Early the next morning, Justin was sitting at the kitchen table in the two bedroom house the hotel next door had given them for their stay. He doodled, his hand moving of its own free will as his thoughts swirled. It was an almost overwhelming sensation, and it'd certainly been enough to keep him from sleeping when he and Joey had gotten back. Not that Justin would've been able to anyway since it was the worry for JC that fed his chaotic thoughts.

The jazz club he and Joey had spent the night at, Preservation Hall, hadn't turned up the results Justin had been hoping for. Between the two of them, they'd talked to a great majority of people in the place. But besides the bouncer at the door who had taken money for their admission, no one seemed to remember JC being there. The only reason the bouncer had remembered JC was because apparently JC had gone two nights in a row, getting there before the line to get in got really long.

Justin had grumbled to Joey about JC's ability to blend in and not be bothered. It wasn't something that was all that surprising, but it made the task of finding someone who'd seen him nearly impossible. The club had several booths that were situated around perimeter, most sitting in the shadows and Justin had gotten the feeling JC had been in one of those booths.

That particular club wasn't even really a club since it didn't serve any food or alcohol, which had given them less regulars that might have remembered seeing JC. And since Joey had put off the late dinner to join Justin, he'd complained for much of the night that he was starving and dying of thirst whenever they'd run into each other. Something Justin had basically ignored since he'd realized it was meant as a distraction to keep him from freaking out as they searched the music hall.

They'd only given up when the last band's song had ended and the large crowd began to file out. In hindsight, Justin knew it hadn't been a good idea to spend the night in one club when they probably could've checked out at least another one or two. But he hadn't been able to make himself leave, especially when the bouncer had confirmed JC had been there. He'd counted on someone having seen JC and talked to him - something.

So he'd been more than a little discouraged as he'd follow Joey back to the house Lance had rented for them. They'd discovered a note on the fridge from Lance saying there was leftover pizza in the fridge, which Joey had wasted no time in heating up. Justin had pretended to nibble on a piece, not feeling very hungry while Joey had wolfed down several pieces before going up to bed.

Justin had changed shortly after and had tried to get some sleep, knowing he'd probably think better if he did. But sleep hadn't come easily and he'd run out of patience after an hour, giving up and going downstairs. That'd been over a couple hours ago, and the house was as silent then as it'd been at four-thirty when he'd given up on sleep.

Idly, Justin glanced down at the flyer he'd been doodling on and realized he'd nearly run out of room on the front. He turned it over so he could continue the mindless drawing as he thought about what their next move should be, only to stop when he saw a few lines already scribbled there.

I know you're mad
I'm feeling sad
‘Cause now I know
That you were the one

It was the only thing on the sheet, and Justin wondered if JC transitioned the song into his writing notebook to continue it there. He was intrigued by the snippet, wishing JC was there to tell him about it and sing the melody for it that'd no doubt been running through his head as he'd jotted the lyrics down. The words alone gave Justin a very bluesy/jazz vibe to it, and it was so JC.

Justin rubbed at the sudden dull ache in his chest, missing JC's presence more at that moment than he had the two weeks he'd been in Memphis. Silently he vowed he would never go so long without talking to JC, or any of the others, again.

"Morning, J," a voice called, snapping Justin out of his thoughts.

He looked up and saw Lance heading for the coffee machine to brew his first cup of the day. But even without the caffeine fix, he was more awake than anyone should be at...Justin squinted at the clock on the microwave. Seven o'clock. Sheesh.

"I'm kind of surprised you're up so early," Justin said.

Lance glanced over his shoulder from where he was searching for filters to give him a look. "Funny. I was going to say the same thing." He turned around completely and eyed him closely. "Couldn't sleep?"

Justin shook his head. "But even if I'd been able to, it doesn't feel right sleeping late when JC could be...well, who knows what the hell happened to him."

Lance nodded in understanding. "I just figured you and Joey would sleep late since you got in pretty late."

"You heard us?"

Lance just gave him a look, and Justin realized how stupid that question was. Of course Lance had heard them get in last night...or a few hours ago. He was a light sleeper and the two bedrooms weren't exactly all that far apart.

"Did you find out anything?" Lance asked.

"No, not really. We spent the night at this place JC had a flyer for, Preservation Hall. The bouncer remembered seeing him since he'd gone two nights in a row, but that's it," Justin said.

"Well, we'll look more after Joey and Chris wake up and we grab breakfast."

Justin's grip tightened on the pen he was still holding, his temper flaring. The way Lance said it made it seem like they were looking for a lost puppy and not their friend, who was in trouble. Lance probably hadn't meant it like that, but it was enough to push Justin to leave the kitchen.

"I'm gonna shower," he mumbled to Lance, leaving the pen and flyer on the table as he stood up. He knew if he'd stayed there and tried to make small talk with Lance for another second, he'd end up saying something he'd regret.

Once Justin was done in the shower, it was another hour before the four of them finally left the house to get some breakfast. They made a right out of the front door, Justin insisting that if they walked back towards the street where JC stayed maybe they'd end up at a place he'd been to. It hadn't taken them long to come across a café, its quaint atmosphere drawing them in.

Lance was standing in front and spoke to the hostess, requesting a table. Justin frowned as he overheard. He'd assumed that when Lance had said they would grab breakfast, that they'd be getting it to go.

"I thought we were taking it back to the house," Justin said when Lance turned away from the hostess and ushered them out of the way.

"Why? We'd just be sitting there and eating anyway. Might as well eat here." There was a slight pause and Lance added, "Besides, we'll be able to ask more people if they've spotted JC this way."

Justin didn't say anything, knowing Lance had said that to make him feel like they weren't wasting time. It was true that they'd be able to ask more people if they'd seen JC, but they would be in the restaurant much longer than they would've if they'd eaten in the rented house. He stepped forward to grab the hostess's attention as another person walked away from her.

"Excuse me, miss?" Justin said, stepping closer. He subconsciously pulled the hat on his head down lower. A few people had recognized him last night, but it'd only been him and Joey. With the four of them being out, Justin felt like there was a giant neon sign saying "Nsync's here."

The woman, girl really as she didn't look more than seventeen, smiled at him. "Yes?"

"I was wondering if you've seen a friend of mine recently. He's about 5'11" with curly dark brown hair, blue eyes. He might've been carrying a notebook with him..."

The girl looked at him frowning, like she was trying to remember. Her eyes darted behind him to the others and suddenly her eyes widened. Justin realized then that'd she been trying to place him and not remembering like he'd thought.

"You...you mean you're looking for," she glanced around at all the people standing around waiting for tables or their to-go bags and leaned in to whisper, "JC."

Justin nodded, grateful that she seemed to be one of their calmer fans and was trying not to draw attention to him. "Have you seen him?"

She shook her head slowly. "Sorry. I don't work the morning shift during the week because of school, and I didn't see him during any of my shifts."

"Thanks anyway...Carrie," Justin read her nametag, finding it easier to smile at her than he'd thought it would be. If she was curious as to why he was looking for JC, she didn't say. She probably assumed they were on vacation and trying to meet up with him.

Justin turned away from her and rolled his eyes as he saw Joey flirting with a long haired brunette that looked to be somewhere in her mid twenties. She was giving him a friendly smile, but she didn't appear to be all that into him. It made Justin smirk slightly because it wasn't often Joey's charm didn't captivate women. But oh how Joey was trying.

"What are you doing up so early on this fine Saturday morning?"

The woman laughed lightly. "Getting my caffeine fix, of course."

"So this place has good coffee?" Joey asked.

"The best," the woman said, nodding. "And their danishes are to die for."

"Looks like I came to the right place then." Joey smiled at her. "Would you like to join me and my friends?"

Justin wanted to object, knowing they'd be there even longer if they had to entertain someone while they were eating. And it wasn't like they could talk about JC being missing with her there. She spoke before he could even think about saying anything though.

"Thanks, but I have to get back. Got someone waiting for me."

Joey's face fell slightly at the implied mention of a boyfriend, but he kept smiling at her. "I understand. I'm sure he's looking forward to that coffee and danish as much as you."

"Oh no, this is for me. He's a little tied up at the moment," she said, winking at him.

Joey laughed. "Lucky guy."

Suddenly, one of the servers manning the to-go orders stepped forward and handed her a small bag and cup of coffee. "Here you go, Marlene."

"Thanks, Adam. Put it on my tab, okay?" She then turned back to Joey. "Nice talking to you."

"You too," Joey said, watching her walk away. He only looked away when Chris slapped his shoulder.

"Our table's ready."

Justin shook his head, following the others to their table and pulling out a seat next to Joey. It only took a minute for their waitress to come over and they all ordered coffee. She left to give them time to peruse the menu. Justin had it open in front of him, pretending to look, but he wasn't planning on ordering anything. He wasn't very hungry, but the caffeine would give him a needed boost.

When the waitress returned a few minutes later, she filled their coffee cups with the hot brew and took their orders. She got to Justin and he told her that he was fine with just the coffee, instantly feeling all eyes on him.

"All right," the waitress said. "Let me know if you change your mind."

She disappeared to put the orders in, and Lance spoke, "You should order something, J."

"I'm not hungry," Justin said.

"You should be. You didn't eat last night," Joey pointed out.

"And I'm sure you probably didn't eat lunch either since you were in the air," Lance added.

It was true. Justin hadn't eaten anything yesterday except for the huge breakfast his mom had made him before he'd left for the airport. But this whole situation was stressing him out, which was wreaking havoc on his stomach.

"I'm not hungry," he repeated, giving them all look that clearly said back off.

An awkward silence fell over them. It carried on until their food was served when it seemed to become too much for Joey.

"So what's the plan for today?" he asked.

It was a legitimate question, but the casual tone it was asked in made Justin's blood pressure rise. Joey surely hadn't meant it to sound like he was asking what they were doing on their vacation, but that was what it'd sounded like. And for the second time that morning, Justin felt like he was the only one that really seemed to understand JC was in danger.

"What the hell do you think we're doing?" Justin snapped. "We're looking for JC."

Joey looked surprised at Justin's behavior and opened his mouth, but Chris rose to his defense. "He was asking if you had any specific ideas on where we were going or if we were just gonna wander the city aimlessly. After all, this whole thing was your idea."

Justin glared at Chris. "My idea is figuring out what the hell happened to JC." He let out an exasperated sigh. "God, it's like I'm the only one who gives a damn."

"That's not true," Joey objected. "We're just not ready to assume that something's wrong."

Justin normally thought Joey's optimism was a good thing, but right then he just thought it was stupid. There were too many things that pointed to the fact that everything was not okay.

"You're not the only one who cares about JC. We're here, aren't we?" Chris said.

Justin stared at him. "Honestly, I don't know why the hell you're here. It's not like you're helping. Maybe you should just go back to Orlando."

Chris's eyes darkened and he opened his mouth, ready to unleash his anger when the waitress suddenly appeared to ask how they were enjoying their meal and refill their coffee mugs. The others forced a smile at the cheery woman, and just like that, the conversation was dropped. But by no means was that the end.

**********

After they'd finished eating, Lance had quietly asked where they were going and Justin had said they should go back to JC's hotel room. He'd found that flyer on the desk last night and maybe there were other papers or receipts that would give them a clue as to where to check next. So the four of them walked through the Quarter with much more ease than the night before since there was significantly less people out so early.

When they arrived at JC's hotel, they walked right inside and passed the front desk for the stairs. They reached the top floor and found themselves outside of JC's door just like the night before. Justin pulled the key out of his front pocket and unlocked the door, stepping inside only to stop dead.

Chris had been right behind and crashed into him - for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. "What the hell," he complained.

"All his stuff's gone!" Justin said with anger directed at his oldest friend and sweeping his arm out to gesture at the too tidy room.

The bed was made and the desk had been cleared of the numerous papers that'd been scattered all over it, leaving only a room service menu and a set of stationery. JC's duffle that'd been sitting in the corner by the bathroom was now missing, as was his guitar case that'd been nestled between the nightstand and the bed. All traces that JC had been there were gone.

"Maybe the maid took his stuff," Joey suggested. It wasn't that ludicrous because they'd used to have problems with coming back and finding some stuff missing after the maids had cleaned. But usually it was stuff that didn't have any real value, just something the young maids had swiped just to say they had something of theirs. That hadn't happened since Germany since they now refused maid service.

"Even if that was true, why the hell would they take his sheet music and scraps of paper?" Justin said.

Joey shrugged. "To sell on eBay?"

"Or maybe he just checked himself out," Chris said dryly, like that was the explanation they should've jumped to immediately.

Justin shook his head, not buying either scenarios for a second. He turned on his heel and rushed back down the stairs, headed straight for the front desk. There was a short pause before he heard footsteps chasing after him.

As soon as his feet hit the first floor, it was just a few quick strides to the front desk where a man in his thirties stood. He seemed startled as Justin all but threw himself against the desk.

"Can I help you?" the man asked.

"Yes. Can you tell me if the guy in room 310 checked out?"

The others came up behind Justin, but he paid them no mind. All of his attention was on the man behind the desk, waiting for him to confirm his suspicions. But much to Justin's annoyance, the guy just raised an eyebrow at him.

"And how is that any of your business?"

"Just look it up," Justin snapped. Someone elbowed him in the back and he added a begrudging, "Please."

The man glowered slightly, but he began to hit a few keys on the computer. A few clicks later, he looked back at Justin and said, "Yes. He checked out earlier."

"Did you check him out?" Justin asked.

There was a choked laugh behind him, and Justin had to roll his eyes. Joey.

The man also seemed to hear the other way the sentence could be meant because he scowled. But he answered what Justin had been asking. "No. I came on about a half hour ago and he checked out nearly an hour ago."

"Well, who was on before you? Where can I find them?"

"Justin," Lance began protesting, but the man had it covered as he glared at Justin.

"I most certainly cannot give out that information," he said. "It'd be in your best interest to leave before I call the cops."

Justin would've argued with him if Joey and Lance hadn't grabbed onto his arms, pulling him out of the hotel and through a side door that spilled out into a courtyard. As soon as they were outside, he shook them off and turned his own glare on them.

"What the hell was that for?"

"You can't just harass hotel staff, Justin," Lance said.

Justin snorted. "Please. I wasn't harassing him. I was just trying to get information."

"Information he's not legally allowed to give you."

"Hey, I'm trying to figure out what the hell happened to JC. Because you better believe that whoever checked him out is behind it and probably knows exactly where he is," Justin said.

"Or he could've just checked out himself," Chris said, repeating the same thing he'd said in the hotel room just moments before.

Justin glared fiercely at him. "No, he couldn't."

"Yes, he could have." Chris stared at him with hard eyes. "I know you're having fun playing Where in the World is JC Chasez, but I bet anything he's at the airport by now ready to hop a flight back to Orlando."

"If he was really okay, how come we haven't seen him since we got in?"

"Because like I said last night, he was probably in one of the bars we passed," Chris said.

Justin crossed his arms over his chest. "What about the message on my machine?"

"Something probably just spooked him. New Orleans is full of ghost stories and you know how C gets."

Justin was momentarily speechless, unable to believe Chris had just explained away all of the things that had him believing something bad had happened to JC. What Chris said all made sense, but it didn't diminish the pit in Justin's stomach that'd appeared as soon as he'd heard JC's hushed voice on his answering machine. He didn't care what Chris said - that was all the reason he needed to keep looking.

"Maybe," Lance began, drawing Justin's attention to him, "maybe we should consider that what Chris is saying is true. That JC really did check himself out."

Justin glanced at Joey to see how he felt about that, but Joey refused to meet his eyes. He sighed. "You know what? Fine. You guys go back to Orlando. I'll find JC myself."

"Justin," Joey started to object, but Justin held up a hand, not wanting to hear it.

He was about to walk away when suddenly, his phone rang.

**********

JC had kicked all of the sheets to the foot of the bed, trying desperately to find some way to lessen the heat he was experiencing. He'd considered taking off his jeans several times in the last few hours, knowing that the heavy denim wasn't helping his predicament. The only thing that stopped him was knowing that Marlene would enjoy him stripping down to his boxers and it might even be something she was expecting to happen as a result of the spell. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.

She'd come into his room briefly about a half hour ago, placing his duffle and guitar case by the dresser. He'd looked at her puzzled and all she'd said was, "You'll want your stuff later when we're together."

JC hadn't even bothered to object to that, not wanting to waste his breath since he knew she wouldn't believe him. She'd stepped out into the hall and muttered to herself, but he'd been able to pick up on it. She'd said, "Gotta make sure they can't find him."

JC's heart had stopped momentarily at that, but for once, it wasn't out of fear. There was only one group of people she had to have been talking about: the guys. Was it possible that Justin had gotten his message and he and the others had come down here, believing something was wrong? God, he hoped so.

Marlene walked in then, like she'd been able to sense his hope and wanted to crush it. He watched curiously as she walked over to the dresser where his cell phone was and picked it up, having stripped him of it sometime while he was unconscious from when he'd first arrived. She tossed it at him, and JC's heart stopped again, wondering just what kind of sick joke this was.

"Call your friends," she said. "Tell them that you're okay and not in New Orleans anymore."

JC stared at her for a moment, resisting the urge to lick his dry chapped lips. "Why?" he asked, really asking "Why now?"

"I just got a call. They were at your hotel, asking about you." She gave him a stern look. "You have to get them out of here. And I don't want to hear you say anything that's close to what's really going on. If you think what's happening to you is bad, I can do so much worse to you - and them."

JC didn't like the sound of that, but he wondered if she was bluffing about being able to hurt the guys. If they went back to Orlando, what could she really do to them?

As if she could read his thoughts, she said, "I saw them earlier, and Joey was very chatty with me." She ran a fingernail down his arm, causing a shiver to race down his spine.

"I won't say anything," JC said quietly. That brief interaction with Joey would have given her enough of an opening to get whatever she needed for a spell if she'd wanted.

"Good boy," she practically purred, running a hand through his sweaty hair. "Now call them."

JC struggled to sit up, using his free hand for leverage. When he was upright, he reached out for his cell phone and paused, trying to think of what he was going to say. Finally, he let out a shaky breath and hit the speed dial for Justin's cell phone.

As he held the phone up to his ear listening to it ring, Marlene sat down at the foot of his bed. Her gaze unnerved him, and he looked away, knowing he wouldn't be able to convince them nothing was wrong if he was staring at her.

"JC!" a voice in his ear cried. "Where the hell are you? Are you okay?"

JC forced himself to laugh and it came out kind of choked since what he really wanted to do was cry at the sound of Justin's voice. "I'm okay, Just."

"You sure? You sound kind of shaky."

JC bit his lip, fighting back the urge to say that he wasn't okay. "I think I'm coming down with something," he said, closing his eyes against a chill though it did nothing to stop the intense heat. "Other than that, I'm okay."

"Where the hell are you?" Justin repeated, his tone demanding, but JC could also hear the desperation behind it.

"At the airport. I'm catching a flight out to LA, so I can get some songs recorded," JC said. That'd been the plan anyway. He'd hope that he would leave New Orleans with some good material and book some studio time out in California to work on getting a rough sound for them.

"Really?" Justin asked, and JC could almost hear the frown in his voice.

"Yes, really." He forced another short laugh. "Is that so hard to believe? You guys make fun of me enough for being a workaholic. Might as well live up to it."

There was a pause and then Justin asked, "Where were you last night? We were at your hotel room, but you weren't there."

JC's heart nearly leapt out of his chest. Yes, Marlene had said she'd seen them and had talked to Joey, but hearing from Justin himself that they were in town...it sparked so much hope in him. Until he remembered a second later the purpose of the phone call was to get them to believe everything was okay so they'd leave.

"I was at Preservation Hall for a few hours," JC said.

"When? Joey and I were there for most of the night."

JC hadn't expected that and it took a great deal of effort not to stumble over his words...much. "Oh, well, I ended my night there. I was in a couple other places before that." He knew Justin was suspicious by nature and tried to change the subject, "Did you enjoy the music?"

"Yeah. It was definitely your kind of place." There was another pause before Justin spoke quieter. "You're really okay? ‘Cause I have no problem telling you how much you freaked me out with that message on my machine."

"Yeah, sorry about that," JC said, sincerely. He was sure Justin had nearly had a panic attack when he'd gotten that message. "I'd thought someone had followed me back from the bar and was trying to break into my room. I think it was from hearing one too many ghost stories. My mind just got away from me."

"So why didn't you call me sooner? You know, to let me know you were okay."

JC swallowed roughly, his mind frantically searching for an excuse that wouldn't sound completely lame. Because he would've called Justin back if he'd been able to get out of this situation, something Justin knew. And damn it, if Justin wasn't making this whole thing that much harder.

"I did," JC lied, praying that it wasn't as easy to tell he was lying through the phone. "I called a few hours later and left another message on your machine. Sorry I made you worry."

"Just don't do it again, okay?"

Suddenly, there was a tap on his leg and JC looked up at Marlene. "Listen, Just. I gotta go. Getting ready to board. I'll talk to you later, all right?"

JC had no idea if he was ever going to talk to Justin again, but he had a feeling it was pretty unlikely. That thought nearly propelled him to yell at Justin that he was being held hostage, and he had to bite down on his lip again.

"Sure, Jace. See you soon."

JC said a quiet "bye" and hung up the phone, feeling even worse - something that he hadn't thought was possible considering how much he'd been suffering. Marlene took the phone back and turned it off again, tossing it onto the dresser once more.

"It's okay, JC. You've got me," Marlene whispered in his ear. She then leaned down to kiss him, but as soon as her lips touched his, he pushed her away.

Marlene glared at him, but for once, she didn't say anything else. She walked out of the room, and JC fell back onto bed, lying down once more. Tears he'd been fighting off finally escaped, running down his cheeks as he mourned the fact that he likely wouldn't be seeing Justin, or the others, again.