“All right, *NSYNC fans. You have your assignment. Lets see just how devoted you are to them. Show us what you got!” teased Carson. “The number one video on the countdown today is the song you just saw them perform, “Bye, Bye, Bye”.

As the video ran on the screen and they were being ushered out, fans swarmed them to try to get autographs and pictures. Jake was among them, but Kristen pulled him back.

“Kris, what are you doing? They’re right in front of us!”

“I know. I need to talk to you, first.”

“RIGHT NOW? It can’t be that important!”

“It is. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“You better.”

When Justin was signing autographs and taking pictures he thought he saw someone in the crowd that looked like they could be J.C.’s double. He’d almost come over to meet them, but another fan pulled him back. Justin wasn’t sure why. Weren’t they there to meet them? Justin thought about doubling back but by the time he did, they were gone.