After the moment they all sang together, the boys didn't let Lance go home. A few days later Lou Pearlman told them that they’d be staying in a house together, he thought that way the boys would get along better and be able to rehearse more. They all agreed with the idea, Joey would be staying with his parents since the house where they’d live was nearby. As soon as the boys knew they would be staying together they chose their roommates, Chris and Justin would be sharing a room and JC and Lance would share another.
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The boys had been practicing their dance moves and singing in a warehouse, they needed to learn how to sing and dance without being out of breath. It was really hot where they would practice, especially since they were in Orlando. They would practice from the early morning until late at night. It seemed as though they never got time to rest, they didn’t get days off, if they weren’t practicing at the warehouse they’d be practicing their singing back at the house.
One Saturday morning the guys woke up and went to the kitchen to get some breakfast, all of them but Lance. Justin was sitting at the table eating some cereal, JC next to him eating some toast, Chris was watching T.V. on the couch.
“Hey guys, where’s Lance?” Chris asked as he flipped through the channels. Justin shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat his cereal. “I don’t know… he should already be up. Let me go check on him.” JC said as he got up and went towards their room. He knocked on the door before he came in.
“Lance?” He called as he looked for him. He found Lance snuggled up in his bed. He walked over and kneeled next to Lance’s bed. “Lance, it’s time to get up.” Lance just groaned in response. JC noticed he was shivering, “Hey are you okay?” “Hurts.” was all Lance said. JC put his hand up to Lance’s forehead. He had a fever. “You have a fever. I’m gonna go get some more blankets.” JC said as he got up and left the room for some blankets.
The guys saw JC walk by, not saying anything. They looked at each other and shrugged. “Hey C, what’s up with Lance?” Justin asked as he approached JC. “He’s sick, he has a fever.” He replied as he got some blankets from the closet and started walking back to the room. Justin went back to eating his cereal. “What did he tell you?” Chris asked him, still flipping through the channels. “He said that Lance has a fever.” “We should go by his room later and see how he is.” “Yeah, we should.” Justin replied.
JC got back to his room and found Lance snuggled up to his blanket, still shivering. “Here, I got some more blankets.” JC said as he approached him pulling some blankets over Lance. Lance looked up at him and said “Thank you JC.” The truth was that Lance was really thankful for JC being there, especially since he had a crush on him since the first day they met. Lance thought that JC was the kindest person he ever met. “No problem, I’ll always be here for you.” JC replied as he watched Lance slowly fall asleep. JC reached down and brushed his hair off of his forehead. Once he was sure that Lance was sleeping he stood up to leave the room to let Lance rest. When he got to the door he saw Justin and Chris peeking into the room and giggling once they saw JC. “So, how is he, mother goose?” Chris poked at JC’s side. “Knock it off Chris,” he laughed “and he’s not really great, we should let him rest.”
They all sat down on the couch and started watching a random movie. “I think I’ll call Joey and see if he wants to come over to play basketball or something.” “Sounds like a good idea.” JC said.
Joey arrived a few minutes later. “Hey guys, what’s up?” “Nothing much.” Chris replied casually. They continued watching the movie for a bit until Joey asked “Where’s Lance?” “He’s sick, he’s got a fever.” JC answered. “Oh yeah, that’s right. I forgot.” Chris said. They all glared at him. “What?” he shrugged, looking back at them. “Nothing, forget it.” Justin said. “That must suck, I hope he gets better soon.” Joey said. They nodded and went back to watch the movie.
“You guys wanna go play basketball?” Justin asked. “Sure” Joey replied. “I think I should stay in case Lance wakes up and needs something.” JC said. “No, go with them, I’ll stay.” Chris offered. “You sure?” “Yeah, go.”
They all went outside and Chris went to check on Lance. He knocked and entered the room. He found Lance wrapped in a bunch of blankets, laying down, looking at the ceiling. “Hey Lansten” Chris said softly, not wanting to disturb him. “Hi.” Lance said looking over at him. “How are you feeling?” Chris said as he approached him, sitting down on JC’s bed. “Sick, still, but better I think.” “That’s good.” Chris smiled, “Do you need anything?” “Not really.” Lance replied. They stayed quiet for a few moments before Lance spoke. “Hey Chris, can I tell you something?” “Sure.” “What would you do if you had a crush on someone who you have absolutely no chance with?” “Well, I’d probably just try to tell them how I feel even if I had no chance with them.” “Okay.” “Would you mind telling me who it is?” Chris asked curiously. “Maybe I’ll tell you who it is later. I’m getting kind of sleepy.” Lance replied shifting into a more comfortable position. “Alright, rest some more.” Chris said as he walked over to Lance and tucked him in, “Just call me, or any of the guys if you need anything, okay?” Lance nodded. Chris then left the room quietly.
