The next morning Joey decided to stop by Fantasia’s room to see if she was still mad… and maybe ask her out. Joey knocked on her door, but there was no answer. He could hear music playing so he could tell she was in there. It sounded like she was listening to "Ready To Fall" from the On The Line soundtrack. He knocked again, this time a little louder. Still no answer. Joey decided to try the door. It was unlocked.

"Fantasia." Joey called as he slowly entered the room. Fantasia wasn’t in the room, but the bathroom door was closed. Before Joey could even turn to leave, the bathroom door opened and Fantasia came out. When she came out Joey got the shock of his life! And not because she was naked. She was dressed, but all the long, brown hair was gone! She was almost completely bald. Some spots on her head had hair, but others were bald. The longest hair on her head couldn’t have been more than three inches long!

Fantasia took one look at Joey, screamed, ran back into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Now Joey was even more baffled than ever. Just then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. There was a pile of long, brown hair laying on the dresser next to her CD player. It was a wig! Joey turned down the music and went over to the bathroom door.

"Fantasia?" he asked.

"Don’t you know how to knock?" she screamed.

"I’m sorry, I did. You had your music too loud." Joey said.

"What do you want?", Fantasia asked.

"I was wondering if you were still mad at me." Joey said.

"Well, I wasn’t when I woke up, but I’m pretty pissed now." Fantasia said. Joey smiled a little at her comment. "Now if you don’t mind," Fantasia continued, "GET OUT OF MY ROOM! And don’t even THINK of saying anything to anybody about what you saw! Unless you want your dirty underwear to show up on ebay!"

With that Joey bolted out of Fantasia’s room as fast as he could with a bum leg. In his haste to get out of her room and back to his own Joey ran right into Lance. "Joey! What do you think you’re doing? You can’t run on that leg of yours!" Lance exclaimed. Joey didn’t say anything as Lance helped him back to his room. As Joey flopped down on his bed, Chris, Justin and JC came into the room.

"What in the world is going on?" asked JC.

"We could hear Fantasia screaming at you all the way down the hall!" Chris said.

"I think I saw something I wasn’t supposed to see." Joey said as he laid on the bed with his hands over his eyes.

"What!?!" JC, Justin, Lance and Chris asked all at once.

"I’m not even sure what I saw. Plus Fantasia said if I told anybody she would put my dirty underwear up on ebay!" Joey said. Justin and Chris tried to stifle a laugh while JC and Lance just stood there looking worried.

"You saw her naked, didn’t you?" Chris asked

"What? No!" Joey shrieked.

"Sure! Anything you say, Joe." Chris said.

All day Joey tried to catch up with Fantasia, but it was no use. The only time she came anywhere near him was during physical therapy… and that’s only because she had to. Normally Joey loves going to physical therapy because he likes talking to Fantasia. But today she wouldn’t say a single word to him. At lunch that day Jamie sat down with Fantasia.

"Fantasia, is everything all right? I heard you screaming at Joey this morning. What happened?" she asked.

"Oh, the idiot came into my room without knocking." Fantasia replied.

"Really?" Jamie asked surprised. Fantasia just nodded. "Did he see something he wasn’t supposed to?" Jamie asked.

Fantasia just nodded again. "Wow, no wonder you’re so mad at him." Jamie replied.

That night back at the hotel Joey was finally able to corner Fantasia in the elevator. "Come on, Fantasia. Won’t you please talk to me?" Joey begged. Fantasia just stood there staring at the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. The only sound she made was a low growling sound. Joey sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Fantasia, I’m sorry I came into your room. I haven’t told anybody what I saw. I can’t. I don’t even know what I saw. I mean, I don’t understand…." Joey said trailing off. Just then the elevator doors opened and Fantasia took off running before even had a chance to stop her. Joey stepped out of the elevator and sighed. He was beginning to wonder if Fantasia would ever speak to him again.

"Don’t worry, everything is going to be ok." Lance said trying to comfort his friend, "Why don’t you give her a few days to cool off. We’re leaving for the tour tomorrow. Maybe she’ll forget about this whole thing."

"Yeah, ok. Thanks." Joey said forcing a smile.

After a few days Fantasia slowly started speaking to him again and Joey didn’t go anywhere near her room. Then one night almost two weeks into the tour, Joey’s leg was really bothering him and he just couldn’t sleep. He picked up his cell phone and called Fantasia. Down the hall Fantasia woke up to he cell phone ringing. She turned on the light next to her bed and winced at the bright light. She grabbed her cell phone and checked the caller id.

"What is it, Joey?" she asked answering her phone.

"I’m sorry to bother you, Fantasia. It’s just that my leg is really sore and I can’t sleep." Joey said.

"Oh, ok. I’ll be right there." Fantasia said relieved that it was work related and he wasn’t calling just to chat at 2 am!

"Actually," Joey continued, "I was wondering if I could come to your room? It might help if I walk on it a little. Plus that way you don’t have to get dressed."

"Fine." Fantasia said, too tired to argue. Fantasia got out of bed and put her wig back on. She pulled her long hair back into a ponytail so it wouldn’t be in her way. Just then there was a soft knock at her door.

As she opened the door for Joey she noticed he couldn’t stop staring at her nightgown. It wasn’t skimpy or see through. Fantasia is small enough that she can still wear kids’ clothes. Her nightgown had *N Sync on it! Fantasia looked down at herself to see what he was looking at. She had completely forgotten that she had decided to wear her *N Sync nightgown that night. Joey just stood there grinning.

"Shut up." Fantasia grumbled as she let him into the room.

"No, I like it. It looks good on you." Joey said smiling at her. Fantasia didn’t say anything. He had a feeling she wasn’t used to being woken up at 2 am. "You sure have a lot of stuffed animals." Joey said looking at the eight or ten animals that were scattered across the bed.

"Yeah, I sort of collect them." Fantasia said pushing them out of the way.

"Sort of like JC and his Hard Rock Café menus?" Joey asked as he laid down on the bed.

"More like you and Superman." Fantasia said as she started working on Joey’s leg.

"Really?" he replied.

"Let me put it this way… I left home with two animals." Fantasia said.

"You’ve bought that many already!?!" Joey asked surprised.

"Yeah." she said shrugging.

"How many do you have?" he asked.

Fantasia just shrugged and said, "I’ve never counted them. I would have to guess somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000."

"Two thousand stuffed animals!" Joey shrieked.

"Well, that includes my beanie baby collection." Fantasia said.

"You like beanie babies? You know, Lance collects them, too." Joey said.

"Duh!" Fantasia quickly replied. Joey just started laughing.

Fantasia and Joey continued talking while she worked on his leg. He really wanted to ask her about her hair, but he didn’t want to make her mad… again. When there was a break in the conversation, Joey took a deep breath and said, " You know Fantasia, I wish you would at least explain to me why you wear a wig." Joey could feel her grip tightening on his leg, He could tell she was not happy at all with the direction the conversation was taking. "It’s not like I’m going to tell anybody." Joey continued, "I mean if you’re sick…."

"I’m NOT sick!" Fantasia barked, interrupting Joey. "It’s not cancer. It’s not aids. And I’m NOT dying!" she said starting to scream.

"It’s not?" Joey asked, now completely confused. "Then what is it?" he asked as he rolled over on to his back so he was facing her.

"Why would I tell you? As soon as you find out, you’ll run and tell the other guys. And then I’ll get fired!" Fantasia screamed.

"What are you talking about?" Joey asked sitting up, "I’m not going to tell anybody. Even if I did, you wouldn’t get fired. If we fired you over something like this you could sue us for wrongful termination. Besides, why would we fire the best physical therapist we’ve ever had?"

Fantasia just started laughing. Joey could tell that she didn’t believe him. "Now I know you’re lying! There is no way I’m the best physical therapist you’ve ever had! I’ve been out of college less than a year. I didn’t graduate at the top of my class. I have almost no references." Fantasia said.

"And that’s why Johnney wanted to keep looking." Joey cut in, "He wanted to find somebody with more experience and who wasn’t a crazy fan. But after spending less than a week with you, we told Johnny no. We had our new physical therapist." He explained smiling at her. Fantasia was speechless!

Joey took her hand and pulled her closer to him. She sat down on the edge of the bed and he moved closer to her. "Won’t you please tell me?" Joey asked in a soothing voice.

Fantasia still didn’t want to tell him, but there was just something about the look in his eyes that made her feel safe. Completely against her better judgment, she took a deep breath and said, "Ok." Joey smiled and waited for her to continue. "It’s trichotillomania." Fantasia said. (That’s pronounced trick-a-till-a-mania)

"Trick-a-what?" he asked confused.

"Trichotillomania." she repeated slowly, "It’s an OCD…."

"What’s an OCD?" Joey asked interrupting her.

Fantasia sighed and started over, "It’s an obsessive compulsive disorder where I pull out my hair."

Joey was completely shocked. "Doesn’t that hurt?" he asked.

"I’m used to it." she replied.

"How long have you been doing it?" Joey asked.

"Since I was eight." Fantasia replied.

"Eight years old!" he shrieked.

Fantasia just nodded.

"Have you been wearing a wig for that long?" Joey asked.

"No, I didn't get my first wig until just before I started my sophomore year of high school. Before that I had gym class to worry about."

Joey nodded, he could see where that would not be a good combination. "So you went to school… um…." he trailed off, as he was unsure of how to finish his question.

"Bald?" Fantasia asked, finishing for him, "Yeah, I did."

"Didn't you get picked on?" Joey asked.

Fantasia let out a small snort of laughter. "I wasn't picked on, I was harassed! I started pulling out my hair in third grade. By the time I was in fourth grade all I wanted to do was die."

"Couldn't anybody help you?" he asked shocked. "They didn't know what to do." she replied, "At that time we didn't even know that it was an OCD. My teachers thought I was just doing it to get attention. When I was in fifth grade my parents took me to the biggest children's hospital in the state. They didn't know what to do with me! Not even they knew why I was doing this. It wasn't until later that year that a family friend found a magazine article about trichotillomania."

"Did you have many friends?" Joey asked.

"Oh, please! The kids were convinced that I had Aids. They thought that if they got anywhere near me they would die! If they would happen to touch me they would start freaking out. Anybody that was nice to me became just as hated as I was. Of course this was the same time that most of my family decided that I was 'too old' for hugs. My mom is about the only one in my family that has shown any sort of affection to me since I was eight."

Joey just threw his arms around her and hugged her tight. He didn't know what to say to make her feel better. He was starting to understand why she was so defensive and why she didn't want anybody to know. She had spent most of her life being hated and rejected over something she had no control over! Fantasia just sat there completely stunned as Joey held her tight.

When he pulled away a little he said, "You know, I didn't get a very good look at you before. Can I see?" Fantasia just shrugged and pulled off her wig. Joey ran his hand over her short, thin hair. "It's not that bad." he said with a smile. Fantasia just looked at him like he was insane.

"Fantasia, I have a small confession to make." Joey said.

"What is it?" she asked confused.

"Well, when I came into your room that day, I had something else that I wanted to ask you." he said.

"What?" Fantasia asked curiously.

Joey took a deep breath and asked, "Would you like to go out with me?"

"Do you think that's funny?" Fantasia screamed jumping up, "I know you like your practical jokes, but that's NOT funny!"

"What are you talking about? It's not a joke." Joey said even more confused than ever.

"Oh, so you thought you'd ask out the poor, little bald girl because you feel sorry for her. That’s even worse!" Fantasia screamed.

"NO!" Joey shrieked standing up, "That's not it! I wanted to ask you out before I even knew you wore a wig! I like you!"

Fantasia stood there completely frozen. She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. She couldn't think. She almost couldn't breath! "Fantasia? Are you all right?" Joey asked. "You look like you've never had a guy ask you out before." He said trying to make her smile.

Fantasia slowly shook her head a couple times before she found her voice. "I haven't…." she replied, "Or at least not anybody that wanted to go out with me."

Joey couldn't believe what he was hearing! Without even really thinking about it, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

After a couple minutes they broke apart. Joey sat back down on the bed and pulled Fantasia on to his lap. "What do you mean not anybody that wanted to go out with you?" he asked.

Fantasia sighed and started to explain, "When I was a junior in high school I had this friend named Bree. She was one of those friends that's really a horrible friend, but you just don't realize it at the time. She always had to have her way. She called one of her ex-boyfriends and forced him to ask me out. The only reason she did this was so she could go around bragging that she got me my first boyfriend!"

At this point, Joey's mouth dropped open. "That's horrible!" he gasped.

"And he wasn't even a good boyfriend." Fantasia continued, "We had nothing in common so we had nothing to talk about. He was cheating on me from day one. So, of course, he was also lying to me. Plus he was the biggest idiot! While we were going out he wallpapered the dashboard of his car!" Joey burst out laughing. "And it didn't even look good. He didn't glue it on. He put it on with scotch tape!" Fantasia said.

Joey just started laughing harder. "What'd the paper look like?" he asked.

"It was pink with flowers." she replied. Joey just started howling with laughter.

When he calmed down Joey asked, "Couldn't your 'friend' find a better guy?"

"That's just it. She didn't even try! She picked this guy because his name was Kevin." Fantasia explained.

"So?" Joey asked confused.

"When I was in high school there was another guy named Kevin that I had a HUGE crush on. But the Kevin I liked just wanted to be friends. He even told me, repeatedly, that he wanted to adopt me as his little sister. Every time he said that I just wanted to strangle the poor guy." She explained.

"Oww!" Joey said cringing. "So how long did you and Kevin go out?" he asked going back to the original Kevin.

"Three and a half weeks." Fantasia replied.

"Really?" Joey asked surprised. "Yeah, at the time it felt rather short, but now when I think about it I’m surprised that he put up with me for that long. " she said.

"But he was cute, right?" Joey asked grinning.

Fantasia just burst out laughing. "Picture an ugly, white version of Lonnie." She said referring to one of the guys’ bodyguards, "Only he had a buzz cut and thick glasses." Joey made a face like he was going to be sick.

Suddenly, Joey remembered something. "You know, you never answered my question." He said with a smile, "Will you go out with me?"

Fantasia smiled and said, "Yes."

Joey smiled back and pulled her into another kiss. When they broke apart a few minutes later, Joey noticed the clock out of the corner of his eye. It was now 4 am! "Oh, crap! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you up this long." Joey said.

"It’s ok." she said smiling.

"Well, we better get some more sleep." he said. Fantasia slid off his lap and Joey stood up to leave. She walked with him to the door, but before he left Joey stopped to give her one more kiss. He really didn’t want to leave, but he was sure Fantasia wasn’t ready to have him sleep over. Joey was just about to walk out the door when he stopped. "Fantasia, can I tell the guys about your boyfriend wallpapering the inside of his car?" Joey asked, "That was hilarious!"

"You’re not going to tell them that he’s the only boyfriend that I’ve had, are you?" she asked in reply.

"No, of course not." Joey said.

Fantasia thought for a second and said, "Ok, as long as that’s the only thing you tell them. Tell them anything else and…."

"Yeah, I know. You’ll put my underwear up on ebay." Joey cut in grinning.

"Your dirty underwear." Fantasia corrected him with a grin. Joey gave her one more, quick kiss and left for his own room. Neither of them got much more sleep that night.