Lance shared a laugh with Vanessa as they walked up to the front of the hotel she was staying at. He pulled the door open and held it for her, gesturing for her to step through. Once they were inside, she turned to him and smiled.

"You don't have to do that, you know," she said.

Lance gave her a quizzical look. "Do what?"

"Hold the door open and do all those gentlemanly things."

Lance grinned at her as he hit the up button for the elevator. "Most girls love that stuff."

"It's nice," Vanessa admitted. "But I don't need it. What I'm interested in is you."

"Well, this is me. My momma raised me to treat women with respect."

"Well when you put it like that..."

Lance laughed, grabbing a hold of her hand and stepping onto the elevator with her. After he'd left dinner with the guys, he'd gone out for dessert with Vanessa. They'd just finished a little bit ago and decided to go back to her room to watch a movie since it was still kind of early.

Vanessa hit the button for the seventh floor, and it took less than a minute to reach it and for the doors to open. She gently pulled Lance along as she led the way out of the elevator and down the hall before she stopped about halfway down. Lance let go of her hand so she could dig her room key out of her purse, which she quickly found and slid through the slot. The green light lit up and she pushed the door open, walking in with Lance right behind her.

It looked like pretty much every other hotel Lance had been in, especially the last few months. There was a queen sized bed against the one wall with a large armoire and TV against the other with a desk and armchair over by the window. Vanessa stepped over to the mini bar and opened the miniature fridge.

She glanced over her shoulder at him. "You want anything to drink?"

"I'm good," Lance said, shaking his head. "Thanks though."

Vanessa nodded, grabbing a bottle of water for herself before shutting the fridge. She took a drink before sitting it on one of the nightstands next to the bed. Then she sat on the large mattress, slipping off her high heels and moving so she was leaning her back against the headboard.

"Aren't you going to join me?" she asked Lance.

He smiled and gladly went to her, lying next to her on the bed. Once he was beside her, she moved closer, snuggling into his side and resting her head on his chest. Lance put his right arm around her, enjoying the feel of her silky purple blouse beneath his fingers. It felt so right to have her in his arms, and it was a feeling he wanted to hang onto for a long time.

She reached for the remote and tilted her head to look up at him. "What do you want to watch?"

Lance shrugged with one shoulder. "I don't really get a lot of time to watch movies, so you can put just about anything on and I guarantee I probably haven't seen it."

"I don't always have time to watch movies either."

Lance nodded in understanding. She had inherited her mother's seamstress shop in New York after she'd died several years ago. Her mother had attracted a fairly large client base, which kept her pretty busy. It was only because of her friends' urging that she'd taken this vacation to visit some childhood friends. He was dreading when it was over and she left.

Absently, he fingered her right hand and noticed how long and delicate her fingers were. "You've got such nimble fingers," he told her. "Do you play piano?"

Vanessa laughed. "God no. I leave that to you musician types."

"Maybe you were a musician in another life."

"Doubt it," she said. She looked up at him again. "But you're sweet."

She leaned into him more, moving her head forward. Lance's heart pounded in anticipation as her lips closed in on his own, and it was almost like she was moving in slow motion just to torment him. But finally their lips met and he felt his heart stop beating entirely for a moment.

The kiss was soft, but there seemed to be a bit of longing behind it. Lance's eyes closed reflexively, letting the pleasurable feeling wash over him. With her so close, he could smell her flower scented perfume. It wasn't overpowering and actually seemed to heighten his senses to make the kiss that much more sensational.

When they finally pulled away, Lance felt his breath finally catch up. They smiled at each other, and Lance felt like their connection had just deepened even more. It was the first time they'd kissed, having spent all of their time talking and getting to know each other up until now. She was so easy to talk to and there was no denying he'd been attracted to her from the moment he saw her. And he knew then that he would do everything he could to keep her, more than prepared for a long distance relationship. It was what they all basically had to endure anyway due to their hectic schedule.

"You want to go with me to Justin's tomorrow for a barbeque?" Lance asked, shifting slightly so he was looking her in the eyes.

"Isn't it early to meet the family?" she replied, her lips curled in a teasing smile.

Lance laughed lightly. "It's just the guys."

"Who you said are basically like your brothers," she pointed out.

"You don't have to," Lance said. "I just thought it'd be nice for the guys to meet you. I think after bailing on dinner early, they're curious about you."

She looked at him seriously, grabbing hold of his hand and interlocking their fingers. "Do you want me to go?"

Lance licked his lips, feeling a bit nervous. "I do. I haven't been very happy lately and even though we've only just met, I feel happier than I've been in a long time. And I want them to meet the woman that's been able to do that for me."

She stared at him for a few more seconds before she finally nodded. "Okay. I'll go."

"You sure?" Lance asked.

"Positive," she said and punctuated the statement with a kiss, this one much shorter than the last. "I'd love to meet them."

Lance smiled at her before pulling her close, hugging her quickly. He released her and glanced at the clock, noting the time. If they were going to watch a movie, they'd have to do it soon or else it'd be pretty late by the time it was finished.

"You still up for a movie?" he asked her.

"I am if you are."

In answer, Lance stole the remote from her and hit a button on it to bring up a list of movies that could be ordered through the hotel. "Let's see what's on pay-per-view then."

It would take them another ten minutes to pick a movie and settle in to watch it. Lance wouldn't spend the night, not wanting to rush anything even though they didn't have much time left before she went back to New York. In his mind, the physical part of the relationship wasn't nearly as important as the emotional part, which was going amazing so far. He just wanted to relish in that feeling for a while.

***********

The next afternoon Justin wandered downstairs and into the kitchen where he found Kim at the counter, prepping for the barbeque they'd be having in less than an hour. She was currently chopping vegetables that would go on the skewers for the kabobs they were going to grill. He stood there for a moment, watching her work and finding the concentration she was giving the task so adorable.

"Would you quit staring at me," Kim said at last, not even tearing her eyes away from what she was doing.

"Sorry," Justin replied, though he wasn't very sorry at all. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck. "Do you have any idea how sexy you are?"

Kim turned slightly so she could look at him. "You're just saying that because the sharp knife gives me an element of danger."

Justin's eyes went to the large knife that was still in her hand and he took a step back. "You're not gonna go all Psycho on me and kill me in our new bathroom, are you?"

"And stain that new white tile? I don't think so," Kim said. Justin made a face and she laughed. "Oh, baby. You know I wouldn't do that to you."

"Because you just couldn't live without this awesome bod, right?" Justin flexed his muscles then, causing his girlfriend to laugh even more.

"Something like that."

Justin sobered a bit, moving so he was leaning against the counter with her. "Anything I can do to help?" he asked as she went back to her abandoned task.

"Do we need to make anything else? Dessert or anything?" she asked.

Justin shook his head. "Kelly and Joey are bringing cookies, Chris is bringing the beer and chips, and I think Lance said he'd bring some mac and cheese from that one restaurant, whatsitsname."

"And I got potato salad in the fridge," Kim said. She frowned suddenly. "Is all that too heavy? Should we make something lighter, like fruit salad?"

"I'm pretty sure JC's bringing that. He's usually pretty proud of his fruit salad."

Kim grabbed a baggie and started to load all the vegetables into it. "That's not exactly a complicated thing to make."

"Exactly why JC's so good at it. Even he can't screw up cutting fruit and throwing it in a bowl," Justin said with a laugh. But he quickly sobered as he thought about his best friend and the worry he'd been feeling pushing itself to forefront of his mind.

Kim glanced at him as she took the bag of vegetables and crossed the room to put it in the fridge. "You're worried about him, aren't you?"

"What makes you say that?" Justin asked, trying to downplay it.

Kim shut the fridge and turned to him. She walked up to him almost casually. "Oh I don't know. Maybe it's because I know you so well. Or you know, it could be that you told me as much last night."

"Oh yeah."

JC had acted pretty normal during dinner last night, but something about it felt off. Justin rationalized that it might be because he expected JC to be moping, especially since his girlfriend had dumped him recently and they'd yet to see the misery from that. They hadn't even found out about the breakup until the day after it happened when Justin had called him up to see how things were going. But it wasn't exactly in JC's nature to cry in front of them so it was very possible that he'd mourned the loss privately.

That was all well and good if that was the case...except that there was really no way for them to know one way or another. JC was an insanely private person even among them, but that had partially been what had led to what'd happened during the tour. They all just wanted to make sure nothing like that happened again. The tricky part would be getting JC to talk without tipping him off beforehand.

"You should get him alone and try talking to him," Kim said, her voice jarring him out of his thoughts.

Justin sighed. "That's harder than it sounds." JC almost seemed to have a sixth sense about it, like some alarm went off in his brain when he got a feeling the conversation was going to turn on him.

"Don't worry." Kim came up behind him and kneaded her fingers into the base of his neck, trying to work out the knots that had settled there. "You'll figure it out."

"I hope so," Justin said.

He stood there for a moment, letting his eyes fall closed as he enjoyed the massage. She always seemed to know what he needed, and he was grateful for her. Things had been hectic when he'd first met her back in February as they'd been busy putting the final touches on the album and promoting like crazy. But she hadn't been affected by all that, helping to keep him grounded during the insanity that just grew tenfold when the album was actually released. She'd been someone on the outside that hadn't been caught up in all the craziness so she was kind of like the calm in the middle of the storm for him. And considering things didn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon, he was thankful she was around to provide support even if it was just through a nightly phone call.

"You okay?"

Justin blinked, opening his eyes. He glanced at the clock on the microwave and saw that nearly ten minutes had passed since the impromptu massage had started. "Yeah," he said, rolling his neck and wincing as he heard some cracking sounds. "Thanks."

Kim frowned and she looked like she was going to press further when the door bell rang. "You ready?" Justin asked her, knowing that was likely one of the guys.

"Are you?"

"Yep." He leaned in and gave her a kiss. "I'm fine."

The doorbell rang again and Kim couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like Chris is getting impatient."

"Getting?" Justin said, starting out of the kitchen. "He's always been impatient."

The last part was practically yelled as he was out in the foyer. He could hear her laugh echo from the kitchen, and he smiled to himself as he opened the door. Like they'd predicted, Chris was standing on the other side with a case of beer and several bags of chips balance precariously on top of the cardboard box.

"'Bout time," Chris groused as he pushed his way past Justin.

"Hello to you too," Justin said. He was about to close the door when he caught sight of Joey and Kelly walking up the driveway. "Hey, guys," he greeted when they got closer.

"Hi, Justin," Kelly said, carrying a large plate of cookies. "Kim in the kitchen?"

Justin nodded. "You can drop the cookies on the table in there."

"Long time no see," Joey said with a grin, slapping Justin on the back.

Justin laughed and closed the front door, following Joey back into the kitchen. The five of them chatted while they waited for JC and Lance to show, which wasn't for another ten minutes with Lance being the last to arrive with a very striking woman.

"Guys," Lance said as he stepped into the kitchen with her, "this is Vanessa."

They all greeted her, introducing themselves as they shook her hand. She smiled at them, seeming polite enough. But she wasn't what they'd expected to see, something Justin had easily been able to pick up from the others. Not that he'd really thought Lance had a specific type, but for whatever reason they just didn't picture him with such a powerful looking woman.

She was in a white sundress with her jet black hair pulled into a loose ponytail, which should've made her come off as innocent. But for whatever reason, Justin was getting the vibe she was anything but. It wasn't exactly a bad thing for her to be driven, strong and independent; it was just an adjustment from Lance's girlfriend who'd been so soft spoken and truly had that whole innocent look about her. But then, that'd ended eventually so maybe he would come to have more in common with this Vanessa.

JC cleared his throat then, and Justin blinked, focusing on his best friend. "While everyone's just standing around, I want to give you guys the keys to my place."

"You already did. Months ago when you first moved in," Joey said as JC handed each of them a key.

Justin quickly came to the realization, but Chris was the one to vocalize it. "You got your locks changed? Why?"

JC shrugged, obviously trying to downplay it, but Chris was having none of that. "Why'd you get your locks changed, JC?" he asked in a tone that demanded an answer.

JC and Chris seemed to have a staring contest for several seconds before JC finally sighed, giving in. "Emma was waiting for me at my place last night. In my kitchen."

"I thought she already gave you back your key," Lance said.

"Apparently she had another," JC replied.

Justin frowned slightly. "So what happened? What'd she say?"

"Nothing." They all looked at him doubtfully and he rolled his eyes, clearly frustrated. "We exchanged a few words and then she left. That's it."

"Then why'd you change the locks?" Chris challenged.

"Because I don't want her to be able to surprise me anymore. Now can we drop it, please?"

The way JC worded it made it sound like a request, but Justin knew it was anything but. Chris's eyes were narrowed like he wasn't willing to give in at all now that the subject of Emma had been breached, and there was a thick tension in the kitchen. A tension poor Vanessa was in the middle of and standing next to Lance, looking kind of awkward.

Kim seemed to recognize the same thing because she broke the silence saying, "How about we show you guys the remodel?"

There was no argument and Kim led the entire group upstairs to show off the two remodeled guest bathrooms and the fourth bedroom that'd been converted into an office of sorts for Kim. She was a full time student at a local university and needed the space to study and do homework, especially since the fall semester would be starting in just a few short weeks. In her spare time she also dabbled in photography and they'd framed several of the photos she'd taken, placing them strategically on the walls.

Everyone seemed impressed with how the rooms looked, especially the bedroom-turned-office. Though, Chris wouldn't be himself if he didn't mess with Justin.

"I can't believe you turned my room into an office," Chris complained, his voice taking on a bit of a whine even as his lips upturned slightly.

Justin rolled his eyes. "It wasn't your room."

"It was when I stayed here, which doesn't seem likely now." The tone was definitely whining, and everyone laughed at Chris's antics. Justin punched him on the shoulder, and Chris rubbed the spot. "Geez, J. I didn't take you for the abusive type. I hope you treat Kim better than this."

"Obviously," Justin returned. "After all, I gave her your room, didn't I?"

"And if he didn't treat me right, I'd kick his ass," Kim put in.

Justin shot her a playful look. "Whatever girl. You wish."

"If anyone has unrealistic expectations, it's you."

"Oh you think so, huh?"

Justin gave her a wicked grin and she backed away, but she couldn't move fast enough. He rushed forward and easily swept her up into his arms, throwing her over his shoulder and racing downstairs. When his feet hit the first floor, he didn't stop but continued to the backyard and she pounded against his back the whole way, yelling.

"Let go!" She then caught sight of where headed. "If you drop me in that pool, you're dead. And you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight."

Justin stopped at the edge of the pool, hovering there for a second like he was really going to toss her in. But after a few seconds, he lowered her to the ground next to the pool's ladder.

"She sure told you," Joey said, laughing. It was then Justin realized everyone had followed them outside.

"You're one to talk," Lance replied from where he was standing with his left arm around Vanessa's waist.

"Never said it didn't apply to me. I was just pointing out to Curly exactly what I've been dealing with." Kelly pinched Joey, and he let out a short yelp. He looked at her, rubbing his side. "I didn't say it was a bad thing."

"I'm getting a beer. Who wants one?" Chris asked.

And that was how the barbeque got rolling. They all talked and hung out, Kelly going inside to help Kim prepare the last bit of the food. Vanessa, on the other hand, refused to leave Lance's side, which almost seemed kind of possessive. But, Justin reasoned, it wasn't like she really knew anyone well so she probably just felt uncomfortable.

Justin kept looking for an opportunity he could use to get JC alone, but every time he turned around it seemed like JC was talking to Joey or Lance. Not to mention it was harder since he the host and was working the grill. It was when he turned away from putting the prepared skewers on the grill that he saw Chris had managed to corner JC, despite JC's best efforts to avoid him.

Justin was pretty sure he knew what they were talking about, and his suspicions were confirmed when JC's face grew red and he snapped something to Chris before all but fleeing the backyard. JC only got angry like that and stormed out when he felt like they were prying into things he didn't want to talk about - namely his personal life. And he'd been especially closed lipped about his recent breakup.

Without wasting any time, Justin marched over to Chris and snapped at him with a bit of his own anger. "What the hell was that about?"

"I'm tired of pussyfooting around him. He needs to talk about what happened," Chris said, not seeming at all phased by Justin's anger. "Keeping it inside isn't healthy."

Justin couldn't really argue with that because he'd fully intended on trying to get JC to open up. But JC didn't respond well to confrontation and being pressured into it, and Chris knew that.

"You're right. He does," Justin admitted. "But you can't force him into it."

"And you can't wait around for him to come to you," Chris said pointedly, making it clear that was exactly what he thought Justin had been doing.

"Fine. I'll talk to him."

Chris nodded, his arms crossed. "Now." Justin started to protest, but Chris just fixed him with a look. "If you wait too long, he'll just be calm and shoot you down when you try to talk to him. Right now he's emotional and he's more likely to let stuff slip."

"So this is what it's coming down to?" Justin asked. "Setting him up so he ‘let's things slip'?"

Chris just shrugged. "Whatever works. Now go," he said, shoving Justin towards the back door slightly. "Or I will."

Justin sighed, but he called for Joey to take over the grill. He walked into the kitchen where Kelly and Kim still were, though they were done with any food prep and were just standing there talking. "Where's-"

But he couldn't even get his entire question out before Kim answered him, "He made some excuse about having to do something."

"But he's probably back at his place," Kelly finished.

Justin nodded, stepping forward to give Kim a quick peck and telling her he'd be back as soon as he could. Ideally with JC, but he wasn't going to promise that since he wasn't sure how his talk with JC would go.

About ten minutes later, Justin was standing on JC's front porch. He rang the bell and waited several seconds, but there was no answer. But he wasn't fooled. JC's car was in the driveway. He was clearly home and just ignoring him, knowing that one of them had likely followed him. But he'd shut himself away and avoided to talking to them long enough.

Justin pulled the key JC had just given him out of his pocket and unlocked the front door. He walked through the small entryway and the living room, both of which were empty. Then he stepped into the kitchen and that's where he found JC. He was leaning against his counter, his head bowed slightly as he took calming breaths, but he looked up as Justin came in.

"The key's only supposed to be used in emergencies," JC said, practically seething and his face quickly getting red again.

Justin wasn't really sure what to say. The only thing that came to mind was, "This is."

JC narrowed his eyes. "Because your friend won't talk to you? Grow up, Justin. This isn't high school."

"Then why all the drama?" Justin asked, careful not to make his words sound combative. "Running away from your friends when they're trying to talk to you isn't much better."

"Browbeat is more like it," JC muttered, his expression dark.

Justin simply shrugged. "You know it's basically the same thing to Chris. He's like a bloodhound, unable to stop until he gets what he wants."

"What about what I want? I'm the one that was hurt here. I shouldn't have to talk about it if I don't want to."

Justin had to admit JC had a point, but none of them were comfortable with stepping back and letting him handle it himself. It was, after all, what'd led to that incident last month.

"We're just worried," Justin said. "We don't want a repeat of last time."

JC blew out a puff of air angrily, rolling his eyes. "It always comes back to that. I'm sick of you guys throwing that in my face."

"We don't mean to-" Justin started, but JC cut him off.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe that's why I don't want to talk about this? You guys already think I'm weak and emotional. No need to add fuel to the fire."

Justin frowned. "We don't think that."

JC pushed himself away from the counter, closing the gap between them as he glared. "The hell you don't. Every time something goes wrong, you guys are looking at me to see if that'll be the thing that sets me off again. Do you have any idea how irritating that is?"

"Sorry," Justin apologized sincerely. "You just really freaked us out, and it made us realize we weren't as good of friends as we thought. We're just trying to make sure you know you can talk to us."

"Duly noted," JC said dryly. "You can back off now."

Justin sighed. He could understand JC's frustration, but this was almost making his worry worse. The way JC was pushing back so hard on opening up about his breakup just convinced Justin all the more that he needed to talk about it.

"If you don't talk to me, Chris is going to come over and you know how that'll go," Justin told JC. He was counting on the fact that JC wanted to avoid another confrontation with Chris at all costs - so much so that he'd open up.

JC crossed his arms over his chest like he knew exactly what Justin was up to. Justin could practically sense JC's resistance growing and he wanted to avoid JC closing himself off completely.

"Can you at least tell me what happened?" Justin asked. "If you do that much, I'll tell Chris we talked and everyone will leave you alone."

JC was silent for a long moment, like he was considering his options. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh, shifting so his left hip was resting against the island. "I finally got up the courage to tell her I loved her and she didn't feel the same."

It was said so matter-of-fact and Justin was floored by it. He'd known that JC had been getting attached to Emma and enjoyed being with her a lot, but he'd no idea it'd went as deep as love. And even more, he was surprised that she didn't reciprocate his feelings because she'd seemed to care about him as much he did about her.

"When was this?" Justin asked.

"My birthday."

Justin's eyes widened slightly. "You told her you loved her on your birthday?" He shook his head and mused, "No wonder you were in such a bad mood."

They'd taken JC out that night for his birthday to the typical clubs they frequented in downtown Orlando, having been in town for several days with their last tour date a couple days later in Jacksonville. JC hadn't been into celebrating at all. It'd taken them most of the night to get him to loosen up and enjoy himself, and it'd ended with him getting completely trashed and sleeping off his hangover at Chris's house. None of them had known why he'd shown up in such a foul mood, but it certainly made sense now.

"She said she wasn't sure she felt the same. That she wanted to think on it a couple days," JC continued, his voice practically monotone. Justin frowned. "Then the day before Jacksonville she told me she was already in love with someone else."

Justin felt anger surge through his veins. "Who?"

JC shrugged. "Some soldier. He'd been at basic training and just got back."

"She used you to cheat on her boyfriend?" Justin asked somewhat incredulously.

"I was a placeholder until he came back," JC said. "He came back and we broke up. That was the end of it."

There was no hint of emotion in his voice or on his face, which just further worried Justin. He knew that JC was hurt and angry, and he didn't understand why he wasn't reacting like he was.

"She was a moron, C. It's her loss, but you're better off without her. You don't want a girl that would cheat on her boyfriend like that," Justin tried to console.

JC nodded, his arms still crossed. "I know, but it's hard to think that you're going to be married and have kids before me. I'm the big brother. I'm supposed to do all that first."

Justin took an unconscious step backwards, completely thrown by what JC said - what he was alluding to. "Whoa, hold on. Who says I'm getting married?"

"Lance," JC said simply. "But after seeing you two together the last couple days, I'm beginning to understand why he thinks that."

Justin shook his head. "We're not that serious, JC."

JC laughed at that. It was a bit dry and bitter, like he couldn't believe Justin couldn't see what he did. "Get real, Justin. She lives with you. You turned one of your guest rooms into a study for her."

"Because she needs a place to do her homework. The music room has a desk, but it's always a mess in there. It was necessary," Justin argued.

"You did it because you love her and you want to see her happy. The sooner you admit that to yourself, the better."

"I have," Justin said. "There's no question that I love her and we're serious, but not marriage serious."

"Not yet anyway."

Justin opened his mouth to say it wasn't going to happen, but he couldn't. He didn't know if Kim was the person he was going to spend the rest of his life with, but he wasn't saying no either. They were still so young. He felt like there was more than enough time for them to figure that out, which he thought JC would've agreed with.

"I'm surprised you're pushing for this. I figured you'd be lecturing me about getting married too young," Justin said.

JC just shrugged again. "Who am I to say when it's right? I mean, look at me. I'm hardly the person to be giving advice on relationships or marriage."

"JC..." Justin started, staring at his friend sympathetically.

JC cut him off, shaking his head. "It's true. If you want to marry Kim, you should."

"Okay, but I don't. At least not right now. It's not even in my thoughts," Justin said. "Things have been too crazy."

"You'll give me a heads up when you're ready to get married though, right? Whether it's Kim or not?"

"Of course," Justin nodded.

"Good. I can live vicariously through you."

Justin frowned, realizing how nicely JC had redirected the conversation away from him. He wanted to challenge JC, tell him not to give up on love as he seemed to be hinting at. But the look on his friend's face easily told him he'd be rebuffed if he even tried. It was times like these when it sucked to have such a deep connection to JC because it made it hard to force him to get him talking about himself. But he'd at least gotten somewhere and that was a start.