Anika stood nervously in the hotel lobby, anxiously waiting for the guys to show up. Marissa put on a great show of not caring, but inside, she was as nervous as her friend. Her thoughts plagued her, what if Chris came? What if he didn't? She couldn't seem to decide exactly how to feel about the whole thing at all. She had no idea how he'd reacted to her asking him to dance, even. She almost wished she hadn't... but almost as soon as she decided that, she was glad she did.
"They're here," Anika said from the window.
"Who?"
Anika almost smirked, but decided against it. Marissa had a right to be worried; she liked Chris a lot, and there was a lot riding on this. "One... two, three... five. They all came."
Marissa sighed. "Great. Now, am I relieved or horrified?"
"Why would you be horrified?"
"Because they forced him to come?" She got up and joined her friend at the window, watching her friends walk towards them. "He's not scowling, I don't think."
"Hard to tell, with the sun in their eyes," Anika said, teasing slightly, but her smile fell at Marissa's look. "Hey. Why do you care?"
Marissa shrugged. "Because I do. It's not fair that you get a boyfriend out of this; I was the one who met them first." She fake pouted, then grinned at her friend. "I'm fine. Ignore me, okay? Just make sure JC doesn't forget you."
"I'll try to do that," she said, then the door opened and admitted the guys. Marissa watched them head for the elevator, and grinned.
"It's just like guys," she said, loud enough for them to hear, "to not see what's in front of their noses. There's no one up there," she added as Justin and JC turned around.
"You didn't say where to meet you," Lance said once they'd reached the girls. "So we assumed you meant up there."
"Do you know what happens when you assume?" Marissa asked, watching as JC pulled Anika aside.
Lance sighed as Justin laughed. "That is throwing his words back in his face," he explained at her inquisitive look.
Marissa grinned. "Well, I'll just have to make up for it." She gave Lance a hug. "Thanks for these last couple of weeks," she told him. "It was fun getting to know you."
"We had fun, too," he said, stepping back. "I'm glad we met you."
She turned next to Joey, who was so preoccupied he didn't even seem to notice she was there. "Hello, earth to Joe," she said softly, touching his arm. Chris shoved his shoulder, and he shook his head.
"What?"
"I'll make this quick and simple," she grinned. "Good bye. I hope to see you online sometime, and thanks for a great vacation."
"Oh. Sorry. I'm just... thinking."
"About Clara? Good. I hope she calls you."
"Yeah," he said with a sigh, and hugged her. "Me, too. Thanks for coming and letting us run rampant all over your vacation."
"Hey, I can say the same to you, you know," she said with a grin. "Thanks for the dress. It's lovely."
"You're welcome. You were worth it." She blushed and turned to see Justin grinning at her. "Let me guess; you're next?" She didn't know if she should be glad or not. Lance and Joey - and Chris - had already gone over to say good bye to Anika.
"Yep." He stepped in and gave her a hug. "I'm glad you didn't hit me."
"I've still got time, you know," she grinned. "Thanks for everything, even the experience of shopping with you."
"Hey! I'm not that bad!"
"That's not what everyone else says," she teased gently. He gave her an affronted look that dissolved into a grin.
"Yeah, but can you trust everyone else?"
"I don't know," she said, musingly, and grinned. "Thanks for inviting Trish so we got to go last night. It was a lot of fun."
He leaned down. "Even with Chris staring at you?"
"I'm not convinced he was," she said, but shuddered, remembering the weird feeling of being watched while she danced with Kevin.
"Oh, he was," he grinned. "Forgive him. He's been messed up."
"I thought that was a normal state for him." She grinned, and Justin laughed.
"Right. Right." He backed up and went to join Lance and Joey, to JC's rather obvious irritation.
Marissa turned and smiled at Chris as he walked back over, hoping she didn't show how nervous she was to be left alone with him. "Thanks for letting us hang out with you guys for a while. And for not running us over when you met us in Orlando," she added, and he smiled slightly.
"Thanks for not trying to push me over when I almost did," he said. "Did you have fun while you were here?"
"Oh, yes," she sighed. "I think we'll be doing this again, although probably not with you guys, and not anytime soon. Anika thinks she'll have enough money saved again in about three years."
He shifted uncomfortably. "Well, if we're here, give us a call, let us know. It'd be nice to hang out with you again."
"I will. Thanks." She almost flipped out right there. She would never have guessed he'd say something like that! "So, anyway, that's the shuttle. Have a great weekend," she offered, and turned to grab her suitcases.
"I'll call," JC said softly to Anika as the others drifted away from them.
"Promise? I've had a great time, JC. Thanks so much for everything, for the dress and last night, and the date... It's been fun getting to know you."
He chuckled. "It's been fun getting to know you, too."
"Anika! Come on! They're here!" Marissa called, and Anika turned to look at her. To her surprise, she felt a feather-like kiss on her cheek, and turned to stare at JC, who looked faintly disappointed.
"You'd better go, then," he said softly, and gave her a hug. She hugged him back, then he grabbed her suitcase and followed Marissa and Lance out to the shuttle. JC watched it go until Justin nudged him with a laugh.
"You are so.... dorky!" he said, and darted away as JC lunged after him.
Friday night in Orlando with nothing to do was not Clara's idea of fun. Ben would be arriving in a couple of days, but she had until then to waste time. And Joey was busy.
As if the thought of him were a cue, the phone rang. She picked it up almost wearily. "Hello?
"Hi, Clara. It's Joe."
She smiled wryly. "Hi. How was your day?"
"Long and frustrating. We're going to the beach tomorrow. Do you want to come?"
"The beach isn't really my thing," she said, "but if it lets me spend time with you... I'm there."
"Cool. We'll come pick you up at...."
He paused, and behind him she could hear someone say, every emphatically, "I'm not getting up early!"
"How about 10:30?" he asked.
"Do you actually believe I will be up at 10:30? on my vacation?" Clara demanded.
Joey chuckled. "Good point. When are you going to get up?" There was an argument in the background, and she was sure he muffled the phone; she could hear him say something. She just didn't know what.
"What time can you swing by here at the latest?"
"Latest? Whenever you're up. The best waves are around noon this time of year."
"Okay," she said, coming to a decision. Sleeping in she could do almost any day she was off. Once she was gone from Orlando, though, no more time with Joey. "Come get me at 10:30. I'm looking forward to seeing you ‘catch some waves'."
"Care for a lesson?" he asked, and she could hear the smile on his face.
"Are there going to be sharks joining us?"
He chuckled. "Only Chris and JC."
"Are you sure?" she pressed. "My dad lectured me about swimming and watching for sharks before he sent me out here."
"I'm sure. I've never come across them."
"Okay, then, I'd like that."
"Great. We'll see you then."
She smiled. "I'll see you then, too. Night, Joey."
"Night." He hung up and turned to glare at Justin and Chris. "You guys are impossible!"
Chris grinned. "And why not? It's called payback, Joey. You deserve every bit of it."
"Why?"
"How many times have you done that to us?" Justin asked. "Besides, this is like the first time you've ever had a steady girlfriend. You've teased us, we get to tease you back."
"Right," Joey said, and rolled his eyes. "Whatever guys."
10:30 on the nose, someone began pounding on Clara's hotel room door. She glanced at the clock in surprise, stuck in the middle of packing her bag. "Just a second!" she called. The knocking continued. "I said just a second!" The knocking paused, then resumed - about one second later. She dropped the shirt she'd been arguing with, and walked swiftly to the door. Yanking it open, she yelled, quite loudly, "I'm here!"
Joey grinned at her. "Hi. Ready to go?"
"No. I was so busy answering someone's incessant knocking that I haven't had a chance to pack my bag. Now I wonder who could have been knocking?" She tapped her chin with one finger, mock glaring at Joey.
Joey promptly reached out of her sight and hauled a madly grinning Justin into the doorway - or at least the top half of him. "It wasn't me," Joey said with a smile.
Clara nodded. "Sure, I believe you," she said, smiling a little. "If you can just hold on, I'll finish packing my bag."
Joey let Justin go, and the younger man, already off balance, fell with a thud and a grunt. Joey calmly stepped over him. "Can I come in and help?" he asked.
"I suppose... Can you grab me a towel?" she asked, pointing to the bathroom.
"Sure." He followed her finger, disappearing into the small room.
"Thanks. And you, Curly, wipe your butt off and get the fruit from the fridge."
Joey returned then, a nicely folded bright white towel in his arms. "So, where are your parents?"
Justin stared up at her in disbelief. "As if I were going to get up," he muttered, but climbed to his feet and got into the fridge.
"They decided not to join me," Clara answered Joey. "Something about Ben coming down here tomorrow."
Justin looked up from the small half fridge. "Two apples, two oranges, and a banana. What do you want?"
"Ben'll be here?" Joey asked. "So, I get to meet this person."
"Bring all of it," Clara directed Justin. "I'm sure it'll get eaten by someone." She pointed at Joey, then grinned at him. "Yes, Joey, you'll get to meet him."
Joey gave her a horrified look. "As if I would eat your fruit!" He spun on Justin with narrowed eyes. "And no comments from the peanut gallery!" Justin gave him an innocent look, but as soon as Joey turned away, he nodded at Clara and mouthed 'He'll eat anything'.
"I know," Clara smiled. "I've been to dinner with him...."
"Hey, I said no comments! Not even silent ones!" Joey protested, but to Clara's relief, she could see the glint of humor in his eyes. "I can leave you here you know," he growled to Justin.
Justin gave him the same innocent look. "I didn't say anything."
"Joey," Clara said, and then stopped. What had she wanted to say? "If you leave Justin here, I'll have to stay with him... and comfort him over the loss of one of his band members, because I'm sure Anika and Marissa will kill you."
"Why?" Joey asked, confused, then shrugged. "And they can't. They left last weekend." He grinned evilly at Justin. "Besides, he can call his mother for a ride home."
"JC will kill you, though. And 'N Sync doesn't sound a lot better if it's spelled 'N Snc. Besides, I'm sure his mother has better things to do with her time. Now yours, on the other hand...." She leaned over to Justin. "Justin, why don't we ditch Joey here?"
"Mine is mine, and I'm driving. Let's go, and Curly, if you aren't there, you are staying here."
Justin looked apologetically at Clara. "He's got the keys."
"What bozo gave him the keys?" she demanded. "Please don't say JC, I'd lose all respect for the man."
"His parents own the car," Justin informed her.
"Crud," Clara muttered.
"Hey," Joey said, with a mock pout. "I'm leaving." He grabbed her bag and started out the door.
Clara caught him before he got very far. "Fine, let's go." She gave him a hug, surprised at how stiff he was, and grabbed the keys. "Here, Curly," she said, tossing them at Justin.
Justin caught them, surprised, then scowled. "What am I supposed to do with these? Have you seen the beast he drives? I can't drive it!" He gave them back to Joey, who smiled.
"Justin," Clara whined. "Fine, Joey. But no obscene music. How about if we listen to Backstreet Boys?"
They both gave her an incredulous look. "And she doesn't want obscene music," Joey said to Justin over her head.
"Besides, it's Lance who likes the weird music," Justin added.
"And Backstreet Boys is obscene? I resent that! That Kevin guy is cute!" She paused and smiled up at Joey. "But not as cute as you," she said, and hugged him again.
Joey rolled his eyes. "No more obscene than we are. And we don't listen to us."
"Sure you do. I mean... do you turn off your ears or something when you perform?" He gave her an incredulous look, then shook his head. "Okay, Justin, spill. What does Lance listen to?"
"Lance... um. Country, which isn't bad, as long as it isn't twangy. Offspring, at least, which is just weird."
"Offspring? Lance just got ten times cooler in my book. The Kids Aren't All Right is such a great song!"
Joey glanced at Justin. "I think she latched onto the wrong person. First she tells me that Kev is cuter, then Lance is cooler. And she has a high respect for JC... I don't know about this...."
Justin paused at the door to the hotel, and glanced at his friend. There was fear and pain in his eyes, and a lot of insecurity that hadn't been there before. He was doing a pretty good job of covering it up, but Justin could see it.
"Joey," Clara said before Justin could say anything. "You're a teddy bear that I love to cuddle. You're sweet, funny and sooo cute, and you always let me tease you." She gave him a hug, and he relaxed a little. "I wouldn't want to date anyone else but you, not even Kevin, even if he is cute." Clara rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Sorry if I hurt your feelings."
Joey laughed, and Justin was relieved to hear it was real, if a little shaky. "That worked better than I thought! Kev's engaged, anyway." He winked at her, then stuck her bags in the back of the car, on top of everything else. "And you... I just like you. You're fun. And thanks for teasing me. It's nice to hear that from someone besides these idiots." He waved at the guys in the car. Chris made a face at them.
"Kev's engaged?" she asked. "That girl's lucky... and Chris, don't think I don't see you!" Chris just grinned and made another face. "I know I'm fun, Joey," she added. "So are you... hey, wait! What do you mean, that worked better than you thought it would? Is there something you want to tell me, Mr. Fatone?"
Joey laughed. "Let's go, okay? I'll explain when we don't have an audience."
"If you promise, cross your heart and hope to die."
He grinned and gave her a quick hug, then shut the door. "I don't hope to die. I'd miss out on a lot with you."
Clara blushed. "Well, then. That works too." With a grin, he helped her into the suburban, then got in himself and they drove off.
Go on to Next Chapter | Chance