Marissa was awake when the bus finally stopped at Union Station in Denver. She'd been listening to Clara and Anika snore softly for the last hour, trying not to laugh too loudly at them and wake everyone else up. However, once the bus stopped, she gathered her stuff and moved into the aisle as soon as the bus behind her had emptied. She tried to get Anika up first, but to no avail, so she shook Clara's shoulder.
"J-Joey?" the other woman stuttered.
Marissa burst into laughter. "I didn't know you were good for laughs this early," she grinned. "No, it's lowly me. But if I heard you right and he's meeting you, he's inside." She turned back to Anika. "Come on, sleepyhead," she muttered, and pulled Anika to her feet. Anika woke, moaning incoherently, although Marissa was almost certain she heard a JC from her, too.
"Where?" Clara demanded, jumping to her feet and rushing for the front of the bus. She nearly hit the man in front of her, who was taking his time getting off the bus and, Marissa figured, was too tired to deal with a hyper woman. She grabbed Clara's arm.
"It's too early to offend people," she grinned, "and you forgot your carry-on. Besides, suspense is good on his side, remember that. Make him wait a little."
"I'll get the bag," Clara muttered as Anika walked sleepily past her. She took the bag Marissa handed her and turned back to the front of the bus. "I wanna see Joey."
"I know. But don't kill someone to get to him. Imagine ten years behind bars without him." She was almost laughing.
Clara gave her a venomous look. "I'd just make him murder you so we could be together," she said, and winked to show she was joking. "Or maybe Howie, from Backstreet Boys...."
Marissa laughed loudly this time, and most of the people still on the bus turned to look at her. She waved at them, ignoring how red her face got. The person in front of Clara stepped off the bus and almost didn't get out of the way in time. "Is JC here?" Anika mumbled sleepily.
"I don't care about JC, I wanna see Joey!" Clara announced very loudly, and caught sight of him.
He looked dead on his feet, leaning against the wall next to Matt, who looked just as tired. Clara ran across the station - and stopped abruptly as Matt grabbed her shoulder.
"Please don't cause a scene, because I'm not up to it," he said gruffly, his eyes narrowed at her.
"Fine," Clara said, and stuck her tongue out at him. "I missed you, babe." It was quite clear her comments were aimed at Joey.
Joey opened up his arms and folded them around her as soon as Matt let her go. "I missed you, too."
Anika showed up about then, running to JC, who was on the other side of Matt and half hidden by the big man. She threw her arms around him. "Where were you guys?" she demanded softly, in tears.
JC hugged her back. "We were on the bus, silly," he said gently. "Are you okay?"
Marissa followed slower and grinned at Matt. She didn't know him well, but the situation just needed... something. "So, would you catch me if I threw myself into your arms?" she teased him, and he grinned at her.
"No," he said. "I see no reason to start those kind of rumors."
"Oh, come on," she teased gently. "We could make them all so jealous!"
"He did not miss you as much as the rest of us did," JC told Clara, who twisted to look at him. "He just about got killed. By Chris, no less. Joey out-irritated him."
"Is that possible?" Clara murmured as Anika leaned up and kissed JC on the cheek.
"I didn't think it was, but Chris yelling at him to shut up or he'd drown him was a pretty good indication," Matt said. Marissa nearly choked on her laughter.
"Thanks for coming to get us," Anika said. JC gave her a bewildered half smile.
"Of course," he told her. "Did you think I'd leave you in Joey's hands?"
"And if Joey touched her, I'd kill him," Clara said, looking incredibly content to be standing against him. Joey grinned.
Marissa groaned. "You guys are pathetic," she muttered, and looked at Matt. "I think I'm gonna be sick. You with me or them?"
"We are not pathetic!" Anika protested.
"You are pathetic, even Matt agrees with me," Marissa told her.
"I'm taking the fifth," Matt responded. "And I think I'm stuck with them. But the van is right outside," he offered.
"Great." Marissa grabbed her suitcase and started for the door.
"Marissa," Anika called after her as JC grabbed her suitcase, "I think you're just jealous."
"You go ahead and think that," Marissa told her, and she was glad she wasn't looking at her friend right then. Because then she'd know just how jealous she really was, and Marissa didn't need to be teased.
Joey grabbed Clara's suitcase and followed the other, holding onto her hand. She smiled at him, tired. He could only imagine.
The ride back was quiet. Joey sat in the back, arms around Clara, both of them quite contented to be where they were. Marissa, in the front, bounced a little as they maneuvered through the vaguely familiar streets, looking for her favorite haunts.
Anika lay her head on JC's shoulder. "I can't wait to sleep," she murmured.
"It'll only be a couple of hours before we're back on the bus," he said softly.
"I hope it's a peaceful ride," she responded.
"With Chris around? Not likely." He shook his head gently, amazed at the moods his friend had exhibited the evening before.
"Then I won't be where Chris is," Anika mumbled. "I'll be where you are."
JC grinned. "Or hide in your bunk. I'm not likely to be much protection."
She didn't answer, and he realized she was almost asleep. "Oh, no," he said, shaking her slightly. "Don't go to sleep now. We're at the hotel." The van stopped, and they all climbed out, in various states of consciousness.
"All right," Matt said, once they were in the elevator. "Joey, if you'll take Clara to your room and JC will take Anika, that will make life considerably easier."
The door opened, and the four so named started down the hall. JC and Anika vanished fairly quickly, and Joey knocked on a door as he and Clara walked by. Before they reached Joey's door, the door he'd knocked on was ripped open. "What?" Chris demanded. His dark hair was disheveled, his clothing rumbled. Dark circles hung under his eyes. Marissa's eyebrows went up in disbelief.
"Calm down," Joey said as he unlocked his door. Chris looked at him, his dark eyes furious. "We found them. You have around two hours to sleep."
Chris grunted wordlessly and slammed his door shut again. "Not a morning person," Marissa said softly, and Matt laughed.
"Let's see if Lance or Justin are awake. I don't think you want to face the ogre."
"Darn right," Marissa told him, and followed him down the hall.
"Joey," Clara said as the door closed behind them.
He turned from where he set her suitcase down. "Yes?"
"Do you know how evil you can be?"
He looked at her innocently, setting the key down on the table. "Why? He wanted to know when you guys got here." He sat her down on the bed and sat next to her with a contented sigh.
"You could have called, and spared me that sight," she told him with a laugh, then she sobered. "I missed you lots."
He smiled. "I missed you, too," he said, and kissed her gently.
"‘Bout time," Clara teased gently when Joey pulled away again.
"Give me time to wake up," he protested. "JC was dragging me down the hall, half asleep, so we'd get there on time." He paused. "And you haven't seen bad until you've seen Chris, with his braids, on a bad morning. After a bad night," he added.
"I believe you," Clara said, her face crumpled up as she imagined it. Then she grinned. "And I have a sudden urge to thank JC."
Joey laughed. "Not now!" he protested. "You can thank him later. I don't think he'd like it much if you interrupted him now, and I know I wouldn't." He hugged her tighter. "I'm so glad you didn't desert us. Me."
"I would never desert you, Joey. Never. Don't even think that."
He smiled. "I didn't... for more than about five seconds."
She rubbed his arm gently. "Would you mind just holding me and talking?" she asked softly.
"I don't mind doing anything at all," he answered softly, and lay his head on hers. "What happened yesterday?"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Oh, when you woke up and we were gone. That little matter." He couldn't conceal the anger he felt still about it.
"We went downstairs. Got on a bus. Called you a couple of thousand times. It's the past, Joey. It doesn't matter."
He sighed in frustration. "It matters because you went through it," he told her softly. "Last night was a complete mess. I can't wait to see the reviews for this show. JC forgot the words to ‘I Want You Back', of all songs. How long have we known that song? I'm not even going to tell you about my concentration, and Chris was a mess. Justin and Lance had a full time job avoiding the three of us, and Justin didn't dodge fast enough, once. I hit him pretty hard. I'm almost afraid to see him this morning, because I'm not sure I didn't give him a black eye."
Clara pulled away slightly. "Joey, I understand that things happen. I understand it was a mistake. And yes, at first I thought it was a joke, but it worked out." She grinned mischievously. "And I'd really like to see Justin with a black eye."
Joey chuckled. "Justin with a black eye would be funny. What Anna would do to me if she had to cover it up would not." He huffed slightly in frustration, then let go of whatever was bothering him with a shrug. "You have breakfast?" he asked her.
"Not really hungry. I wanna stay here. I'm comfy." He didn't answer, but his arms tightened slightly around her.
Lance stared at them like they'd both lost their minds. "What?" he asked, rubbing at one eye.
"She needs to borrow a shower and she needs a room to stay in. Chris is in no condition to even talk to her without killing someone, and Justin didn't answer his door," Matt explained. Lance hesitated, his green eyes staring at her, then he slowly backed away from the door, opening it up to let her in.
"You can have the shower first," he mumbled as she stepped cautiously into the room. The door closed behind her and he jumped.
"Thanks." Oh, this is so bad, she thought to herself. This is not something he needs. She dug into her bag for a change of clothes and shower stuff, and vanished into his bathroom to take the fastest shower of her life.
JC closed the door and leaned against it. "Wow. It's early." He ran his hand through his hair. "You want the shower first?"
Anika hesitated. "You don't mind?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Not at all. Go ahead. It means I get some sleep."
When she got out, he was asleep on the bed. Moving softly, she began to pack her bag again, trying to remember when they had to leave. When she'd finished, she stepped closer to the bed and gently shook him. "JC. I'm done in the shower."
He groaned a little, then sat up. "Right. Shower." He got to his feet and staggered to the bathroom.
"Try not to fall asleep in there," Anika called after him. He didn't answer. With a smile on her face, she turned the TV on. She had it on long enough to determine there was nothing on when the phone rang. After a short hesitation, she picked it up. "Hello?"
"Anika?"
"Yes, who is this?"
"It's me, Marissa," she laughed.
"Marissa, where are you?"
"Lance's room, actually. He's showering. He was nice enough to let me go first."
"What are you doing in Lance's room?"
"It was his or Justin's room, and Justin didn't answer."
"Why not Chris' room?" Anika asked, teasing.
Marissa rolled her eyes. "You didn't see him. And Matt called him an ogre. He was right."
Anika laughed. "That's too bad. So, when are we leaving?"
"Scoop's in the shower. Beats me."
"So, you want to come down here and talk?"
"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea," she answered, musingly. "Be right down." Anika hung up, and a couple of minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Anika opened it and pulled her friend in.
"Thanks so much for coming down." She sank down on the bed. "Of course, if I were smart, I'd just fall asleep."
Marissa shrugged. "Go ahead. I think Lance was a little nervous with me there, so I'll just stay here - and nap myself. Ugh." She lay back on the bed and closed her eyes. She felt the bed move as Anika did the same.
A knock on the door woke them all up, and Marissa opened her eyes slowly. "Yeah, I know," JC said in some irritation. "Here they are." She lifted her head to see him hand the suitcases out the door, and with a slight groan, sat up.
"Aren't we supposed to go with the suitcases?" she asked, nudging Anika, who sat up, groggy.
"Yeah, I think so." JC rubbed his face tiredly. "If you're not on the bus when we leave, we'll know." He gave Anika a hug as she went by him. Marissa grinned at him and looped her arm through Anika's.
"You're really lucky, you know that?" she asked.
"Yeah," Anika murmured. "I think I do."
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