The arena was almost empty when 'N Sync showed up for sound check early that afternoon. The stage had been set up that morning, and the band's instruments covered the rear of the stage. Each member sang into their microphones individually so the technicians could make their adjustments. Soon, they began a mini concert for all the employees working in the arena that early. Justin started off 'God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You' as he paced the stage, eyes wandering around the place that would be packed come tonight.

JC wandered around the stage, singing his own parts in the song, lost in thought. They all paced the stage, waiting for the rehearsal that was coming shortly. Each member had to practice their dance routines and make sure they had everything down pat for the show tonight. This was one of the more tedious parts of being an entertainer. The endless hours of practicing of any kind. JC took a seat on a nearby stool as he started singing 'Crazy For You'.

Justin lifted his face to look up at the high ceiling. The acoustics of the arena would make the show amazing, especially during their a capella versions of certain songs. The band played the songs without much of a hitch, which pleased everyone present.

Justin sat down at the edge of the stage as he continued to sing. A couple of the female workers had stopped their work to watch the sound check/rehearsal and he gave them a charming smile. He really did love performing for people. It was something he practically lived for. It was the only thing he was truly good at.

Justin took over singing the lead when his part came up as he climbed to his feet to walk around the stage idly. JC rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, head bowed slightly. Joe and Chris were dancing around and making faces at one another. Lance was walking around near the back stage area. Justin smiled secretly to himself when he saw Michaela Costeo, JC's girlfriend of about a year, sneak up behind him. She rested her hands on his shoulders and started massaging them. JC smiled, hanging his head. He knew who it was without looking.

Ashley walked over to where Joe and Chris were bouncing around like a couple of goof-balls and tapped Joe on the shoulder, which scared him so badly he almost dropped his microphone. Joe spun around and laughed when he saw her. He draped an arm along her shoulders and brought her into a hug.

Justin sighed as everyone stopped singing to talk to the two ladies that had shown up nearly a day late. He slipped his microphone back into the microphone stand and found a chair on the floor to sit in. Carli would be showing up with Janelle in a couple of hours. He still had mixes feelings on what to do about his confused state when he was around her, but he knew the phone lines were a great way of keeping in touch. His phone bill was already so high that adding another phone number to the list he called weekly wouldn't matter much.

"Hey old man! You all right?" Mike yelled from the stage. Justin glanced up at her and nodded with a smile.

"So tell me about those dancing green bears!" Justin yelled back teasingly.

"Amazingly enough, they had your face!" Mike yelled back. Justin climbed to his feet and made his way back to where everyone was sitting on the floor of the stage. He lounged back next to Ashley.

"They dancing green bears had my face?" he inquired, lips twitching with humor.

"Yeah, and they kept chanting 'Giddy Up is not about a horse'." Mike laughed leaning back into JC's arms. They all groaned shaking their heads.

"I'm gonna regret I ever said that." Lance sighed with a smile.

"We already do." Chris grinned.

"I'm sure y'all do." Lance nodded with a mock look of exasperation.

"Ever notice that when he get flustered, he goes back into his southern accent?" Mike inquired, a teasing smile on his face.

"What is this? Tease the albino day?" Lance demanded loudly.

"Lance, I hate to burst your bubble, but you're not an albino. You had brown hair when I first met you, and dark eyebrows. Albino's have no hair unless it's snow white. And, well, you just don't fall under that description. Now, if an albino fell under the description of a very hormonal teenager who sings for a pop group, then you'd have it made." Mike sighed waving a hand in the air. Lance shot Mike a dirty look as he climbed to his feet.

"I'll remember that." he nodded.

"You always do." Mike laughed as Lance made his way to the small table that held bottled water. He grabbed a bottle then walked back over to everyone.

"Those girls, when are they showing up?" Ashley inquired.

"You mean, when do we have to act like friends instead of couples?" Joe sighed with a shake of his head.

"Yeah." Ashley nodded.

"They're gonna be here in about an hour." Justin answered glancing down at his watch.

"And you guys have sound check for the next hour." Mike stated with finality.

"Unfortunately, yes." JC nodded then kissed the top of his girlfriend's head.

"Well, then you better get to it. Ash and I can occupy ourselves for the time being." Mike sighed climbing slowly to her feet. Ashley followed suit then held her hand out to Joe to help him to his feet. Mike gave Justin an odd look and he shook his head, telling her silently that he was all right. She shrugged and turned only to come nose to chest with JC.

"Christ!" she yelped.

"No, Mike dear. It's Chris, but I thank you for getting the two of us confused." Chris snorted from beside her. Mike groaned and gave the older man a playful shove away from her, she then turned and look up at JC.

"Did you want something?" she inquired, squinting up at him. JC nodded with a smile.

"Same thing Joe's getting." he replied. Mike glanced over and saw Ashley delivering the kiss she swore she was going to give him the second she saw him.

"Well, if you really want what Joe's getting and if you ask really nice, I'm sure he won't mind letting Ash kiss you." Mike grinned impishly then reached down to grab her bag.

"Infuriating woman." JC mumbled as he grabbed her. Mike burst out laughing.

"You said what Joe was getting. Well, Joe's getting a kiss from Ashley." Mike pointed out through her laughter.

"She's right JC." Justin nodded with a smile.

"Who asked you Dye Boy?" JC laughed with a shake of his head.

"Um, you did Sprinkles." Justin countered with a smile.

"I thought I told you never to call me that." JC yelled playfully.

"Sprinkles? Is something going on between the two of you that I should be made aware of?" Mike inquired raising an eyebrow.

"Well, see, I'm the Cookie Monster, and JC's my sidekick Sprinkles." Justin laughed, explaining to her what the nickname meant. She nodded, looking at the two of them like they had just lost every single marble they, collectively, owned.

"Okay, well, have the white coats shown up yet?" Mike questioned, backing away from the two, trying to keep her distance.

"Wait, they did last night. After the pillow exploded." Justin nodded.

"An exploding pillow? Um, Justin, are you sure the dye hasn't affected your brain?" Mike inquired.

"Yeah, a pillow exploded while we were having a pillow fight." Justin laughed.

"Oh, okay. The light is beginning to shine brightly now." she nodded rolling her eyes. Justin nodding gravely, his lips twitching in a smile.

"Justin, stop. You're confusing the poor girl." Chris snorted as he joined the trio in the conversation.

"I'm not confused, I'm just trying to understand Justin. Most of us have to try, you know. Not everyone in the world purchased the book 'Hooked on Ebonics'." Mike tossed her hands into the air, causing JC and Chris to laugh. "That and he's a teenage guy. Show me one person who can actually understand a teenage guy, and I will show you one good liar."

"Tough words for such a small girl." Justin countered taking a step toward Mike.

"Who you calling little?" Mike demanded with a laugh, holding her fists up, ready for anything Justin would throw at her.

"If you were paying attention, you would know that I called you little." Justin sighed shaking his head.

"Oh, right. Okay. My bad." Mike giggled, ducking behind JC's broad shoulders. Justin gave her a startled look.

"She actually said 'my bad'. Oh my God." he cried out loudly.

"Did I?" Mike inquired, a horrified expression on her face, looking to JC for confirmation. JC nodded with a slight smile. "Someone shoot me! I used a contemporary phrase!"

"Well, at least it wasn't crunk." JC laughed as he grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together.

"You have a point." Mike nodded, glancing over at Chris. Chris was bopping his head in time to some music that was playing in his head.

"I think our guests are here." Chris stated suddenly. Everyone turned to see a teenage girl making her way toward the stage with a little girl in her arms. JC sighed, giving Mike's hand a gentle squeeze before letting her go.

"Hey Carli." Chris called as Lance walked over to them.

"Hey, this place is huge." Carli smiled, setting her little sister down on the stage. Janelle instantly ran over to Lance and threw her arms around the young man's legs in a hug. Lance laughed bending over to pick her up.

"She's so excited about the concert tonight. She can't believe she's actually here. You should have seen her on the ride out here." Carli shook her head with amusement.

"I can imagine. I remember what I was like for the first concert I ever went to." Justin laughed as Carli glanced at the two other women that were standing with them.

"Oh, this is Mike and Ashley." JC introduced, finally remembering his manners.

"Oh, right, the witch. Hi Mike, Ashley." Carli laughed, eyes sparkling with humor.

"Um, witch?" Mike inquired with a raised eyebrow, looking at each of the members of the group.

"Yeah, or that's what JC told me. That you're their witch and you cast spells on all of the teenagers of the world so they would buy their records." Carli nodded, causing everyone but JC, who was blushing, to burst out laughing.

"You twerp! I am not a witch!" Mike railed loudly giving JC a playful shove, laughter easy to hear in her voice.

"You're not?" JC raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his face. Mike's jaw dropped slightly as she gave him one of her many 'looks'. Mike then turned to Carli.

"You'll have to forgive JC. You see, he's never been the same since he became famous. He's become delusional. Keeps thinking everyone he meets are either witches, ghosts or vampires. Plus he's stopped taking his medication. Put the two together and you have a bumbling idiot, which JC is most of the time." Mike explained patting JC's hand. Carli threw back her head and laughed loudly.

"I like you. You have the same demented sense of humor I do." Carli replied between her laughter.

"Finally! Someone likes me!" Mike cried out, arms akimbo.

"Well, it's about time, isn't it Mike?" Chris laughed, draping an arm along her shoulders.

"You're telling me. I was beginning to think I was suffering from Capgrass Syndrome." she sighed, amusement dancing in her eyes. Chris burst out into a fit of laughter, knowing exactly what she meant because of his Psychology training in college. Everyone gave the two a strange look which made them laugh even harder.

"Okay, I'm feeling about as intelligent as a box of hair." Justin snorted making a face.

"Capgrass Syndrome, when you think your family and friends have been abducted by aliens and replaced with look alike aliens." Mike explained with a smile. Justin opened his mouth to say something, but shook his head instead.

"You a Psych student?" Carli inquired glancing over at Mike. The other woman nodded with a smile. "I'd like to study Psych."

"It's a hard profession to grasp sometimes. Especially since there's a lot of disorders or diseases of the mind that just don't have any core facts about them. Half the time, you're making an educated guess, and even then, you're just grasping at straws." Mike sighed rubbing her eyes. She loved most of her Psychology classes, but she hated talking shop around Chris, for the simple reason that no matter what she said, he always took the opposing side just so they could debate about the subject.

"Don't start, Chris." JC warned ominously when the oldest man opened his mouth to say something.

"Awe, JC, you're no fun." Chris grumbled folding his arms across his chest. Mike gave JC a grateful smile as she reached down to grab her book bag.

"All right, business first, as always. You guys need to sign some stuff for one of those teen magazines. They're having a contest, so they need signed t-shirts, posters, CDs and videos." Mike sighed slinging the book bag over her shoulder.

"We can do that tonight after the concert." Justin mumbled distractedly. Mike nodded and turned to walk down the stairs of the stage so she could sit in the front row. JC followed her, then knelt down in front of her for a moment.

Justin glanced over at Carli and smiled when he saw her laughing with Lance, who was holding Nell in his sturdy arms. She was a piece of work and unlike any other girl he had ever met. That's what scared him most of all. She was unusual and he didn't like to be thrown into things he didn't have a feeling for. Carli glanced over in his direction and gave him a smile. Justin smiled back as he strolled over to where he had set his microphone. Rehearsal picked up again and they finished six more songs before everyone was satisfied with the way things sounded.

Each man grabbed a towel to mop their faces with as they all sprawled out on the floor of the stage to relax for a few minutes before they headed into the dressing room to take showers. Justin closed his eyes and let his mind drift as he listened to Carli's voice. She, Mike and Ashley were talking about their families and friends. He could tell Mike and Ashley took an instant liking to the younger girl, which he was somewhat thankful for.

"I am so tired, and we haven't even done the show yet." Lance groaned, the towel muffling his words as he wiped the sweat from his face.

"You can always take a power nap." JC suggested with a laugh.

"Ah, your specialty. Maybe I will." Lance yawned then sighed.

"Hey Justin." Joe called out from the side of the stage.

"Whuddaya want?" Justin called back, rolling his eyes.

"You gotta phone call, platinum prodigy." Joe grinned holding a cell phone out to him. Justin sighed climbing to his feet, then walked over to where Joe stood.

"Hello?"

"Hey J."

"Hey Steven, what's up?" Justin questioned the tour manager with a sigh.

"I heard a little rumor and just wanted to tell you to be very careful. The press will eat it up if it's true."

"Oh, for cryin out loud. Leave me alone about that. Everyone's been giving me advice about this and it's pathetic because I have no idea what's going to happen. So, just stop stressing out about it."

"Just wanted to make sure you knew the....,"

"Yeah, Steven. I know. I know too well." Justin exclaimed then hung up the phone without another word. None of the others had gotten this much grief when they had decided to date a single person exclusively. Justin sighed leaning back against the wall, wondering how in the hell Steven had found out.

"Is this a private party?" a female voice questioned.

"not if you want to join in, Mike." Justin smiled weakly.

"Okay old man, spill. What's going on?" Mike inquired, a worried look on her face. Justin shook his head, remaining silent.

"I know we're not in my dorm room and we don't have hot chocolate with peppermint melted in it, but this little backstage area will have to do. What's wrong, J?" Mike pressed taking a seat on the floor. Justin sat beside her and rested his head in her lap, closing his eyes. He had always been able to go to Mike for some babying when he had problems.

"Everyone's hassling me about liking a girl." he complained with a sigh.

"Would this be a certain girl with a deaf little sister?" she smiled, combing her fingers through his hair. She and Justin had been friends for years, and he was like a younger brother to her in many ways, and she hated to see him upset over anything.

"Yeah. Am I that transparent?" Justin laughed softly.

"To me, yes. To anyone else, I have no idea. What are you going to do about it?" was Mike's soft reply.

"I don't know. I barely know her." he shrugged.

"You going to get to know her better?"

"If she lets me." he nodded with a half smile.

"Do me a favor, Justin." Mike stated suddenly.

"Oh, come on. Not you too." Justin groaned sitting up.

"Don't jump to conclusions. You didn't hear me out." Mike admonished shaking a finger in his face with a smile.

"Sorry." he mumbled.

"It's okay. Now, what I was going to say was, follow your heart. Always follow your heart, but always do that with your eyes wide open. Know that things are going to difficult with a girlfriend, but if you find that you truly care for her, then go for it. Don't let anyone hold you back from that kind of happiness. Lord knows, JC, Joe and Chris had to fight to keep the rest of us around. You'll have to, too. But always remember that my door is always open and my phone line always free if you need to vent or talk about this mess of yours." Mike smiled as she climbed to her feet.

"Thanks, Kayla." Justin smiled. She nodded then walked back to where the others were relaxing.

Justin sighed, his eyes straying to Carli. What is it about her that you find so enthralling? What is it that you can't seem to stop thinking about? Justin shook his head and climbed to his feet to join the party again.

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