The clock's big numbers stared at Justin, taunting him from its place on the wall outside of the cell. It was after four - he and Chris had spent over five hours there. And the time had passed painfully slow, both of them stubbornly refusing to say anything. They hadn't had anyone else to talk to either. A cop would come back every couple hours to check on them, but that was it.

Justin was already stir-crazy, having had little patience to begin with. He hated that he was locked up and left wondering if Joey and Lance were making any headway with finding JC. And Chris still had yet to say even two words to him, which just set Justin's nerves on edge even more. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, the silence and inability to do anything driving him insane.

"How can you just sit there?" Justin demanded with heat, glaring at Chris. Really, he was surprised Chris hadn't snapped first - he wasn't exactly known for his patience, especially when he was angry.

Chris was lying on his back, staring up at the dirty stucco ceiling from one of the cots. He didn't even look at Justin. "It's not like there's anything else to do. Unless you have some brilliant escape plan."

The last part was said with a touch of sarcasm, and Justin rolled his eyes. Leave it to Chris to be a smartass. "I can't believe they're seriously keeping us here until eight. I figured maybe he was joking and it'd be an hour at most."

Chris snorted. "Did it look like he was joking? He doesn't seem to like you very much."

"I wasn't the one who punched him," Justin pointed out.

"Which I did for you."

Justin shook his head and muttered, "Don't know why considering you hate me."

"I don't hate you."

"Could've fooled me."

Chris finally sat up and looked at him. "If I hated you, I would've just let your ass get thrown in jail. Not join you."

"Okay," Justin nodded, "but that doesn't explain why you've been such an asshole to me."

Chris sighed. "It's complicated."

"Uh huh," Justin said disbelieving, crossing his arms over his chest. "Want to try that again?"

"Hey, you can't use my tactics against me. As oldest, I'm the only one who's allowed to call bullshit," Chris said. There was a bit of annoyance, but he wasn't as angry as Justin might've expected him to be.

"Tough. I just did. Besides, I think I deserve to know why."

Chris stared at him, but Justin just stared right back, letting Chris know he was completely serious. They were going to talk about this because Justin wasn't going to let Chris's crappy attitude slow down their search after they were released; they were already losing too much time being stuck in here.

"Fine," Chris said, finally. "Sit down."

Justin sat on the edge of the cot across from Chris. "All right, I'm sitting. Now tell me why you've been treating me like shit."

There was a long pause before Chris said, "Dani broke up with me."

Justin frowned, feeling a little sympathetic. Chris and Dani had been together for four years, so this was pretty huge. But still, it didn't explain why Chris had been taking his anger out on him.

"It didn't end violent or anything like that. We just wanted different things." Chris's leg bounced, practically vibrating with nervous energy. He didn't look at Justin as he said, "She saw what you and Britney were doing in public and she was jealous. She wanted those things too, and I just couldn't give them to her. You know me."

Justin and Britney were always big on the PDAs, while Chris preferred to keep things low key. He usually always held Dani's hand in public, but it rarely went beyond that. They always had a lot of paparazzi follow them, so they all had to keep up their public images. It was something Justin and Britney were very used to and sometimes they would put on a show to mess with the reporters, but it sounded like Dani had grown tired of the charade.

"So she wanted attention like me and Britney get?" Justin asked.

"She wanted me to act like you do with Britney - to forget about the paparazzi and do the stuff a normal boyfriend would do in public. She said she wanted me to be as romantic in public as I was at home," Chris explained.

Chris wasn't into PDAs because he cared what the media thought; it was more because he didn't feel it was their business to record his personal moments. JC felt the same way. It was easier for Justin since Britney was a performer too and knew how things went, how you were still on even after you stepped off the stage or left the studio or talk show. They weren't bothered by the media because they'd grown up with them in their face all the time, capturing them at their best and worst moments so they didn't feel uncomfortable or worried about what might show up in the paper the next morning. But it was much harder on normal people and it seemed that after nearly four years of dealing with screaming girls and pushy reporters, Dani had finally reached the point where she couldn't handle it anymore.

"And you're pissed at me because I can give Britney the things you couldn't give Dani?"

Chris shrugged and nodded. "It's so much easier for you and it's like you flaunt it. Like you do it just for all the attention from the media."

Justin's frown deepened. "And this is why you thought I was lying about JC being missing?"

"I thought it was another attention ploy, just like all the stuff you do with Britney," Chris said.

Justin felt a bit of anger rise up at the insinuation that everything he and Britney did together was a ploy for the media, but he pushed the feeling away. Chris was trying to distract him from the real reason, and it might have worked if Justin didn't know him so well.

"Why do you insist on lying to me?" Justin asked.

Chris's head snapped up, and he glared at Justin. "Right. I couldn't possibly be telling the truth about the breakup and how I feel."

"I'm not saying you're lying about the breakup," Justin said. "I don't believe the crap about you thinking I'm an attention whore."

"Why not? Wouldn't be the first time you've done something to get attention. It's actually pretty annoying."

Justin fixed him with a look. "You may get annoyed, but you never get angry at me about it because you know most of the attention I get is unwanted. And you're not stupid enough to believe it's a reason I'd say JC's missing. There's something you're not telling me, something that explains why you've been so mad."

There was a tense moment of silence, but finally Chris spoke. "You should know what it is."

"Well, obviously I don't, so why don't you just tell me."

Chris's eyes narrowed like he didn't appreciate Justin's attitude and he jumped to his feet, nearly shouting, "You're going solo!"

"What?" Justin stepped back in surprise. "Where did you hear that?"

"It's all over the place. There've been nothing but rumors about it ever since the tour ended."

Justin nodded, giving Chris a knowing look. "Yeah, rumors. You're going to believe some tabloids over me? I haven't said two words-"

"Johnny told me you got some offers," Chris said.

Justin sighed, rubbing at his forehead. It'd been so easy to forget about since he'd returned from Memphis. That'd actually been part of the reason he'd gone home - to talk it out with his mom to see if he was really serious about it before he brought it up with the guys. But all thoughts of going solo had gone out the window as soon as he'd heard JC's message. He hadn't even considered that the guys might find out before he actually decided or got to talk to them about it.

"When did you talk to him?" Justin asked. It all made sense now.

"Last week. I went to the compound to grab something I left there and ran into him. He asked me if you'd made a decision yet, and I asked him what the hell he was talking about."

"It wasn't my idea," Justin was quick to assure, trying to diffuse Chris's anger. It was justified, but Justin hadn't meant for him to find out that way. "Johnny and some Jive execs were the ones who approached me and I told them I'd think about."

"And if Gone's any indication, they think you're gonna say yes," Chris said.

Justin frowned, genuinely confused. "How do those two things connect?"

"They chose Gone over The Two of Us for our next single. They picked the song where we're basically your glorified backup singers, so I'd say it's pretty obvious they want to test the waters with a song that's practically solo."

It was impossible to miss the bitterness in Chris's words. Justin took a step closer to his oldest friend, hoping to console him. "It's not like that, Chris. It's just a song; it doesn't mean anything. On our debut, JC had a few songs that were just him, like Sailing."

"Sailing was never a single," Chris pointed out. "And even though For the Girl was, we rerecorded it so it wasn't just him singing lead. Now they're trying to phase us out."

Justin shook his head firmly. "They're not. But even if they have ulterior motives behind the song, it's not going to affect my decision. I would never decide anything that big without talking to you guys first."

But Chris seemed skeptical, despite Justin's assurances. "Really?"

"Yes, really. You guys are my best friends and we're a group. Your opinions matter." Justin paused. "I'm sorry you found out the way you did. I was waiting for the right moment, letting everyone enjoy some downtime before I brought it up."

Chris was silent for a long moment. Finally, he said, "This was why I didn't believe JC was missing, that he'd taken off on his own. I thought he found out too and bolted to try to deal with it."

"And what do you think now?" Justin asked, mentally praying Chris was on his side now that he knew the truth - that he'd been angry prematurely.

"Now," Chris sighed, rubbing at his head briefly before looking up at Justin. "Now I believe you. Something's not right. I just wish I hadn't wasted all this time."

Justin briefly wondered at exactly what point Chris had started to believe he was telling the truth about JC's disappearance and possible kidnapping, but in the end, it didn't matter. Things would go much smoother now that Chris would be actively helping. Now they just had to get out of that cell, which wouldn't happen for at least a few more hours.

Sighing deeply, Justin leaned against the cold metal bars as he stared at the large numbers on the clock. "I hope Lance and Joey are making some progress."

**********

In an old two story house nearby, JC found himself dreaming again.

JC was in his LA home. It wasn't lived in nearly as much as his Orlando one, but there was a strange feeling he got that he was sure had nothing to do with how little he'd been there. He walked out of his upstairs bedroom and walked down to the living room, noticing some things he didn't remember being there before.

When he stepped into the living room, he saw some new pictures sitting on the mantle above the fireplace. He moved to get a closer look, but before he could lean in to see the subjects in the frame, there were footsteps behind him.

"It's about time you came down."

JC spun on his heel and saw Marlene standing there. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, looking more casual than he'd ever seen her. He closed his mind as memories came flooding back, realizing it hadn't been a bad dream after all.

Suddenly, a soft hand pressed against his cheek. JC opened his eyes to look at Marlene who was watching him with her bright hazel eyes. Inwardly, he felt chilled by the touch, but outwardly, he didn't even flinch.

"Are you all right, sweetie?"

JC swallowed and nodded, forcing a smile on his face. "I'm good. Just a little tired I guess."

"Well, we were busy last night," Marlene laughed, a playful glint in her eyes. She started to walk towards the kitchen, but turned back to look at him. "You want to help me finish lunch? Lance will be here soon."

"Lance?" JC repeated, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Yeah. He's in town to do some stuff for A Happy Place and wanted to get together. But," she stepped closer to him, moving so she was in his personal space, "if you want, I can call Lance and tell him to come by later." She ran her thumb down his bottom lip. "You know, if there was something else you wanted to do..."

As much as JC fought it inwardly, his body reacted to her. She pulled him closer and their lips met. They kissed passionately even though in the back of his mind, he could hear himself screaming. It didn't stop them from making out though, making JC almost feel as if he were under some sort of spell.

The doorbell rang, and they pulled apart. Marlene smiled at him. "Looks like we'll have to finish this later," she said. The bell chimed again. "You get the door and I'll tend to the food."

JC walked to the front door, glad to put some distance between them. He opened it and sure enough, Lance was on the other side. He was grinning and looked exactly the same.

"Hey, JC," Lance greeted. "Long time no see."

JC smiled, but it felt as forced as the one he'd given Marlene. "Yeah, it's been what, a few weeks?"

"A few weeks?" Lance repeated. "Try a few months. But I guess that's what happens when you move out here and the rest of us are stuck out in Orlando."

The smile instantly turned into a frown as JC wondered why he was living there when everyone else was still in Orlando. Then it hit him. Marlene. She was isolating him from his friends and family, probably to make it harder for him to reach out to them and tell them what was really going on.

Just then, Marlene came up behind JC. She smiled at Lance and said, "What are you guys doing standing around the door? C'mon in."

Lance surprised JC by stepping forward and hugging Marlene. "It's good to see you, M."

"You too, Lance." She pulled out of the hug and looked at JC. "Lunch won't be ready for another ten minutes. Why don't you show him around, honey?"

"Yeah, sure. We'll start with the studio and work our way up."

JC and Lance followed Marlene towards the back of the house, but they turned and went down a set of stairs before entering the kitchen. He let Lance go in front of him so he could make sure the basement door was closed before he descended the stairs. When he got to the bottom, Lance was looking around like he was admiring the small studio JC had set up when he first bought this house.

"Lance, there's something I have to tell you," JC said.

Lance looked away from the keyboard near the cedar desk and gave JC his full attention. "What's up?"

"It's about Marlene."

"Did you propose?" Lance asked.

JC's eyes widened as he quickly denied, "What? No, of course not."

"It's not that crazy. You guys have been together for eight months now."

Eight months. Eight months had passed without the guys being able to tell something was wrong? Eight months he had spent living with Marlene and going along with her every whim? JC felt sick.

"No," JC said vehemently, shaking his head. "She forced me into this relationship. I think she might've even put a spell on me."

Lance frowned at him. For a moment, JC thought it was because of what he told him. But that wasn't the case when Lance said, "I know this is always the point where you start to freak out in relationships, but you guys are good for each other. Ever since you brought her back from New Orleans after the PopOdyssey Tour, you've been inseparable."

"Because she's made it that way." JC reached out and grabbed onto Lance, clinging desperately to hope as he tried to convince his friend. "Please, you've got to believe me."

Lance opened his mouth to say something, but gasped instead, his eyes growing wide as a hand automatically went to his throat. There was nothing there. He dropped to his knees, choking against something invisible as he struggled to breathe.

"Oh, JC." JC spun around and saw Marlene standing on the stairs, shaking her head sadly. "Why'd you go and do that? We were doing so well."

"Let him go!" JC pleaded. He glanced back at Lance, who's lips were turning blue from the lack of air. "You're gonna kill him!"

Marlene walked down the rest of the stairs, looking at JC with a hard expression. "You knew what would happen if you told someone. If you'd just left well enough alone...well, your friend wouldn't have to die, now would he?"

Lance's breath hitched one last time before he fell limply to the floor, his lifeless eyes staring up at JC.

JC woke up screaming, tears flowing down his cheeks like two rivers. He'd been suffering from nightmares periodically for the past several hours and each time it ended with something terrible happening. But it affected him each and every time, unable to get used to the awful dreams Marlene kept giving him.

"Shh, JC," Marlene whispered in his ear. "It was just a dream."

JC jumped at having her so close, still disoriented from the nightmare he'd just awoken from. But he knew her words were empty. Yes, it'd been a dream, but it could very easily become reality. He wasn't stupid. Every nightmare she'd sent him was a warning of what could happen if he didn't do exactly what she wanted.

He rolled away from her, thankful he was able to put at least a few inches between them. For the moment he was pain free, but there was no telling how long that would last. The intense muscle pain came and went, but every time it happened, it left him breathless. There was still an entire night to go before the spell ran its course, and he had no idea how he was going to survive that long.

"Sit up, JC. I want you to eat this."

JC didn't bother to turn over to see what "this" was. He didn't care. Did she honestly think he was going to accept something from her after everything she'd put him through the last two days? For all he knew, it could be poison.

Marlene didn't seem to appreciate being ignored because she growled and wrapped a hand around his shoulder, letting her long nails dig into his flesh as she forced him onto his back. She glared down at him.

"I said, sit up," she said, her sugary sweet voice now rough and uncaring. "You have to eat this."

Somewhere inside himself he found the strength to glare at her defiantly. "Why? Trying to slip me another potion?" JC said nastily. "Maybe one that makes me submit to you completely."

"The point of this isn't to kill you," Marlene told him, repeating something she'd told him before. "And I don't need a potion to make you submit to me. You're going to do that anyway."

"You think so?"

Marlene looked at him, the corners of her lips upturned in a twisted smile. "Oh I know so. You'll do anything to keep those you care about from being hurt."

JC deflated, unable to argue with that. The last nightmare seemed to be a very real look into what the future with Marlene was going to be like. He'd hated every second of it, but he had stayed with her and did what she wanted. He'd let her take him away from all of his friends and family and found himself in LA where he was stuck in his own personal hell.

"You should really eat some of this. I make some pretty good gumbo."

There was a sharp stabbing pain in JC's stomach, causing him to grimace. He'd known it was only a matter of time before the pain reared its ugly head again. And to make matters worse, nausea accompanied it this time.

"I'm not hungry," JC mumbled, turning his head away from her.

"I'm sure part of the pain you're feeling is from hunger. You'll feel better after you eat something. Trust me," she said in that soft gentle voice she used with him when she wasn't angry.

JC looked back at her incredulously. "Trust you? You're kidding, right?"

"No. You're gonna trust me eventually."

"I don't think so. I'm never going to trust you, not with how you're manipulating me to be with you." Marlene's eyes narrowed, but JC didn't care. He continued, "And anyway, trust works both ways. You don't trust me, so why should I trust you?"

Marlene looked at his left wrist that was handcuffed to the metal headboard, seeming to understand what he was talking about. "That's just insurance until I know you won't try to escape. You won't be restrained forever."

JC moaned as the stabbing pain in his stomach was accompanied by one in his right arm. He began to breathe harder as he glanced at Marlene, pleading to her with his eyes. "Please, just let me go. This isn't right. I don't deserve this."

Marlene held his gaze for a moment before she stood up before kneeling on the bed, straddling him. She reached out for his left hand and for a second JC thought she was actually going to release him, but she just tugged on it to see how tight it was. Then she reached over and pulled open the drawer of the nightstand the phone had sat on and grabbed something shiny.

JC recognized the second set of handcuffs and knew what was coming, but before he could even put up any kind of resistance, she'd roughly grasped his right arm and cuffed his right arm to the bed. The action made JC's heart rate increase, feeling more panicked now that he was in a more helpless position. One that Marlene didn't hesitate to take advantage of.

**********

Justin and Chris followed Joey out of the police station, both thrilled to be out of there. It was almost quarter after eight and night was beginning to fall. After wasting so much time sitting in jail for most of the day, Justin couldn't wait to start actively investigating JC's disappearance again himself. So he was extremely disappointed when Joey informed him and Chris they were headed back to their rented house to meet Lance for dinner.

"Why didn't Lance come with you?" Chris asked.

"I have a better question." Justin glanced at Joey. "What did you guys find out today?"

"Nothing."

Justin looked at him incredulously. "What do you mean nothing? You've had all day."

"But we had no idea where to look," Joey pointed out. "We went into a couple of places with no luck and then we were spotted by paparazzi and that's not exactly something that makes looking for him easier, you know?"

"How did the paparazzi find you guys? Someone had to have tipped them off," Chris said.

Joey shrugged. "Lance and I were thinking maybe that girl J was talking to at that café."

"No way," Justin shook his head. "She was cool. She wouldn't rat us out."

Joey and Chris exchanged glances like they thought he liked her because he stuck up for her. But they let it drop as Chris said, "Well, regardless, that's making this whole thing much more complicated."

"So you're a part of this now?" Joey asked, looking at Chris with a bit of surprise.

"Yeah," Chris nodded. "J and I talked so we're good now."

Justin frowned slightly. They were far from good because he knew that Chris was still extremely hurt that Justin was considering going solo, but things were better. There'd be a time for the five of them to talk it all out later once they got JC back.

They reached the front of the house they were renting and Chris stepped on the first step of the front stoop, frowning as kicked a mound of dirt to the right and off the ledge. He glanced back at Justin and said, "I did that for you. I know what a diva you are about your sneakers getting dirty."

Justin rolled his eyes, but couldn't resist smiling slightly for a moment. It felt good having Chris on his side and talking to him without biting sarcasm again. He followed Joey and Chris into the house, feeling more confident that things were going to work out. But what Justin forgot was that things usually got worse before they got better.