"It's Hard to Believe in Love Will Prevail"
Jane Siberry, It Can't Rain All the Time

Morning comes early when you've only had four hours of sleep. In fact, Marissa thought as she slumped further on her suitcase in the lobby, it was less than that, because she'd had to get up an hour ago to pack. So three hours of sleep. She seriously hoped Chris had gotten enough sleep, but right now, she couldn't tell. He'd come down after she was settled on her suitcase, pulled up a chair behind her, and leaned forward to rest his head on her back. Somewhere in that time, her hands had found his and they rested on either side of her, fingers interlaced. She thought drowsily of the idea of breaking up with Chris, and dismissed it.

Clara stood quietly, holding her suit case. Joey, who'd accompanied them down in the elevator, was by her, just as silent as she was. After a few minutes of that, he reached out, almost hesitant, and took her hand. "Hey. You'll answer when I call, right?" he asked softly.

She smiled as his hand closed around her's. "'Course," she said, then added, "if you'll answer when I call."

Joey looked vaguely stumped. "Uh... If I can. If I can't, I'll make sure to call you back." He gave her a hopeful look.

The look made her melt, but she just nodded, then looked around. She wanted to give Justin one last hug, but he wasn't there. She noticed Lance speaking energetically with Mike, and rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm. But then, he hadn't gone out the night before. Turning back to Joey, she reached out to hug him, dragging him closer to her and hugging him tightly. When she let him go, he was staring at her in some surprise, and she grinned and hugged him again.

"Tell Justin I missed hugging him good-bye, so I gave this hug to you to give to him."

Joey chuckled. "Done." He sobered. "But, you know, I'm not gonna hug him. He'll just have to deal."

"Teddy!" Clara whined. "Please?"

Joey gave her an amused look. "What is it with you and me and Justin?" he teased softly.

"Well you and me..." She leaned forward and whispered some naughty nothings in his ear. His eyebrows went up in surprise. "And with me and Justin, its just friendship."

He nodded. "I know that..." He laughed suddenly, and kissed her.

"So," JC said softly. He didn't move; he liked where he was standing. Anika leaned comfortably against him, her arms looped loosely around his waist. They both stared out the window onto the parking lot - not the most romantic of views, but it was what they had this morning.

"So?" she murmured sleepily, and he chuckled. She looked up at him. "What?"

"Just... you. Thank you for coming."

"Thanks for inviting me. This has been quite an adventure."

JC chuckled. "I bet you say that to all the rock stars you date."

Anika laughed. "Oh, yeah.... And I can't even remember their names...."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Go home and sleep. And then start school on Monday." She groaned. "Not the high light of my life. What are you going to do?"

He sighed. "Get on the bus and hopefully get some sleep. But with Lance this... hyper..." He made a face. "Lance and hyper just don't go well together," he muttered. "I don't know if any of us are going to get any sleep."

Anika grew sober. "Tie him up and gag him if you have to. You need sleep."

JC laughed. "All right, then, I will." He kissed her on the nose.

She snuggled into him, and smiled.

"How, exactly, are you staying awake?" Chris mumbled into Marissa's back.

"I'm not entirely sure," she admitted. "I will probably be asleep before they even start the whole "How to buckle your seat belt" thing."

Chris chuckled, wrapped his arms around her waist, and sat up, pulling her back onto his lap. She tried to pull her hands free with no success until he let her go, and by then she was seated rather comfortably. With a sigh, she put an arm around his neck and leaned her head against his. "So, now what?" she asked softly.

"Now, you go back to work, and I go make life impossible for Candy. In between, we call each other."

Marissa moaned. "Trade you."

He chuckled. "What?"

"Sure! I can certainly really make her mad, you know, just pretend to be interested in Lance. You can make my supervisor's life impossible. Just be you, and that would so throw him off, you could either get me fired or he'd quit."

Chris shook his head. "I'd go mad."

"Short drive," she teased.

"Oh, thanks," he grinned, then the smile slipped from his face. "I'll miss you."

Marissa blinked and swallowed, then managed a small smile. "I'll miss you, too," she whispered, and kissed him.

"Sorry," Lance said behind her, and Chris reluctantly let her go. "But the shuttle wants to leave."

Marissa stood up and straightened her shirt. She noticed the driver with her suitcase, and watched as Anika left the lobby. "Thanks, Lance. Good luck." She gave him a hug, then turned to Chris. "Gotta go," she said quietly as he stood up.

"I know." He gave her a hug and gentle kiss. "Travel safe. Call me when you get home."

She nodded, fighting the tears she could feel trying to get into her eyes. "You guys travel safe, too." Almost abruptly, she turned and left the lobby, grabbing her carry on as she did. Chris sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and stared out the window. He lifted his hand and waved in response to a cheerful wave from Marissa. "Just because we do this a lot does not make it any easier," he mumbled.

"No," Joey agreed. "It doesn't."

JC sighed rather noisily beside them. "I'm going back to sleep," he muttered. Chris smiled slightly and waved again, then the shuttle pulled away from the door.

"Uh... you can't," Lance told him. "We have to be out of here in about half an hour."

All three of them groaned and followed him to the elevator.

Clara got on the shuttle, refusing to look back. She took a seat on the side of the small bus that was toward the hotel, knowing that if she saw Joey again this morning, she'd cry in front of him, and this was already hard enough. Anika got on next and sank down across the aisle, already in tears.

Marissa got on next, waved once out the window, then sat next to Clara. "Smile, be nice," she muttered to herself, trying to find something for her hands to do. "Smile, be nice."

Clara smiled slightly at her. "Tears are okay, too," she whispered.

"Not while he's watching," Marissa responded. It wasn't long before the driver got into his seat, and the van began to pull away from the hotel. Marissa managed a smile and waved one last time, then as soon as she could no longer see the men inside, she dissolved into tears. Clara couldn't control her own tears and let them fall, and for a few minutes, all that was heard was the softly playing radio and the sniffles from the three passengers.

They were almost to the airport when Marissa giggled. "We are just pathetic!" she said to no one in particular. "Just pathetic."

"I resent that!" Clara protested.

"Me, too," Anika said, and blew her nose into a tissue she'd found in her pocket.

"Therefore, it's true." Marissa's eyes widened suddenly. "Oh, that sounded just too much like Chris.... I have officially spent way too much time with that boy."

Clara shrugged. "He rubbed off on you."

Marissa sighed. "I know. And heaven help me, it's only going to get worse. I can just see it." She turned to Anika. "And if you once try to mother me the way JC fathers the rest of them, I'll personally kill you."

"Can I help?" Clara asked, smiling brightly for the first time since the shuttle left.

"Sure," Marissa grinned. "Accomplices are always welcome."

Anika choked out a laugh. "Oh, Chris hasn't influenced you that much," she said. "He'd just go for a practical joke. You're still out for blood."

Marissa sighed in relief. "Well, that's a relief."

"Hey, wait a second!" Anika protested. "Two against one is not fair!"

"But it isn't two against one. It's two against two!" Clara grinned.

"I'm not two!" Anika protested.

Clara smirked. "There's you and your attitude."

Anika smirked right back. "Oh, well, then it's three against two, 'cause you're attitude is just as bad." Her eyes sparkled with humor.

"And my humor, right?" Clara asked. "That counts as one, right, so four against two?"

"No, dear, it doesn't work that way. Chris has the humor out of body," Marissa grinned.

Clara hrumphed and fell back in her seat. "You're only saying that because you're dating him."

"And don't you forget it," Marissa nodded.

"We're not likely to," Anika grinned. "Not at all."

Getting on the plane was done quickly, and true to her word, Marissa fell asleep as soon as she was settled in her seat, and didn't wake until Anika nudged her to tell her the plane was landing.

Once home, Marissa collapsed on her bed and fell asleep. When she woke up, she dragged herself into the kitchen and began to fix herself something to eat. Sitting at the table, she tried to analyze what had just happened. For two weeks, she'd basically been in the way of one of the hottest musical groups in the world. And while doing that, she'd become friends - and began dating - one member of that particular group. One who was insane, moody, and had hated her for what she represented to him not three months ago.

She sighed and took a bite of her sandwich. How did she feel about him? Good question. She had liked him from the time she'd actually gotten to know him - well, okay since she'd talked to him at Thanksgiving. But there was this fear in him, and she really wanted to know who Tamara was. That was going to drive her nuts. Because obviously, something had happened.

Her phone rang; she reached over and picked it up. "This is Marissa."

"Hey, Riss. You forget to call?"

She flushed. "Hi, Chris. Yeah, I did. In fact, I walked in and did a face plant on my bed. Sorry."

"That's okay. I fell asleep as soon as we got on the bus."

She chuckled. "Anyway, I made it safely. How's the traveling going?"

"Same old... well, Joey's not driving us all crazy. Have you heard from Clara yet?" There was too much amusement in his voice.

"Why?" she asked warily.

"Justin wanted to know."

"What did you do?"

"I did nothing," he said, way too innocently.

"What did you suggest to Justin to do?" Silence met her words, and she rolled her eyes. "Chris, what did he do?"

"Nothing?" he asked meekly, and she laughed.

"Oh, no, you two are terrors when you get together. Tell me."

"Have you looked in your suitcase yet?" he asked suddenly. She paused.

"No..."

"Do it, please? Now?"

She sighed in mock exasperation. "Okay, okay. Just... tell me nothing's going to jump out at me."

"Nothing's going to jump out at you," he repeated immediately.

"Are you lying?"

He chuckled. "No, Marissa. I'm not."

"Am I going to want to kill you for this?"

"I doubt it. When did you get so suspicious?"

"Good grief, Chris, you guys are ruthless with each other! I heard what you had planned just to start with the whole thing with Candy! I was just very happy I stayed out of the line of fire."

"It was a rule we decided on a while ago. If any of you had jumped in, you would have been included."

Marissa shook her head, chuckling. "Interesting." She knelt next to her suitcase, opening it carefully.

"Check the left side, against the wall," Chris instructed.

Marissa began to pull her clothes out, stopping at a small bundle tied with string. "What the heck?" she murmured, and Chris chuckled.

"Open it," he urged.

"I'm trying," she muttered. "How many times did you tie it?"

He laughed at the frustration in her voice. "Apparently, too many."

Marissa grinned and got to her feet. "Typical of you. Do you do things to frustrate me on purpose?"

"Of course. I always try to push people I'm fond of away from me."

"Does it work?" she asked as she carefully cut the string.

"Don't know, you tell me. Is it working?"

She laughed and carefully unfolded the material. Her eyebrows went up. "Hey... Chris, this is cool." It was a black FuManSkeeto hoodie, but the patch was the one that was usually on the light blue one. "I love this. How did you..."

"I remembered," he said cheerfully. "You said you thought the weird picture of the lady should be on a black on, because you liked the picture and didn't like blue that much. I called Dani and she had one made."

"Chris... You shouldn't have. Really. But thank you. I love it." She felt like dying. Oh, please tell me he won't hold this against me, she thought frantically. No more casual observations like that.

"You're welcome."

She ran her hand over the material. "These are really nice, Chris. I've been eyeing them for a while."

"So you approve?"

She laughed. "As if that made any difference! I like them, though. I'm just hesitant to buy things on line. Makes me nervous." She shrugged. "What did Justin do to Clara?"

Chris laughed. "She'll have to tell you that. Tim's letting me know that we have places to be. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye. Thanks again, Chris. For the experience, and for the shirt. And break a leg tonight."

"Oh, thanks," he teased. "Night."

Marissa hung up and sighed, fingering the patch. "A one-of-a-kind," she mumbled to herself. "The boy is insane." She glanced at the clock, then picked up the phone and dialed. She needed to get her mind off Chris, and off his weird quirks.

There was no answer when she called Anika, and Marissa figured she was still asleep. Clara answered, though, and sounded like getting out of the house would be good for her. Marissa put her new shirt on, grabbed her keys and wallet, and left.

Neither of them had much to say during the drive, and the food had been set in front of them at the small cafe before Marissa got tired of the silence. "So, did you call Joey and tell him you made it back safely?" she asked, unsure of an answer. Her friend was a million miles away.

Clara shook her head. "Not yet. It would hurt too much to hear his voice." Her voice was as vacant as her expression.

Marissa nodded. "I actually forgot," she said. "I got a reprimanding call from Chris." She indicated her shirt. "He sent this back in my suitcase. Cool, eh?"

Clara didn't even see it, staring out the large window. Marissa was pretty sure here mind wasn't even in the state, let alone the café. "Yeah, cool," she muttered absently.

"Yeah," Marissa responded softly, and she fingered the patch again. What had possessed him to do that for her? She shrugged, refusing to analyze it right now. Glancing at her friend, she smiled, reminded of Joey at the hotel when she and Anika were leaving Orlando. He'd had that exact same spaced out look on his face. She touched Clara's hand to bring her back to the present. "Pretty bad spacing there. You two are meant for each other."

"You think?" Clara asks, suddenly jerking back into consciousness. "I hope so." Her face was light, happy for the first time since Marissa had picked her up. She looked years younger.

Marissa chuckled, shaking her head. "Yeah, if the spacing is any indication. He looked just like that our last day in Orlando, trying to decide if you were actually going to call him or not."

"Really?" A soft smile touched her lips, and Marissa sighed as her eyes glazed again. She chuckled and gave up.

"Eat, and I'll take you home," she said firmly. "You are hopeless."

"Hopelessly in love," Clara corrected her almost immediately.

Marissa blinked, startled. "Oh. That's good. He deserves it." She winked at Clara. "I don't know you well enough to know if you do."

Clara laughed. "Then you should get to know me."

"I'm trying," Marissa protested, her eyes dancing with humor. "But that dork keeps dragging your attention away. He's what, four? four states away, I'm sitting across the table, and I bet you can't even tell me what I ordered without looking."

Clara's eyes widened. "Um... I'm betting it's edible food. And if it isn't... well..."

Marissa laughed. "See? So, eat, and I'll take you home, and you can call him and tell him you made it." She checked her watch. "In fact, you can leave him a message. I think they're on stage."

"Oh..." Clara muttered. Then she smiled and shook her head. "Nope, me and you are going out. If they're having fun then we are going to have some too!"

Marissa shrugged. "Okay, but you deal with Anika's wrath if she wakes up...." She pursed her lips. "There's a great club downtown - I can leave a message on her phone to meet us if she wants. Interested?"

"You bet." Clara smiled evilly.

"Huzzah! Eat, I'll call Anika, and we'll go see if Erin is there."

"Erin?" Clara looked confused.

Marissa chuckled. "Friend of mine. Just someone I talk to when I go by myself. She wasn't there when I met Joey."

"Oh... The club's where you met him?"

"Yeah. Is that okay? or bad, because... I don't know, you weren't ever there with him, and I figured there'd be no bad memories or good memories to drag your attention off..."

"Marissa, It's fine," Clara interrupted her babbling, and Marissa flushed and took a deep breath.

"Sorry." She grinned. "It'll be interesting."

"You could say that." Clara muttered.

"Tell me about you," Marissa said with a grin. "And no Joey allowed in this conversation."

Clara stared at her in some surprise. "Um... I'm not that interesting. Why don't you tell me about you instead."

"Nope. I asked first." Marissa looked far too much like a Cheshire cat. "Besides, I know all about me."

"Drat!" Clara muttered. "Um... I'm a teacher?"

"I couldn't do it. I'm impressed. I'm a clerk. And my supervisor seriously needs to get dead." She paused for a moment. "You know, he's kinda like Tim...."

"Tim?"

"Yeah, that weasel of a tour manager, and I just broke my own rule, didn't I?"

"Yep." Clara smiled evilly.

Marissa sighed. "Well, not too bad - I didn't actually say his name. Anyway... that's what I do. How'd you end up in Vancouver?"

"My parents," Clara stated flatly, and her tone said the topic was over before it even started.

"Ah. I came here because I was sick of Texas and it was finished with me, and I had some friends - who have since moved. Leaving me here."

"Well, you're stuck with me," Clara grinned.

"Stuck is not the word I'd use. Yet," Marissa said with a grin. "Now I'm going to break my own rule, but don't space out on me. What attracted you to Joey the first time?"

"His energy."

"What about it?"

"He had so much... he was like an overgrown child. He was so cute, so much fun. And then he proved that he had a serious side too... I was hooked."

Are hooked, you mean, Marissa thought to herself, and chuckled. "My first up close view of Joey Fatone was... he was standing next to me, leaning on the chair, and running his hand through his hair. He looked absolutely exhausted."

"He is," Clara whispered.

Marissa grinned to herself. "It's to be expected. He looked tons better when we were in Orlando, and even this last tour."

"Because I made him sleep. He seems to think that he's a superhuman."

Marissa chuckled. "Oh, he's not? And you guys actually got sleep? Huh. In between make out sessions?"

"We don't make out... that much!"

"You kicked me out of my room," Marissa reminded her with a grin.

"So?" Clara had the good grace to look a little ashamed.

Marissa paused. "Well, okay so it was near the middle of our stay, but... who knows what you did when you vanished into his room!"

"We talked."

Marissa nodded. "Ah. Talked. And there was a lot of clubbing, that's for sure." She grinned. "And you read a lot of books." Clara shrugged, and Marissa rolled her eyes. "So did I. That's my point. So...." She shrugged. "Would you go again?"

"Definitely. In a heartbeat." There had been no hesitation in her answer. Marissa envied her that. "You?" Clara asked.

Marissa pursed her lips. "I'm not so sure," she said slowly. "Dunno."

"I would... for Joey. Besides..."

"Besides?" Marissa asked when she didn't continue.

"I won't get much time with him during the year... So, I take it when I can get it, I guess."

"True."

"Besides, he's worth it. He's more than worth it."

Marissa smiled almost wistfully. "True," she repeated, then she smacked her hand on the table, wanting to get out of there and away from her thoughts. "Ready?"

"You bet. I need to change though.."

Marissa chuckled. "I thought so. Come on, let's get going. I'll call Anika from your house."

The two women paid and left; while Clara changed, Marissa left a message for Anika, telling her their plans. After a short minute, she dug her planner out and called Joey. His voice mail picked up, just like she thought it would. "Hey, Joey. This is Marissa. Clara got back fine; she's crashing pretty hard, though, so she'll call you back later. Hope the concert was a great one! Say hi to everyone for me. Bye."

She hung up; not 30 seconds later, Clara returned, and they left for the club.

Anika woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and cheerful. She checked her phone, not surprised to find out she had a couple of messages. One of them was Marissa, inviting her to the club with her and Clara the night before; the other was JC, wondering if she'd made it home safe and would she please call him. She did, leaving a message on his voice mail, and went to unpack.

Opening her suitcase, she found a single red rose nestled in the corner near her shoes, and carefully drew it out. It was silk, and the stem was a little bent. She smiled, set it aside, and began to unpack.

By the end of it, she had a small pile of a dozen red silk roses. The last one had a paper wrapped around it, and she carefully released it.

She stared at the note, then reached for her phone. JC's voice mail picked up again, and she sighed. "Hey, JC. Thanks. I miss you, too." She hung up and read the note again before calling Marissa.

The next morning, Clara turned her attention to unpacking her bag. She opened it carefully, aware that she'd packed it full. She stared in utter disbelief at the sand that filled in all the spaces, then her eyes narrowed in fury. Getting up, she found some newspaper and set it around her suitcase, and began to unpack.

Whoever had done this had been very careful; her dress and some of her nicer clothes were in bags and protected. As she unwrapped those, though, something else, wrapped in another bag, fell out. Curious, she unwrapped it to reveal a small bottle of bath oils that when opened, smelled absolutely heavenly.

Her unpacking continued that way. She found three other bottles of bath oils and one of perfume; her bag where she'd kept her lingerie squished frighteningly when she pulled it out, and she opened it to find everything covered in what smelled like... cream of mushroom soup. She growled in frustration and went to start her laundry. When she dumped out the bag, however, she found something else was in there. A small note, laminated to keep it from getting ruined, had been buried in her clothes.

'Hey, Clara,

"You are so dead," she muttered as she dropped the note into the sink to wash it off, contemplating what exactly she could do to get him back and regret ever starting this prank war.

One last bottle fell out as she cleaned out the last of her clothes, and she carefully unwrapped it to reveal some bubble bath; the paper around it had writing on it.

Clara smiled. He really was the sweetest person she'd ever met.