The group made their way down to the van. The 5 couples walked hand in hand to the van. They were all acting like teenagers in the early stages of a relationship. They made their way to the Magic Kingdom for lunch. The girls were being kept completely out of the loop. Melinda had been able to get them a table at Be Our Guest off to the side and as out of the way as possible. The girls were blown away that the guys had set up this lunch for them. They enjoyed their lunch and tried to avoid as many pictures as possible. Now that the word had gotten out that all five guys were at Disney, today was going to be a little more difficult for the guys not to be noticed. As they were eating lunch, they were discussing what their plan for the day was.
JC spoke up, “I really think if we break off it will draw less of a crowd.” He leaned over to Lex and whispered in her ear, “And I want to make out with you on the people mover without our friends being with us.” Lex laughed at him and put her hand on his thigh and said, “I can get behind that plan.”
“I think C is probably right. And I have some ideas that I wanted to do with Rhyann without you goofs.” Chris looked at her and winked.
They all decided to go their own way for the day, but would meet back up to watch the fireworks together. As lunch was wrapping up everyone started to plan where they were going next. Lance and Michael wanted to go to EPCOT, well Lance wanted to go to EPCOT. He couldn’t be at Disney and not ride Mission Space as many times as possible. Chris and Rhyann were heading to Hollywood Studios with the first stop being Tower of Terror followed by Rockin’ Roller Coaster. Joey and Charlie were headed to Hollywood Studios as well but starting in Star Wars Land. Justin and Liz were going to Space Mountain. JC and Lex were heading straight to the people movers, followed by A Small World.
(The following all take place at the same time, just peeks into everyone’s day)
Lance and Michael took off to EPCOT. He wanted to ride Mission Space and go see the new space restaurant. Even though they had just eaten, they could get a drink right? They spent most of their day at EPCOT drinking around the world, and talking. Talking about their future, the wedding, their friends. “Babe, what do you think will happen next week when everyone goes home?” Lance looked at Michael asking with a little worry in his eyes. “I don’t know, Bubba. I want to think that the relationships that are building this week will be able to continue in the future. I have never seen the guys this happy. It is amazing. When they are happy, you are happier.” Michael whispered in Lance’s ear as they were waiting to board Soarin’.
“Turkey, would you be totally against me texting Liz and Justin and seeing if we could spend some time with them this afternoon? Just the 4 of us? I really would like to get to know her a little better. She is bringing back Curly, and I could not be happier. I have missed my friend.” Lance asked. “Of course. I am enjoying seeing this version of Justin. I hope we get to see more of him,” Michael replied.
Lance: Hey Best Friend! I don’t know what you and Justin have planned for the day, but do you think that we could meet up sometime today and hang out a little bit? I wanted to hang out with my Best Friend before she leaves me.
Liz: BEST FRIEND! That would be fantastic. What if we meet up for dinner just the four of us and then we can do some rides until the fireworks.
Lance: Sounds perfect! Just let us know where to meet you and we will come to y’all.
Liz and Justin were currently on the Buzz Lightyear ride and Justin was kicking her butt. “What’s up babe?” Justin asked while he was trying to take down Zurg.
“Oh we have dinner plans with Lance and Michael tonight. I hope you don’t mind, gosh I should have asked you before I agreed.” Liz started panicking a little.
Justin turned towards her, “Lizzy, I can’t wait to have dinner with Lance and MIchael, this will be super fun. I don’t get to see them as much as I would like.” He thought for a minute and then started talking again, “No, I take that back. I haven’t made the time that I needed to see them. But I feel like all that is going to change.”
Justin leaned in and kissed her as the ride was coming to an end. They walked off the ride, Liz grabbed his hand and said “Okay, Mouse, where are we headed to next?”
“The PeopleMovers, Space Mountain and A Small World and then you get to pick.”
They walked hand in hand over to the PeopleMovers. It was pretty much a walk on so they stood and let several cars go between them and the people in front of them and jumped in a car. They sat on the same side of the car and they were off. Liz snuggled up next to Justin with his arm wrapped around her.
“Lizzy, what is your plan for the rest of your time in Florida? Do you know when you are going home? I don’t want to let you out of my sight until I have to. Tell me I can come visit you soon?” he asked with a hint of uncertainty.
“Originally I was flying home tonight, but I changed my flight to Sunday. I plan on spending as much time with you as you can handle until I have to step on that airplane. And anytime that you want to come visit you are always welcome. You know, I’ve never been to California.” She winked at Justin and moved really close to him she whispered, “Maybe I can come see you as well.”
“We are so making that happen, babe! I want to show you everything. I want to see your world, and I want to show you mine as we make our own world together.”
Chris and Rhyann were on Slinky Dog Dash for the third time in a row. It had been their first stop when they arrived at Studios. After Slinky they were heading to Star Wars Land. Chris was like a kid in a candy shop. He was so excited to finally be standing in Star Wars Land, and being here with Rhyann was making it even better. After they had ridden everything in Star Wars Land, they were off to build lightsabers. They were laughing and joking with each other, and both of them were amazed at how well they were getting along. Rhyann finished her lightsaber and drew it out on Chris.
“You, old man, are now my servant. You must meet all my demands for the remainder of the day. Are you up to the task?”
Chris drew his lightsaber on her and wrapped his arm around her, pulled her close and whispered, “Princess, I will do whatever you ask. And that doesn’t expire.” He leaned in and their lips met, sweet and soft at first and then grew deeper. He pulled away from her and looked at Rhyann, “I need to stop that here, it is not family friendly what is going on in my mind right now.” They walked out with their lightsabers and headed towards the Tower of Terror. They left their lightsabers with a cast member to pick them up later and were off to ToT! They spent the next hour or so jumping back and forth between Rockin’ Roller Coaster and ToT! After a few more rides and dinner they were planning on heading back to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with everyone else. They picked the Sci-Fi Drive In for dinner. It was one of Chris’ favorite places from back in the day and he couldn’t wait to share it with Rhyann. After they had dinner, they watched the “movie” and stole kisses from each other. They started planning when they would be seeing each other again. Chris told her that all the guys were staying one more week in Orlando together. “I am really hoping that we can sit down and talk about the future, if we even want there to be a future. I haven’t heard all five of us being on the same page in almost 20 years. It is just bizarre that we are all ready to talk about the band. I don’t want to be too hopeful, but I am getting old and don’t know how much longer I can wait for this. So after we talk this week I’d like to come see you next week. I think I will need to talk all this out with someone and I think I’d like that someone to be you.” Chris had been rubbing his thumbs on the backs of Rhyann’s hands as he talked. He looked her in the eyes and didn’t know how to interpret the look on her face. “Oh shit, did I say something I shouldn’t have said? Did I tell you too much? What are you thinking? Ry, talk to me please.” Rhyann looked at him and ran her fingers over his beard on his cheeks, and moved in closer to him and kissed him. They both let out a sigh and pressed their foreheads together. Rhyann pulled Chris’ hands over her heart and said, “Chris, first of all, you are welcome to come visit whenever you have time. I wouldn’t be able to take off work, but we would have the weekend and nights. But I love the idea of you being home waiting on me when I get home from work.” Rhyann chuckled at that idea. She continued, “If you guys are wanting to sit down together to talk about the future, then you guys need to do that alone so you guys can work out anything holding anyone back. I can’t deny that I am giddy on the inside that this talk is finally happening. I will be there to listen to you as you work through this and then when it happens I will be your biggest fan screaming for you as you take the stage or whatever you guys decide to do. And just know you are not too old for this. You sound amazing, and you look better than you did 20 years ago.” She moved a little closer to him in their “car” and got as close to him as she could and whispered in his ear, “I’ll be happy to help you remember how young you really are whenever you want.” She bit at his ear when she felt his body shiver. Chris turned to face her and kissed her with everything he had in him. “Girl you are driving me crazy right here in the backseat of this car.” They continued stealing kisses and enjoying their time together, just the two of them, before heading to Magic Kingdom.
Joey and Charlie headed straight to Star Wars Land. They walked hand in hand looking at all the amazing things in the land. It was the first time that Charlie had seen it. Whether you are a fan of Star Wars or not, you cannot deny how immersive it is when you walk into the land. Their first stop was blue milk. Joey wanted to share all his love of Star Wars with Charlie. He told her all the insider things that they passed. After enjoying their milk it was time for rides. They rode both Star Wars rides multiple times before heading to Toy Story Land. One of the things that Charlie had always liked about Joey was his love for Disney and Star Wars and just his all around young-at-heart spirit. She was seeing so much more of that today. They were currently waiting for the Swirling Saucers to start spinning. They were taking a selfie when the horn started to sound notifying everyone the ride was about to start. Joey put his phone up and wrapped his arm around Charlie. He knew what to expect, but she was not ready when they started spinning. She slammed right into Joey’s side. They both started laughing as Joey pulled her close as they were spun around. They could not stop laughing as the ride continued. After finishing up the rides in Toy Story Land they rode a few more rides before heading to Hollywood and Vine for dinner. Joey had called ahead so they could have a private area for dinner. Over dinner they talked about Joey’s daughters and the projects he was working on. “Joey, I know you have so much on your plate, but I would love for us to keep in touch after I leave.” Joey looked at Charlie, “Charlie, babe, it is going to take a lot for you to get rid of me. I want you to come visit as often as you can, I want to come visit you, I want to text you good morning and you text me good night. I want to see where this goes with us. I don’t want to rush anything, but I want to see where this leads. And it’s a bonus that my best friends like you.” They laughed and Joey grabbed her hand and kissed it. They finished their dinner and rode a few more rides before heading to Magic Kingdom.
Josh and Lex headed to The People Movers. While they were going around looking at the castle, Josh pulled Lex’s legs in his lap and winked at her as she was sitting across from him. “I could ride this for hours,” he said while he ran his hands over her calves. “I could stay like this for hours.” Lex sighed at the feeling of Josh’s hands on her bare skin. When they came back around to the end of the ride, they asked if they could stay on for a while. The cast members agreed, and they continued to ride around chatting about last night’s show and the uncertainty of the conversation the guys were about to have and what it meant for the future. What it meant for his future, for their future. Once they finished at the People Movers they headed towards A Small World. After a few more rides, they headed towards Main Street. They walked hand in hand and laughed as they talked along the way. They stopped on the side of the castle to take some pictures. Lex grabbed her camera and propped it up for an impromptu photo shoot. Lex turned Josh to where his back was to the camera, she jumped in his arms as the timer went off. She looked at the picture and was so happy with it. She showed it to Josh to see what he thought. “Lex, babe, look at you. You are beautiful. You look so happy, it is all over your face.” He kissed her and she sighed. “Josh this is so much, you, here by the castle, kissing me like that! Whose life is this?” “This is your life, and I can’t wait to see what is going to happen, and I get to be a part of it.” “Do you care if I post this on Instagram?” Lex asked. “No, I think that is a great picture for you to post! I have an idea that I want to post. Whoa, wait, babe, do you care if I post something on my page? I know you locked your account down, and you don’t have to accept requests from people. Okay, wait here I’m going to get something that I want for my picture. Don’t let anyone sweep you off your feet while I’m gone.” Josh hurried off and Lex was so confused on what he was doing. He came back about 10 minutes later with a bag. He pulled out two sets of ears. “For you my princess! And mine,” as he put both their ears on. “Ok so what I want to do, you stand in front of me and lean to the right.” He set the camera up and came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her and leaned to make sure the camera could see her ears. Once the camera had taken several shots he brought the phone over to her. “Josh, these are great! It really captures emotion without really seeing me.” “Let’s pick the best one.” After they picked the best picture Josh opened his Instagram to post the picture. He captioned it with “This really is the happiest place on earth!” He tagged Lex and hit that blue checkmark. “Well that is done, let’s enjoy the rest of the night before we meet back up with everyone else.” They both muted their notifications and were happy to be here together.
Lance, Michael, Justin and Liz met back up for dinner. They sat in a booth in the back of Tony’s. Lance and Liz sat on one side of the table with Justin and Michael across the table. They ordered their meal, and caught up on the day. Justin cleared his throat, looked at Liz and then looked at Lance, “Lance, I want to apologize to you. I have not made an effort to see you as much as I should, as much as a brother should. And for that I am truly sorry. Your best friend made me realize that I have not been the brother and friend that I should have been to all of you. That changes right now. Plus, I think your best friend won’t let me get away with it anymore.” Lance couldn’t believe the change in Justin in this moment. It wasn’t just his words, but it was his whole persona. “J, I know you and I are so busy, we all could have done better. If I learned anything through the last year with all this lockdown stuff, it is that I need to do better with my relationships. I’m so glad all 5 of us were able to spend some overdue time together. And I know we will be seeing more of each other in the very near future.” “I have been thinking for a while, but this week has just confirmed it, I think I want to find a more permanent home in Tennessee. I just feel better when I am out of LA or NY. I feel more like myself, whoever he is.” “Babe, that’s really big. And very exciting!” Liz smiled at him and rubbed her foot along his leg just to let him know she was there. The group finished their dinner as it was getting to be time to meet the others for the fireworks. They walked over to the grassy area a few minutes before the fireworks were to begin. The rest of the group was already there chatting and laughing with each other.
The others joined their friends, they all sat close to each other and wrapped in the arms of a special person. The fireworks show began. There was singing, there were tears and there was the hope of what was to come. When the fireworks finished, they stayed in their grassy area a little while longer. They waited for the crowd to die down a little before they started to head out. Charlie looked at Joey and then at her friends, “I am so sad that this is our last night at Disney.” Rhyann snuggled up to Chris, “This place just became so much more important and special to me.” Chris kissed the side of her head and whispered, “Me too. Maybe we can all come back every year together, and then maybe you and I can sneak back just us.” When the crowd cleared out enough for them to feel comfortable, they made their way to the bus. The girls and Michael were walking together in front of the other guys. The group upfront were laughing and had their arms linked together as they walked to the bus. The guys walked behind them, JC looked at his brothers and said, “Guys I don’t know how we got so lucky, but I feel better than I have in a long time. I don’t want to say goodbye to the girls yet, but I am really glad we are going to have some time together, just us guys.”
The van was extra quiet on the way back to the hotel. Everyone was soaking in the time with each other. They made it back to their floor, there was sadness in the air. Michael spoke up as everyone was reaching their rooms, "So what's the plan for tomorrow? If everyone is going to be sad like this, I don't want to hang out with any of you. I mean I can't do the sadness now." Lance wrapped him in arms tight.
"I would like for all of us to do something tomorrow, but I also want to spend some time with Lex, just us," Josh said as he was playing with her hair and kissing her shoulder.
"Why don't we do brunch together and then we can break off. We know we are all going to the airport on Sunday when the girls leave." Joey commented.
The group agreed that brunch in the morning was the perfect idea. It gave them time in the morning to not rush, and then gave them all time in the evening before saying goodbye the next day. They all said their good nights and set a time to meet the next day.
Lance and Michael entered their room and Michael walked up to his fiance and wrapped his arms around him. “Babe, everyone will be okay. You guys have another week together and you know y’all will talk to the girls every day.”
Lance turned in Michael’s arms and looked at him and kissed him. “Thank you, babe, for knowing exactly what is going through my head without having to say anything. I am so looking forward to next week with the guys, and I know we have gained 4 new friends, sisters. I just hate having to see the guys say goodbye. They have all been so happy this week, and that’s all I want for them.”
“Well, lucky for you, that is all I want for you too.” Michael pulled Lance towards their bed. He removed both their outfits and they crawled into bed.
“How did I get so lucky to fall in love with my best friend? You know how to take care of me better than anyone else.” Lance fell into the comfort of Michael’s embrace.
