They emerged fifteen minutes later. Lance was hesitant in following her out of the door, and he froze when Candy walked up. "Hi! I'm running late as usual. Care to join me at the movie?"she asked, laying her hand on his upper arm almost possessively.
Marissa had the feeling she was being ignored, that the invitation was purely for Lance, even if Candy looked at her at least twice. And her timing just stank. "N-no, thanks, I'm staying in," Lance stuttered, backed up, and slammed the door shut. Marissa heard it lock.
"Painfully shy, I tell you," Candy said with a smile that Marissa definitely did not like, and she licked her lips as she walked off. Marissa watched her until she went into Justin's room, then digging her key out of her pocket, she got into her room and through the door into Lance's.
He was sitting propped against the door, almost as if he didn't believe the locks were enough, head down so his forehead rested on his knees, trembling. Marissa touched his shoulder and he flinched so hard she jumped as well. "Whoa, boy, calm down now, it's okay, relax, it's just me. I'm not going to molest you, your friends wouldn't stand for it." She felt like she was talking to a skittish horse.
Lance didn't meet her eyes, didn't even lift his head except, she suspected, to make sure it was her. He didn't answer either.
"Lance, tell me. What is wrong. No getting out of it this time, you don't react like that without a really good reason."
"Nothing is wrong." It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anything, and that worried her. She sat next to him, lay an arm across his shoulders, and thought a minute.
"It's Candy, right?" He shuddered. "Lance, you have to tell someone." He didn't answer, and she took a deep breath. "This is what I've observed, you tell me if I'm right."
She proceeded to explain her observations, how Candy seemed to linger over fitting him, over making sure his clothes lay correctly. How she had tried to get and keep her hands on him every chance she got. "Not to mention," she added bitterly, "how she looks once you've left, like a cat with a canary in mind." Which wasn't a particularly bad metaphor for the situation. "Is that what's going on?"
He nodded, slowly, taking a gasping breath, but he didn't look up at her. "Why didn't you say anything?"
He shrugged, and she slapped his shoulder. "Do you go silent on everyone when something like this happens?" He shrugged again, and she rubbed his arm where she'd slapped him. "I guess this is the first, huh. All right, time for reinforcements." She got to her feet and went to the phone, keeping an eye on him. He didn't move. After a quick search of her memory, she dialed Justin's room.
"What," an unfamiliar voice said.
"Let me talk to Anika, please? This is Marissa." The phone was passed around, then she heard her friend's greeting. "Hi. Give me five minutes, then I want you and JC to leave there and come to Lance's room through ours. We have a serious problem. Can you do that?"
"Sure. Can you tell me what it is?"
"Lance, and keep it quiet. Part of the problem is in there with you."
Anika paused, then agreed and hung up. She returned to her place next to JC. "Is Marissa coming?" Chris asked softly.
"No," Anika said. "She said to say she was sorry."
He looked concerned. "Is she all right?"
"Fine. Just tired."
Chris nodded. Anika concentrated on the clock over the TV, and after a while leaned over to JC. "Hey, can I talk to you?" she asked. "Back in my room?"
JC lifted an eyebrow, then nodded and stood. He helped her stand, and they left the room, hand in hand. More than one person whistled at them, and excited whispering filled the room. JC rolled his eyes, and Anika blushed. Once the door was closed behind them, she pulled him after her to her room, fumbled before opening the door, and pulled him into Lance's room. "What is it?" she demanded.
Lance gripped his knees tighter, but he seemed to be a little calmer at least. Marissa had settled next to him again.
"JC, he's just about shut everything off," Marissa said. "Do you guys not even notice what's going on under your noses?"
JC blinked. "Like what?"
She paused, thinking, then shook her head. "No, you might not. You're usually very distracted or not there." She nudged Lance. "You have to tell him," she said softly. He didn't respond. JC's worried look increased, and he knelt down in front of Lance.
"Hey, Lance, come on. You've got us all worried. If something's wrong, you can tell us, you know that!" he said, and touched his friend's shoulder. Lance drew in a gasping breath, and looked up finally.
He had a red spot on his forehead, where it had been resting on his knees, but that was completely disregarded. His pale green eyes were rimmed with red, and tears were still falling. His cheeks were blotchy from them. JC sat back, then got to his feet, pulled Lance up, and moved him to the bed.
"Okay, this is big. Tell me what is going on." There was no room for Lance to even try to get out of it, and amazingly, the story spilled out. Marissa and Anika pulled back, and finally retreated to their room.
"What happened?" Anika asked as Marissa closed the connecting door to give them some privacy.
"You never noticed how Candy was when she was around him? Sometimes I thought she considered him a delicacy, a nice food, rather than a person she worked for." Marissa shook her head. "Or that she was in heat, and he was the only one who could do anything about it."
Anika's eyes widened. "She did?"
"I don't think it ever went farther than the occasional inappropriate touch, nothing overtly sexual, but it was heading that way." Marissa clenched her fists. "I liked Lance the way he was, and she's gone and messed him up."
There was a knock on the connecting door, and Anika opened it. "Marissa, will you go get Chris?" JC asked, and pulled Anika into the room with him. Marissa ran.
Matt opened the door, and she peeked in, waving a little at Joey and Clara, who both looked incredibly content. They waved back. "Chris, can you come here for a second?"
He looked up, nodded and got to his feet, stepping carefully over a sleeping Justin as he made his way to the door. "Anika said you weren't coming," he said as the door closed behind them.
"I wasn't. I'm not." She looked tensely at him. "We... well, actually, you guys have a problem." She grabbed his hand and pulled him after her, into her room and through to Lance's. Chris took one look at him and turned to JC.
"What is this?" he demanded.
Marissa was glad to see that Lance seemed to be looking better, even if his face was still blotchy; Anika sat next to him, an arm around his shoulders, and he was leaning against her. JC took Chris' arm and pulled him into the other room. Marissa sat on Lance's other side.
"She threatened to accuse me of sexual harassment," he whispered finally. Marissa nearly laughed.
"You?" she asked softly. He nodded. "That's ripe. That's just... give me five minutes alone with her."
"She's a black belt," he informed her softly.
"Okay, give my hired assassin five minutes alone with her," Marissa said, just as angrily. Lance chuckled, and the two girls exchanged a hopeful glance. "I figure if he's good enough, he won't kill her."
"I still think giving Lance's lawyer five minutes with her is a good idea," Anika muttered.
Marissa laughed. "Oh, that'd be good. You guys ought to have some good ones."
"We do," he agreed.
"Good. Use one," Anika said. "It's very important you do that."
"She what?!?" Chris demanded from the other room, and Marissa got up and closed the door.
"He said she'd accuse him of sexual harassment if he got her fired." JC could barely keep from yelling himself, but Lance was upset already, and to be honest, it wasn't any business of the two women in the other room with him.
"How did you find out about it?" Chris asked. For once, he wasn't pacing, and JC wasn't sure if that were good or not.
"Marissa brought it out of him. I don't think even she knows everything, but Candy wasn't being as sneaky around her as she was around us."
"I don't get it. When?"
JC scowled. "I never noticed either, but he's been the last one out of there almost since the tour started. He's almost missed the beginning of the show a couple times, remember? And there have been times he's been late to photo shoots, too."
Chris nodded. "I asked her about it once, and she said she was having a hard time making stuff lay right on him."
JC nodded. "I got the same answer, and I told her it didn't matter that much, ten seconds after he got on stage it was going to be messed up. She said she wanted it to start right. I figured it was some sort of prima donna thing."
Chris snorted. "Oh, yeah, she does seem to have that. So, what do we do?"
The door opened, and the two turned to face Anika, who smiled. "Hi. Um. We have an idea of how to take care of Candy. Care to listen?"
JC grinned. "Depends on what the idea is," he said, and walked back into the room, Chris right behind. His thoughts, surprisingly, lingered on cement overshoes and the nearest river, and he wondered exactly what movie he'd just seen that made him think of that.
Lance had moved and was sitting against the wall, looking much more relaxed than he had been; the tear marks were gone from his face, although his eyes were still rimmed in red. He gave his friends a smile that almost looked real. "This is good," he said softly.
"The first thing Candy told us," Marissa said as JC sat next to Anika on the bed, "was that she'd heard that Chris could be difficult."
Chris lifted an eyebrow. "Me? Difficult?"
"You were a terror with James, remember?" Lance asked. Chris grinned.
"Yes, well..." he said.
"Who was James?" Marissa asked.
"He was the wardrobe guy before Candy," JC supplied.
"He kept talking about how sexy Justin was," Chris continued. "It scared me a little."
"Ew," Anika said, and grimaced. "Just... Ew." Chris nodded.
"What happened when you were difficult with him?" Marissa asked.
"He got an assistant, and Justin worked with him," JC said.
"I made sure Justin worked with him. Justin's pretty easy to work with as far as clothing goes," Chris shrugged.
Marissa smiled. "Can you reprise your performance?" she asked. "Only make sure Lance gets assigned to the assistant?"
Chris' smile turned truly evil. "You know," he said, "I think I could do that."
"Do it subtly, or at least slowly," Anika said, "so it's not too obvious."
"Whatever you do, don't leave Lance alone with her any more," Marissa said.
"There will be times they won't be able to help it," Lance said, "but give me a break, and I'll be able to stand it. And maybe even keep her off."
Chris nodded, the evil smile still on his face. "Oh, yes, I like this. I definitely like this. So, where do I start, and does anyone want to contribute to this little game?"
Lance laughed, and both women sighed surreptitiously. He'd relaxed a lot; neither of them could remember him laughing the whole time they'd been there. Chris looked at him with his eyebrow raised. "I've never heard you ask for accomplices before," Lance told him.
"Just what did you have in mind?" JC asked warily.
"Oh, nothing... permanent, but if you guys want to suddenly decide I've gotten on your nerves one too many times or something?" Chris hinted.
Marissa laughed. "You've got to be kidding me. You're asking to be pranked?"
"Oh, I'd get them back," Chris told her.
"Maybe you should start," Anika told him. "And JC and Lance can suggest that whoever it is get you back just before going on stage.... It'll drive Candy nuts."
"And it would allow for a slow and subtle start," Lance added. "She'll be hearing about the pranks. You know they always get around."
"Oh? Why's that?" Marissa asked. She was so relieved to see the fear that had been in Lance's eyes was mostly gone.
"Because no one is ever quiet about it," JC grinned. "Someone is either boasting about something they've done, or someone is talking about revenge for something that was done to them." He rolled his eyes. "And some people talk so much that the person who is going to be pranked knows when and where it's going to happen. That gets explosive."
"Why do you think I had blue in my hair for the Rolling Stone shoot?" Lance questioned. "I made the mistake of falling asleep while the stylist was working on Justin. That didn't come out for a week." He mock-glared at Chris, who just grinned at him.
"Oh, and you didn't mind a bit."
"Anna did. I heard no end of complaints about that. She still talks about it!"
Anika chuckled. "I don't know, I rather thought it interesting. The glitter was amazing."
"That took forever to get out," Chris muttered.
"The comment on TRL about the suits was... fascinating," Marissa added with a chuckle. "And, now that I know you, so you...."
He grinned proudly. "Thank you."
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