"Hey, Syd," Lindsay said, coming up next to her sister, "would you mind riding with the guys? I want to ride with Lance." She asked, her eyes pleading.
"Sure," Sydney answered, knowing that time was limited between them. "Go on," She urged, giving Lindsay a playful shove, "go and be with your boyfriend." Lindsay grinned and ran off to Lance, who was waiting for her near her car.
"Looks like I'm riding with you," Sydney said to Joey, walking next to him.
"Cool." Joey answered, looking tired and slightly sunburned and not really focused. They both climbed into the rear passenger seats, and Sydney's eyes widened slightly when she realized she had to sit next to Justin, who was already sitting in the car staring out of the window. She sat next to him primly, making sure there was at least an inch or two between them.
"C'mon scoot over!" JC said, the aura of energy around him had not diminished even after a day at the beach. He was waiting expectantly near the door, since he couldn't close it because Joey was hanging half outside of the car because of Sydney. He nudged Joey, who in turn nudged Sydney. She reluctantly scooted over, the space between them closed off.
"Have fun?" He asked her, still looking out of the window. He had a tired look on his face, and his eyes drooped closed every now and then.
"Yeah," She answered, "how about you?" He shrugged.
"It was alright." Joey had already fallen asleep, his head leaned against the window, and JC was talking to Chris about some people who Sydney didn't know.
"Justin," She finally started. The silence was beginning to seriously annoy her, and if they weren't going to be friends, at least they could realize it now and not later. "why don't you like me?"
The question struck Justin, because he didn't know how to handle it. Was she asking why he didn't like her as a friend, or as something more? He coughed, "I do, Syd. Listen, I really acted stupid towards you. I mean, I basically ignored you for the entire day and you've been nothing but nice to me…except when you shut your door in my face and turned up your radio." He said, although the joke didn't diminish the sincerity that was reflected in his eyes. Justin was slightly disappointed she didn't take the message deeper, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her outright that he liked her.
"It's okay," Sydney answered, sighing, "it'll be tough when you all leave." Justin's heartbeat quickened, "I mean for Lindy and Lance," She added, and he felt another stab of disappointment, but decided to ignore it and talk to her when they got back to the house.
"That was fun," Lindy said, smiling as Lance drove the car slowly out of the parking lot cautiously so he wouldn't hit anyone. "we should do it again," She suggested, looking at him.
His expression seemed a bit troubled. "something wrong?" She asked hesitantly.
He sighed, "I have to leave in two days, Lindy. We're needed back on the tour, and we have a lot of appearances to do." He pulled the car to the side of the road and turned to look at her. "please don't be mad." He pleaded.
"I couldn't be, babe," Lindsay answered, forcing a smile for his benefit. "I love you, Lance, and it's what you're obligated to do."
"Thanks, God, I'm so lucky to have you," he said, pulling her close and kissing her.
She laughed, "we better get going or the others will be wondering what happened to us," She reminded him. Reluctantly, he released her and started the car up again, but held her hand the whole ride back.
"Man, I'm starving," Chris commented when they all walked into the house.
"We could order out for a pizza," Sydney suggested.
"yeah, let's do it!" Joey answered, seeming to be alive for the first time ever since they had gotten home from the beach.
"Chris, will you order them? I have to change." Sydney asked.
"Alright," Chris answered, reaching for the phonebook and searching up the pizza place's number before dialing it on the phone. Sydney went straight into her room, changing quickly into a pair of khaki shorts and a white tank top. She thought about Justin, and for once the thought of him didn't make her feel unhappy. She remembered the time they'd had the night before, when Lance had almost hit them with the baseball bat, and she could almost forget about him asking that girl's number at the beach. It hit her that maybe she was falling for him, but she didn't know whether that was a good thing or not. Chuckling at her thoughts, she lay down on her bed, snuggling up next to one of the pillows and fell asleep.
"Hey, where's Sydney?" JC asked, "the pizza's here." Lance and Lindsay had already arrived and everyone had just been waiting for the arrival of their dinner.
"I think she's asleep." Lindsay said from her spot on the couch next to Lance.
"Go get her, will ya, Justin?" JC asked, opening the top of the pizza box and looking in. Justin knocked on Sydney's door softly.
"Syd?" He asked, and opened the door enough to poke his head into the room. She was asleep, and he nudged her shoulder softly to wake her up. She jolted awake.
"Huh? What?" She asked, flipping around and relaxing when she saw Justin.
"Do you always sleep like someone's going to come in and kill you?" He teased.
"Only when there are weirdos who like to sneak into people's rooms." She shot back, getting up and yawning.
"Touché." He answered, grinning, "the pizza's here, if you want to eat."
"okay," She answered, getting up and following him into the kitchen.