Chapter 5: Do I have something in my teeth?

"You guys can decide who gets which room," Mikayla said, leading them into the hallway on the first floor. "There's two bathrooms over there and right here, and this door leads to the basement, but-"

"Don't go in there," Taylor warned them, "Mika will kill you."

"True," Mika said, grinning. "Taylor and my rooms are upstairs, along with Noah. Don't be surprised if you here him coming home late, he does that a lot. He's a night person." She told them.

"I claim this room!" Justin said, running into one of the rooms.

"That's not fair! Who said you got to pick first!" Chris complained.

"Shut up!" Lance exclaimed, "I can't hear myself think when you guys do this."

Joey laughed, "you think, Lance?"

"Calm down," Mikayla said, laughing at their antics. "Taylor order a couple of pizzas for the guys alright?" She said, opening the door to the basement. JC wondered what was down there, but knew it wasn't his place to ask. Having her let them stay at her home was already a great privilege, and he knew it.

"Okay," Taylor said. Mikayla went down to the basement. "What kind of pizzas do you guys want?"

"Cheese."

"Pepperoni."

"Combo."

"Hawaiian!" Taylor rolled her eyes.

"C'mon we'll order a pizza for each of you. What do you want, JC?"

"Oh, just give me cheese. I think I'm going to go lie down in my room for a bit. Call me when the pizza gets here, okay?" JC said, yawning.

"Sure." Taylor answered. She and the rest of the guys left to go to the kitchen.

* * * * *

Mikayla bit her lip, concentrating on the metal strings of her guitar. No one knew what was in this basement, not even Taylor or Noah. They were free to roam anywhere around the house except the basement. It was decorated with things that were special to Mikayla, pictures of her family, Taylor, and Noah. In one corner was a computer that she used to keep store of songs that she wrote, and in another was a large bookshelf, full of the books she loved reading.

"This isn't working," She muttered, placing her guitar back on its stand and standing up. She went to the dresser that held all of her most precious things and opened one of the drawers. The familiar battered red and blue tin box stared up at her. She cautiously picked it up, then hesitated to open it. Opening this box could bring out memories of things that she didn't want to remember, things she didn't want to see again or feel again. "I'm mature," She told herself, "what happened was in the past, and it's not going to come back so don't worry about it, Mika."

She opened the box. A couple of letters were in there, letters from Josh when they had been best friends. The lion pendant lay right on top of them, the eyes of the lion staring up at her. She fingered the pendant, liking the cool and rough texture of it. She put it back quickly, feeling the memories coming back, and closed the drawer before she headed upstairs.

* * * * *

JC could hear the soft strains of a guitar, but he didn't know where they were coming from. Maybe from Mika's private room, he mused, not thinking about it too much. He lay face down on the bed, thinking of how good it felt to be lying down.

Mika had looked absolutely beautiful when he had seen her with Justin and the rest of the guys. When she talked about the basement, she had a guarded look in her eyes, as if she didn't want people to even have a slight hint as to what was in there.

"Josh?" He heard a voice say. Tiredly he sat up and saw Mikayla leaning on the doorframe.

"Mika?" He was surprised to see her there. She was studying him. "I'm sorry." Was all he could say. What would pleading and trying to explain do to help them now?

"It's okay, Josh," She answered, her eyes full of wisdom that was far beyond her age. "what happened is what happened and there's nothing we can do to go back and change it."

"Can we get over it? And try to salvage a good friendship from the wreck?" He said, smiling weakly. She stared at him for a second.

"Sure. We can be friends."

* * * * *

"You guys know what's up with JC and Mikayla," Taylor asked after she had phoned the pizza place. She had almost completely forgotten that these were the guys of 'N Sync and not just every day guys.

"Don't you know?" Justin asked, confused.

"Nope. Mika keeps some parts of her past locked up. Only the parts that she hates to talk about," Taylor said with a shrug.

"Well, she and JC went out when I think they were like eighteen or something. JC went to go get her some punch, Mika's best friend tried to kiss him. Mika walked in just when he was pulling away, and ran away before he could explain," Lance explained for her.

"Wow." Taylor looked in the direction of the basement, "no wonder she didn't want to go backstage. Did they ever talk about it afterwards?"

"Nope." Chris said, popping a grape into his mouth, "she left right before JC could get to her house. Man, he was heartbroken for the longest time after that." Mikayla walked in, and all conversation stopped.

"What? Do I have something in my teeth?" She asked, flashing her teeth at them. She took a seat. JC came in shortly and everyone, except Mikayla, stared at him.

"What!" He asked. He felt annoyed about the way they were staring.

"Nothing." They all said innocently. JC sighed and took a seat at the table next to Mikayla.

The Lion Pendant Contents | Chapter 4 | Chapter 6