Two cars rolled to a stop in front of an old house; soon four girls emerged and looked upon the house with some dissatisfaction.  The house was in need of some repairs, and there was a sort of eerie feeling about it.  It looked like a place one might see in a horror movie.

            Brandi looked at her friend and began to question her to make sure they were at the right place.   Katy assured her that they were and even showed her the paper in her hand, which had the address on it.  Katy had been to the house before; she had fallen in love with it despite its flaws.  Kim looked the place over while the other two were sorting things out.  She made a mental note of the work that was going need to be done.

            “It’s kind of in the middle of nowhere, don’t you think?” Brandi asked.  The air around her smelled of pine and grass, it was certainly miles away from the cities that she had grown accustom to over the years.“Yeah I kind of thought that was the point, wasn’t it?” Katy questioned making her way up the steps and to the front door.  She carefully placed the key into the lock.  She looked back at her three friends.  That is when she realized that one of them was staring off in the wrong direction.   She watched Mandy for a second and then asked her politely if she was coming. “Would you look at this view?” Mandy replied.  Her eyes fixed on the horizon and the mountains around them.  The house may have made her nervous but the view in this direction was very peaceful.  Katy looked toward the sun and agreed with her friend, it was after all pretty amazing and kind of picturesque.  Then she proceeded to unlock the door, she pushed on it slightly but it didn’t move.  She laughed nervously and took a step back before kicking the door as hard as she could.

            The door flew opened amidst a swirl of dust.  Katy protected her face as she made her way inside.  Her friends hesitated to follow her but eventually did.  The house was fairly big on the inside, and in much better shape that the outside had been.  They entered into a fairly spacious living room which opened up in to the kitchen and a dining room.  There was a stair case leading up to the second floor and a door beside it leading to the basement. The bedrooms were both located on the second floor.

            Kim asked her if the furniture had come with the house.  Katy nodded as Kim took a seat on the sofa; care not to touch it any more than she had to.  Katy added that they could get whatever else they needed in town at the thrift store.  Then join Kim on the sofa, taking the time to dust off the spot first before sitting.

             “You know this place has sort of a rustic charm to it.” Mandy pointed out making her way around the room.  She poked at a few oddities on the walls and smiled.

            “Not so sure I would call it ‘charm’” Brandi explained.  She moved to open one of the kitchen cabinets.   It creaked loudly as she moved it, the sound made her cringed.

             Katy explained that she knew that the house was not perfect but that it did meet their most important needs.  Plus, some changes needed to be made any way.  She pulled a note book out of her bag and placed in on the coffee table.  Brandi smiled, then realized that she had left her laptop in the car and ran to go get it.  Katy motioned for Mandy to join Kim and herself.  Mandy smiled sweetly and sat down on the love seat adjacent to them.

              Soon Brandy return, laptop in hand, and took a seat beside Mandy.  She set the laptop down on the coffee table and brought up some stuff on the screen.  Katy pulled out a list of things that they needed to do and laid it out on the table.  Kim picked it up and read it to herself.  She glanced around the room for a moment before stealing Katy’s pen and at the top of the list she wrote the word ‘clean’.  Katy yanked her pen away from Kim but then nodded in agreement.  Cleaning the house was defiantly on the top of the list.

              They looked over the plans and discussed a few outstanding issues, like sleeping arrangements.  Then Katy laid out a plan of attack for the cleaning, divide and concur was going to be their best bet.  She offered to clean the main level if Mandy would take the upstairs and the other two could tackle the basement.  Brandi hated cleaning with a passion but at least she and Kim would be together, surely they would be done first.

            Katy reminded them that the basement was very important in their plans.  Kim nodded letting Katy know that she understood.  Mandy picked up the list and looked at it for a minute.  Some of the items on the list didn’t make any sense to her and she wanted some clarification once they were done cleaning.   The others smiled at her and agreed to explain it to her later.  Mandy was such a sweet girl after all so it was easy to go the extra mile for her.  Brandi glanced over it as well but most of it made sense to her. 

           The cleaning stuff was still in the vehicles so the girls rested a minute then went to fetch it.  They made trip after trip to and from the cars; after all they weren’t sure what all they were going to need to make the house presentable.  Kim wasn’t sure that they had even brought enough to get the job done.  Mandy neatly placed the stuff in piles on the kitchen floor.  Brandi sighed heavily setting the last of the stuff down.  She really hoped they had enough.

            Kim turned and suggested to Brandy that the two of them go and check out the basement and see what they were going to need first.  Brandi followed her over to the basement door.  Kim opened it slowly and then flipped the light switch.  The lights flickered a few times and then finally stayed on.  She slowly made her way down the steps, which creaked under her and made her nervous.  At the bottom she stopped and peered over the railing into the seemingly large room.  She turned to Brandi, who was about half the way down the stairs.

              “You know Brandi, the next time we agree to something maybe we should look into what it is exactly we are getting ourselves into.”  Kim explained.  Brandi got a worried look on her face and rushed down the last part of the stairs and peered into the space. 

             “I am so going to kill her.” Brandi snapped.  The room was large but full of broken furniture, boxes and some other things that the girls couldn’t exactly identify, all of which was cover with dust and spider webs.  Kim finally got brave enough to step off the landing.  She went over to one of the boxes and opened it, sending dust flying as she did.

            Brandi joined her after much hesitation.  She eyed a large animal head that was in the corner and then asked Kim if that was in fact a moose.  Kim just nodded to her, she believed that is what it was but then again she had never actually seen one before.   Kim picked up a book out of the box and thumbed through it as Brandi wondered around more, finally stumbling onto what appeared to be a bathroom.  She covered her nose and mouth as she pushed the door open, just in case there were any surprises.  It smelled musty but otherwise not too bad.   Kim noted that there was some pretty neat stuff down here as she tossed the book back in the box.

             “I feel like I need some kind of shot in order to be down here.” Brandi replied.  Kim just laughed then suggested that they head back upstairs to get the vacuum so they could suck up some of the dust.  Brandi rushed after her, afraid to be down there by herself.

              Katy was in the kitchen wiping down the cabinets and counter tops.  She crawled inside one of the cabinet to get to the back of it.    Kim leaned over the bar and watched her work for a moment.  She informed her that they were taking the vacuum to the basement.  Katy had figured they were going to need it before they had even gone down there to check it out.  She had been the one that had come out to see the house before the sale was finalized.

              “Why didn’t you tell us that it was like a dungeon down there?” Brandi snapped kicking one of Katy’s shoes.  Katy didn’t move from her spot under the counter.  Katy had thought that had been implied by the fact Kim had been sent to help her.    Katy felt something move near her in the cabinet.  Brandi jumped when she heard a loud thud.  Kim peered at her friend with some concern, thinking maybe she might have hit her head or something.  There was exactly a hospital nearby, so any accident could be problematic for them.

            Katy crawled out and tossed something into the trash can.  Kim flashed a concerned look to her friend; Katy just smiled and washed her hands.  After all it was just a bug and now it was dead.  So there was really no point in bringing it up.  Katy promised the two of them that after her and Mandy were done they would come and help out down there as needed.  After all the rest of the house was not packed full of stuff.  This seemed to pacify Brandi so she grabbed the vacuum and headed back down stairs.

              Kim stayed a bit too ask Katy what to do with all the stuff that was down there.  She thought for a minute then told her that they should keep anything useful; the rest could be taken out back and burned as far as she was concerned.  Kim smiled recalling the box of books she had already found; surely there were other treasures down there.

            The girls slaved away for the remaindered of the day cleaning and clearing out the house.  Brandi and Kim carried box after box up from the basement and tossed them into a big pile in the backyard, minus a few items that they deemed worthy of saving.

              Mandy paused for a minute after she ran the mop over the last spot of dirt on the floor in the second bedroom.  She looked around, admiring her handy work.  Both bedrooms where about the same size and where completely void of furniture.  So her job had been pretty easy, but she had been in no hurry to join the others in the basement.  She was not fond of spiders after all.  She reached down and picked up her bucket, then headed down stairs.

            When she got to the kitchen she realized there wasn’t any one there.  The house was empty and that kind of scared her.  As she was pouring her dirty water down the drain, she noticed out the window, her friends were gathered around a pile of junk in the backyard.  Brandi was working to try and start a fire.  Kim was flipping through some books, stopping from time to time to chuck one onto the pile.  Katy was trying to put an old end table back together again with little success.  Mandy smiled, she loved her friends.  No matter what they were doing, they were always having fun.

            High school seemed like so long ago now; they had all grown up and grown apart.  They had always worked best together though.  This was their chance to be great again.  They were on an adventure of sorts.

            Mandy finally set the bucket down in the sink and ran out the back door to join her friends.  There was a burst of excitement as Brandi finally got the fire started.  The whole pile quickly erupted into flames.  Kim joked that Mandy had to be the slowest person in the world when it comes to cleaning.  Mandy smiled at her, she didn’t care if she thought she was slow.

            The fire was nice and warm in contrast to the cool mountain air.  The girls sat there for awhile lost in the glow of the flames.  No one said anything for some time; it was just the sound of the crackling fire and the crickets.  Suddenly something moved in the distance.  Kim jumped and latched on to Mandy’s arm.              Kim questioned as to what it was, after all she was not used to being out in the woods like this.  Katy laughed at her and told her it was probably a moose like the one they had found in the basement or maybe a bear.  Mandy asked her if it was safe to be out there.             “How should I know?  The fire should keep whatever it is away.” Katy replied.  She was a little annoyed by them implying that since she had been camping as a child, she might actually know about wild animals.  In reality she had never seen a moose before, how could she know what they are like.  Brandi could tell that Katy wasn’t scared and then put her at ease, until of course Mandy had to ask her why she wasn’t scared.            “Because I don’t have to out run it, I just have to out run you guys.” Katy replied.

            “What does that have to do with anything?” Kim asked.

            “Whatever that animal is, it can only get one of us and that would probably be the first person it catches when we all take off running.  So as long as I can out run at least one of you, I can make it to the house.” Katy explained with a smile.  Kim playfully tossed a book at her.  She dodged it and then stuck her tongue out.  Katy was not about to lie to them after all they were her dearest friends, but she didn’t believe in fear or regret.  She wasn’t sure what any of it was good for. 

            Mandy leaned against the wall and watched her friend intently.  After a few minutes she finally spoke up.  She asked Katy once again why they were turning the door knobs around.  Katy paused and looked up at her friend from her position on the floor.  Katy nicely asked her if she remembered the plan.  Mandy nodded and repeated what her friend had told her a few days before.

            They were going to lock them in the basement.  Mandy pointed into the basement as if Katy didn’t know where it was.  Katy shook her head and then explained to her that they could not lock them in there with the lock facing the way that it was.  They had to turn them around so that you would need a key to open it from inside the basement.

            Mandy thought for a minute then pointed to the front door which Katy had switched as well.  She expressed concern about being locked.  Katy told her that they would all have keys, but to be careful with them and not to let the guys have access to them.  She tightened the last screws and then climbed up off of the floor.

             “Is there something more productive that you could be doing or at the very least someone else that you could be bothering?” Katy asked.

              “Nope, I finished setting up the computer and the wireless network up here.  Brandi said that she was not ready for me down stairs yet.” Mandy explained.    Katy quizzed her on the security measures that they had discussed earlier in the week, which much to her surprise Mandy passed.

              Katy informed her that tonight at dinner they all needed to discuss the next step in their plans.  She tasked Mandy with the job of telling everyone to come prepared to talk about it, while she ran back into town to fetch some things that they would need.  Mandy nodded and headed off to find the others while Katy headed out the door.  Mandy wondered to herself what Katy was going to go get, she thought they had everything they needed here, but didn’t stop to question her friend further.

            While Katy was gone, the others worked on putting the finishing touches on some things around the house.  They had just finished dinner when Katy returned.  She walked in carrying a box which she placed on the table.

            “Were we supposed to wait for you before we ate?” Kim asked while eating a cookie.  Katy shook her head; she had gotten something while in town.  It had taken longer than she thought it would to get everything together.  Mandy began to peak into the box.

              “Ladies, these are our weapons.” Katy beamed.  She opened the box for Mandy.

            “No way, we said no guns, Katy.  Take this all back.” Mandy protested stepping away from the box.  Katy sighed and reached into the box and pulled out a tranquilizer air pistol.

              “They aren’t guns, I mean not really.  The point isn’t to kill any one after all.” Katy explained.  She handed one to Brandi, who eagerly took it and looked it over.  Katy explained that she had gotten a tranquilizer gun for each of them, and well as two stun batons, two stun guns, four taser guns and four things of pepper spray.  She laid her arsenal out on the table for everyone to see.  She was very proud of the collection.

            Mandy reach in the box and pulled the last item out.  Katy was quick to snatch it from her.  Mandy asked her what it was.  It was wrapped in a cloth.  Katy snapped that it was hers and carefully unwrapped the item.

            “I thought the point was not to hurt anyone?”  Mandy asked as the katana was slowly revealed to her.  Katy held tightly to it as if it was a piece of art.

            “That is still the point; this is just for my collection.  I saw it in the store and I just had to have it.  It’s beautiful.” Katy explained.  She carefully pulled the blade from its case eyeing the shine metal for a minute before sliding it back into place.  “I will keep it upstairs, out of sight and out of reach.” She added.

            She tossed the box over by the trash can and watched as they others carefully sifted though the other items.  The katana was set aside for now and Katy showed the others how you put the gun holster on their belts, she wanted them to keep at least one item with them at all time, for safety reasons.  Kim didn’t like it, it was heavy and cumbersome.

              “So does this mean that we are ready for phase two?” Brandi asked.  Katy shook her head yes.  She grabbed a soda from the refrigerator and took a seat at the table.  They began to talk about the next logical step in their plan.  Katy’s car got the best gas mileage out of the two vehicles that they had, so it only made sense that it would be the one to make the trip to Orlando.  Katy was fine with that but insisted that she go with her car, not really trusting anyone else with her baby, especially in a dangerous situation like this.

            This kind of shocked Mandy, she would have thought Katy would rather do the Los Angeles portion of the mission.  But she didn’t question her out loud.  The girls split into two teams with Mandy and Katy planning to head to Orlando in the morning and Brandi and Kim would wait here until they got word from the others.

            They have to synchronize their attacks, to avoid having the media tip any one off and possibly ruining their plans completely.  After they get one guy, they will only have a limited amount of time to get the others before people realize that they are missing.

              Katy told Brandi she had something that they were going to need in order to get Justin and JC.  Brandi nodded and followed Katy upstairs.  Katy wanted to go over it with her to make sure she didn’t run into any problems. 

           “Do you think those two are up to something?” Mandy asked once they were out of sight.  Kim flash Mandy a look, those two were always up to something so why would this be any different.

            “At least they aren’t together on the kidnappings.  That would be a dangerous combination.” Kim replied.  They both needed some level headed guidance from time to time; otherwise they would continuously get each other into trouble.

              Mandy looked at Kim and turned serious for a minute.  She asked her if she was having any doubts about this.  Kim assured her that she was on board one hundred percent; after all she had nothing to lose.  This was the most excitement she had seen in years.  There wasn’t anything waiting for her at home.

            They sat there waiting.  They could hear sounds coming from upstairs followed by laughter from their friends but neither wanted to investigate the possible mischief the other two were getting in to.  Sometimes ignorance is bliss with them.  Soon Brandi and Katy returned, giggling as they came down the steps.

              “Okay Mandy we’ll leave in the morning and call once we setup our base camp.” Katy explained.  Mandy smiled, she was excited about the thought of a road trip.

            “We’ll head to L.A in two days and see if we can get any leads on where they are planning to be and when.” Brandi added.  “Call us when you are about to make your move and we’ll go at the same time.”  She added looking at Mandy, knowing full well that Katy would likely forget in all the excitement.

            “Once we get them in the car, we’ll head straight here, no stopping.” Katy explained, more for Mandy’s knowledge than anyone else’s.  Mandy nodded in agreement, though driving all day and night didn’t sound like a very fun road trip.

            The girls all agreed and then headed to bed.  They had to pack and it was going to be a long and stressful few days.  Thing were starting to come together and get serious. 

            The music was almost deafeningly loud inside the club.  Katy turned around and leaned against the bar as she scanned the dance floor.  She smiled when she saw Chris and Joey.  They were sitting in a booth in the far corner of the club, with some friends.  The intelligence they had gathered while in Orlando had been correct.

            Mandy leaned in close to ask Katy what the plan was.  She sat there sipping her drink, her eyes fixed on their targets.  Mandy couldn’t help but think how attractive Joey was in person, the way he smiled and joked with his friends was heavenly to her.

              “We wait.  By the way I believe that we discussed this, you’re not supposed to be drinking.” Katy said.

            “It’s non-alcoholic.” Mandy explained.  “What exactly is it that we waiting for any way?” 

            “Let them have a few drinks and limber up, why don’t you call the others and tell them that it’s going down tonight.  We’ll call them again once we have what we came for, or for bail money whichever the case may be.”  Katy explained, she studied they way they moved, watching for signs that they might be feeling the effects of the alcohol.  Mandy glanced at her nervously then snuck away to make her phone call.

            The club was fairly packed, Katy wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.  The lights were kind of giving her a headache, she wanted a drink so bad to help loosen her up, but it was important to stay sharp.  A strange man approached her and began to hit on her.  She rolled her eyes and wished Mandy would return soon.  Katy giggle playfully at him and whispered in his ear.  He smiled and licked his lips.  When Mandy returned Katy grabbed her arm and led her to the dance floor, waving good bye to her new friend.  He watch intently as the two of them walked away.

            “Okay what was that all about?” Mandy questioned once they were on the dance floor.

              “He was bothersome so I told him that you were my girlfriend.  And you were way cuter than him.” Katy said with a smile.  Mandy hit her in the arm as hard as she could.

            “I am not a lesbian!”  She snapped.  Katy shook her head; she had thought it was a complement, not an insult.  Mandy was after all a very pretty girl, with soft features and a warm smile.

            “I didn’t mean anything by it; you know that I am not gay and that I would never hit on you.  Besides maybe Joey likes lesbians.” Katy joked and spun Mandy around so that she could see Joey.  They were closer now and he was looking even better than before.  Chris was there too, with his hat pulled down and a stiff drink in his hand.  The two of them laughed a joked with each other.  You could tell that they were good friends.

            The girls dance and spun around the dance floor for the better part of an hour, moving from time to time to avoid suspicion.  Mandy loved to dance and was really enjoying herself, but she never lost sight of the mission at hand.  Deep down inside she really wanted to dance with Joey instead of Katy and the random men that got between them.

            Finally Katy could tell by their demeanor that they were starting to feel pretty good from the alcohol.  She pulled Mandy in close to her and fixed her hair.  Mandy asked her what she was doing, a little freaked out by her friend’s behavior.

             “Have you ever been to a magic show?” Katy asked her.  Mandy nodded.  “You know how the magician distracts the audience with one thing while they do something else?” Katy added waiting for Mandy to confirm that she understood where she was going with this.  “Well you my dear are the distraction.”  Katy took her hand and pulled her toward Chris and Joey.

              “Why do I have to be the distraction, why can’t you?” Mandy questioned nervously.

             “Because I have to work the magic, but I will be right there with you flirting and misleading them.  Two is better than one, right?  But mostly it’s you because you um… have more… Oh just more!  Guys drool over you all the time.” Katy assured her.  Mandy smiled to herself, she was pretty popular with the boys after all.

            Joey had his back to them as they approached him.  Katy nodded to Mandy to proceed with her role in the plan.  Mandy lightly tapped him on the shoulder and he quickly spun around to see who had tapped him.  He smiled when he saw them standing there.  They were pretty attractive but seemed coy.  He finally asked them if he could help them, his eyes fixed on Mandy.

              “Well we were hoping that you and your friend would let us buy you guys a shot, we’re big fans.” Mandy said pointing to Chris, who wasn’t paying any attention to them.  She batted her eyes at him playfully and smiled sweetly.  Katy held tight to Mandy’s hand and just looked up at him as innocently as she could.  Joey looked at Chris and thought for a minute.  It was a sweet gesture and who was he to say no to a fan.

            “Absolutely” Joey answered turning back to them.  Mandy couldn’t help but notice that he reeked of booze, yet she couldn’t help but become lost in his big brown eyes.  That is until she felt Katy push her closer to him.

            “If you watch my friend for me, I will go and get the shots.  Is there anything special that you like?” Katy asked.  Mandy reminded her friend that she had promised to stay together.  “Relax Mandy; I am sure Joey here will take great care of you.  I’ll only be a minute.” Katy explained.  Joey smiled at her and told Katy that anything was fine; He and Chris weren’t picky drinkers.  He wrapped one arm around Mandy and pulled her over to their group, While Katy slipped back to the bar to get the shots.

              “Hey guys this is… Mandy was it?” Joey questioned, he had never been very good with names.  Mandy waved to the group and smiled, after all Joey did have his arm around her.  She felt safe and warm in his embrace.  Chris noticed the way she was looking at Joey and knew right away that she was a star struck fan.  They were easy to spot.  He greeted her with a nod, not that she noticed.

            “Mandy and her hot friend want to buy us a shot.” Joey explained.  Joey saw Chris’s eyes widen a bit and he pointed back toward the bar.  Katy had been watching them out of the corner of her eye.  As they looked into her direction she lean in a bit and looked over her shoulder toward them.  Flirtation was not her strong point but she gave it her best effort.  Katy turned to the bar tender and ordered four shots of the strongest liquor he had in stock.

            Chris smiled in approval, though there was something different about the way Katy was behaving.  She didn’t have that star crossed look in her eyes that Mandy did.  He sipped his drink and watched Katy for a minute.  Mandy finally snapped back to reality and commented to Chris about the hat he was wearing.  It wasn’t that she liked it; it was just the only thing she could think of to get his attention diverted away from what Katy was doing.

              “You guys are way cuter in person.” Mandy thought out loud, both men just chuckled at her.

            “You should have seen us 10 years ago, we were even cuter back them.” Chris joked.  It had been awhile since he had thought about the group.  Chris and Joey hung out together a lot but the others were in California.  So he didn’t see as much of them anymore.

            Finally Katy rejoined them, carrying a tray with four shots.  She smiled at Chris and then handed him a glass.  He took it from her and looked her over one more time.  She quickly passed out the rest of the drinks.  Mandy hesitated to take it but then thought it wise to go with the flow.  One shot surely wouldn’t mess her up too much.

            “What shall we drink to?  How about we drink to two of the hottest guys on the planet?” Mandy questioned, rising her glass.  Katy followed her lead and waited for the guys.  Chris blushed a little then he and Joey joined in their toast.  After all who was going to turn down free booze?

              They quickly drank them down and Katy collected the glasses.  Mandy coughed and complained that it had tasted like paint thinner.  Katy just laughed at her, she kind of thought that all alcohol tasted that way, especially the strong stuff.

            “So I didn’t get your name?” Chris asked looking at Katy.  Katy studied him for a moment; he was shorter than she thought he would be.  He leaned against the wall, his eyes fixed on her waiting for her to answer.  She smiled sweetly and extended her hand to him.  She gave him a friendly introduction as she shook his hand.  He noticed that she had a strong hand shake for such a tiny girl.

            The girls stayed close to them, not that Mandy was going to leave Joey’s side any time soon as it was.  It helped that Joey was a flirt too.  They were totally playing off each other’s unique skills in the art of seduction.  Katy sighed and stood next to Chris as he chatted with his friends.  Finally she tugged on his sleeve; it was time to test his awareness.

            “This is going to be an issue for me, isn’t it?” Katy asked pointed at Joey and Mandy, who were giggling and touching each other every chance they got.

            “Depends, did she drive you here?” Chris asked.  Katy nodded and made a pouty face at him.  Innocence really wasn’t a look Katy was used to conveying, she was much better at showing confidence or appearing guilty.  “Then yes, you may have a problem.” Chris explained, his speech somewhat slurred, but he knew full well that Joey liked the ladies and would probably talk Mandy into going with him somewhere.

            It wasn’t so much the answer that interested Katy, but his speech and they way he supported himself against the wall.  He struggled to find some words as he spoke and kept one hand on the wall at all times for balance.  Joey was sitting so it was hard to tell but she figured if one was ready they both might be.

            “Well I am not going to lose my ride.” Katy snapped.  She playfully adjusted Chris’s cover shirt and licked her lips.  Her green eyes twinkled in the dimly lit club.  “I couldn’t help but notice that you are a little drunk yourself.  Why don’t you let me take you home, after all your safety is important to me.  We could drop those two off somewhere along the way.” 

            Chris tried to think but the harder he tried the less sense everything made.  Maybe it was a good idea to let someone take him home.  It was clear to him that he was in no shape to drive and why waste the money on a cab when she was there and willing to drive him to his house.  He finally just nodded to her as if he couldn’t think of the words that he needed to say.

            “Perfect. Now say good bye to your friends, and I’ll get the love birds.” Katy explained.  She slid over to wear Mandy and Joey was and whispered into Mandy’s ear, all the while giving Joey a smile.  Chris’s friends were concerned about them leaving with people they barely knew but they had seen the girls and they had to admit that they were attractive and friendly.  They knew why they were letting the strangers take them home, but they didn’t have to like it.

              Katy lovingly latched on to Chris’s arm in an attempt to support him as they stumbled out of the club with Mandy and Joey in tow.  Katy tried her best to steer Chris into the right direction but he was weaving badly and hard to control.

            “Seriously how much did you have to drink?” Katy finally whined.

            “Apparently more than I thought I did.” Chris answered softly, finally falling to his knees in the parking lot.  Joey just laughed and then tried to help him back up.  Mandy and Katy stood aside watching them.  Mandy asked her if they should help him, Katy just shook her head and laughed.  She knew she couldn’t lift Chris so it was best to let Joey give it a try while he was still able.

            After much thought Katy came to Joey’s aid and they dragged Chris over to the car, where Chris finally passed out.  They laid him on the ground and Katy lifted the hatch to her car.  Joey peered in and became somewhat confused.

            “Why are your seats folded down?” He asked.

            “Because our luggage was in there?” Mandy questioned looking at Katy for a better answer.  Katy just shrugged, that sounded like a good enough answer to her.  She motioned for Joey to help her with Chris.  Katy knew it was only a matter of time before he too passed out and she really didn’t want to have to lift them both.

             They slid Chris into the back of the car.  Joey looked in the car and then at Mandy.  You could tell he had an idea by the way he looked at her.  He stumbled over to her and wrapped his arms around her and fell into the back of the car with her.  Mandy squealed and called to Katy for help.

            “That works for me.” Katy stated, just happy that he was in there, never mind the means.  “Watch your feet.” She added and slammed the door shut.  Katy went around and got in the driver’s seat, she didn’t look in the back for fear of what she might see.

            Joey softly kissed Mandy’s neck and ran his hands over her perfect body.  Mandy was kind of creeped out by the fact that his best friend was laying 2 inches away from them, but Joey didn’t seem to mind.  He still reeked of alcohol, even his kisses tasted like rum and coke.  This is not at all like Mandy imagined it would be.  But soon the kisses slowed and eventually stopped.  Joey laid still and Mandy realized that he had passed out.

            Mandy shoved him off of her and sat up.  He looked so peaceful now, like a big teddy bear.  Katy tossed her a roll of duct tape and told her to tie them up.  It was hard to move in the back of Katy’s tiny car, but Mandy found her way over to Chris first and began to wrap the tape around his limp wrists.  She then carefully placed a piece over his mouth just in case, before moving on to Joey.  Once she was done she climbed into the front seat with Katy.

            “Do you not know the meaning of the word help? “ Mandy asked.  Katy just laughed, after all it didn’t appear to her that Mandy was in much danger and it had kind of been what Mandy had always wanted.  “How long do you think they will be out?” Mandy added.

            “I don’t know, a few hours maybe.”  Katy explained.  She had never drugged any one before, so she wasn’t exactly sure on the time frame.  She was just hoping to get far enough away from the city before they came too.

            Meanwhile in L.A., Kim answered her cell phone.  She was relieved to hear Mandy’s voice on the other end.  Mandy informed her that they had Chris and Joey, and were heading back to the house.  They would call them if they ran into any problems along the way.  Kim felt herself tense up a little with the success of Mandy and Katy’s mission that meant it was now time for her to spring into action.  Kim turned to Brandi and informed her of the good news.

              “Come on Kim let’s go bag us some boy band members.” Brandi said excitedly.

              “Boy band?” Kim questioned.  “Aren’t they like in their 30’s now?”

            “Not all of them.” Brandi replied somewhat defeated by her friend’s lack of excitement.  She gathered their stuff and hurried Kim to the car; after all she wanted to get the others before someone realized that Chris and Joey were missing.  It was still night on the west coast which would work in the girls favor.

              They drove around for awhile before finally stopping.  Brandi got out and went around to the back of the SUV.  Kim looked around confused, JC’s house was a little farther down the street, and she was not sure why they had stopped here.  Kim was adamant that she was not going to drag an unconscious man four blocks to the car.  She finally questioned her friend about why they had stopped short of their target but Brandi didn’t answer her.

            Kim got out and went to see what she was doing back there.  She gasped when she saw Brandi loading a crossbow in the back of the SUV.  Kim had a million questions going through her head but chose to ask the simplest one first.  She, as calmly as she could, asked her what she was doing.

            Brandi smiled and turned to her friend and told her that she and Katy had come up with a plan to take out the power grid on JC’s block.  No power would mean no security system and no lights, which should make their job easier.

            “Okay so where did you get that thing?” Kim asked.

            “It’s Katy’s, don’t worry she showed me how to shoot it.” Brandi explained.  Kim shook her head; she wasn’t sure why Katy had a crossbow to begin with, or why she had trusted Brandi of all people with it.  Kim asked Brandi to remind her again why she was here and not Katy, this kind of stuff was defiantly Katy’s thing not hers.  Brandi didn’t answer her, it was clear from the start that those two were up to something and Kim was now determined to find out what that was.

            “So you are going to do what with that?” Kim asked still not sure what was going on.  Brandi took aim at the transformer across the street.  She explained to Kim that it was the one supplying power to JC’s block and that she was going to shoot it.  “Okay but why a crossbow?” She questioned.

            “We are using a crossbow because we are an operation with limited means.” Brandi explained, lowering the weapon to better address her friend.

            “We have limited means, but we have a crossbow?” Kim questioned raising an eyebrow to Brandi; nothing about this was making sense to her.  But she motioned for Brandi to proceed.  Brandi spun around and took aim again, this time firing the crossbow at the transformer.  Brandi ducked behind the vehicle as the arrow struck the transformer and sent sparks flying.  Then as quickly as she could she tossed the weapon back into the SUV and ran for the driver side door, yelling at Kim to get in as well.  They had to get away before any one saw them.  Brandi didn’t know that it was going to make so much noise.

            “You shot a transformer with a crossbow, what did you think was going to happen?” Kim asked.

              “I don’t know I thought it would just sort of shut off. I guess.” Brandi explained, trying to drive at a normal speed so as not to draw suspicion to them.  They went around the block once to insure that the lights were in fact out as well as to look for any sign of movement from the neighboring houses.

              They pulled up in front of JC’s house, the house was completely dark and there was no sign of movement.  Kim wondered if he was even home, maybe they should have checked first to see that he was.  She pulled her tranquilizer gun from its holster and held it tightly in her hands.  Kim softly asked Brandi why they need JC any way, it wasn’t that she didn’t like him; she was just looking for a way out of this one.  Brandi just glared at her, JC was part of the group and they needed the whole group to make their plan work.

            Kim peeked into the window to see if she could spot him.  She couldn’t help but think that she must have looked like a peeping tom.  It wasn’t long before she saw him.  He was on his cell phone having a heated discussion with someone on the other end.  It was likely the power company, he didn’t seem happy.

              The house was very neat on the inside and well put together.  He must really like art and nice things.  Kim had never seen a house so immaculate.  She jumped when she felt Brandi touch her and she yelled at Brandi for scaring her.

            “Sorry, okay here is how we are going to do this, we’ll go around back and jump the fence.  The back door will be easier to break in to.” Brandi whispered.  Kim agreed and followed Brandi around back.

              Brandi climbed over first and then helped Kim.  Kim whined and moaned about being too out of shape for this.  They were both surprised to find the back door unlocked.  They slowly pushed it open and crawled into the kitchen.  Kim noticed how clean the house was, you could have eaten off the floor if you wanted to.

            They could hear JC in the living room, he was still on the phone but his voice got louder and he came closer to them.  They hid behind the island in the kitchen.  Brandi started to move but Kim grabbed her, she motioned for her to wait until he hung up the phone.  Kim didn’t want any witnesses to their crime, any one that could come to JC’s aid.  Brandi nodded in agreement though she was never good at charades she thought she understood what Kim was saying.

            As they sat there on JC’s kitchen floor Kim couldn’t help but think how exciting all of this was.  She could feel her heart in her throat as JC got closer to them.  Kim looked at Brandi who seemed calm, but then again her and Katy were always into trouble, of course never on this scale before, but maybe she was better conditioned for this.  Kim on the other hand felt like she was having a heart attack.

              JC went into the kitchen to look for a flashlight.  They could hear him rustling through a drawer just on the other side of where they were hiding.  He was still cursing on the phone and grumbling to himself.  JC smiled when he found the flash light and quickly turned it on.

            The room was filled with a faint light now.  That is when JC notice the door was not quite latched so he went around to shut it.  Kim shoved Brandi as JC made his way around.  They moved in turn with his steps and remained out of his line of sight.  The door clicked into place and JC locked it, looking somewhat confused.  He still had his ear to his phone but he wasn’t saying anything, just listening.  He finally agreed to whatever they were saying on the other end and hung up.

            After he hung up he quickly headed back to the living room with his flash light still in hand.  Kim and Brandi sighed heavily and nodded to each other.  It was time to make their move.  They slowly crawled toward the living room.  JC was seated on the sofa now, using the flash light to read a book.

              Kim carefully took aim, though she had never fired a gun before.  She squeezed the trigger and closed her eyes.  The tiny dart flew past JC and struck the arm of the sofa.  JC quickly dove to the floor in a panic.  Brandi smacked Kim and they both darted into the living room.  It was hard to see in the dark house but Kim saw JC reach for his cell phone and pounced on him.  She struggled to pry the phone from his hand, while he proceeded to hit her with the flash light.              Frustrated Kim finally bit his hand, causing him to drop the phone which she batted away.  He yelled in pain and began to fight her harder.  JC managed to get on top of her and pin her down.  She squirmed under him trying to free herself.  Kim suddenly thought this whole plan to be a really stupid idea and she was surprised how strong he was.  He yelled at her and asked her who she was but she didn’t answer him, while he was distracted and clearly unaware of the other person in the room.  Brandi got behind him and took careful aim to make sure that they didn’t miss this time.  JC barely felt the prick in his back before passing out and landing on top of Kim.

            “Awe, isn’t that cute?” Brandi questioned, laughing at Kim.

              “Freaking adorable, now get him off me.” Kim snapped.  Brandi grabbed one of his arms and pulled him to the side so Kim could get free.  Kim got to her feet as Brandi began to raze her about missing him with the first shot.  She was mad enough at herself for missing; she didn’t need to hear it from someone else and the beating from JC more than made up for the rest.

            They lifted him up off the floor, each of them getting one of his arms, and carried him out the front door.  Kim took the time to lock the door behind them; after all he had a lot of nice things and she didn’t want him to get robbed or something while he was gone.    The two of them carefully lifted him into the back of the SUV, pausing to see if anyone had seen them.  Once they were far enough down the street Kim turned and peered into the back at the sleeping man.  Brandi told Kim to get back there and secure him.  They weren’t sure how long he would be out and they didn’t want him to ruin any of their other plans.Kim climbed into the back of the SUV while Brandi drove to their next stop.  Kim ran her hands through JC’s long brown hair before getting the duct tape from her bag.  She carefully bound his hands behind his back and secured his feet.  She cover his mouth last, leaving her hand over were his lips were for just a minute.  Brandi could see Kim in the rear view mirror but didn’t say anything.  Kim was a hard person to read at times but you couldn’t push her in any one direction or you would be met with a strong resistance.
 

     Kim assumed that the plan would be the same, though Justin lived in a much nicer area, which was more heavily guarded.  This made Kim all the more nervous.  Not that getting JC had been easy for them.

     Brandi got out to deal with the power situation while Kim waited in the car.  They were going to have to move faster on this one Brandi noted as she hid from a passing cop car.  She watched it move away and waited for it to get far enough away so as not to return too quickly.  She took aim and fired but missed and struck the side of a house instead.  She reloaded the weapon as quickly as she could and fired again this time hitting her mark.

     They moved on as quietly as they could.  But much to their surprise the cop car didn’t return.  It must not have appeared to be vandalism at first glance; perhaps they thought it was just a hardware malfunction.  Surely in the light of day they would see the truth and put the pieces together.  After all what were the odds that two transformers would get taken out in the same manor had the crimes not been connected?

     “Wow, nice house.” Kim said softly as they approached it.  It was a large stone house, with a gate.  Kim got out and followed Brandi to the fence.  Brandi sighed when she saw the fence, it was tall, and she attempted to scale it herself before, motioning for Kim to give her a lift.  Kim groaned in distaste before going over to give her a hand.  She lifted one of Brandi’s legs while Brandi pulled herself up.

     Brandi sat on top of the fence and reached down for Kim’s hand.  Just as the two of them touched something latched onto Brandi’s pant leg.  She screamed and turned to see one of Justin’s two dogs tugging on her, while the other one began to bark.  Brandi had forgotten that Justin even had dogs.  She could for see this being an issue.

     “You got to shut them up.” Kim whispered.  Brandi knew what Kim was saying was true but her options were limited.  They hadn’t thought to bring some treats or something.  Then the dog pulled her off the wall, she hit the ground with a thud.  The dogs continued to pull at her; she could see a light moving inside the house, it was a flash light and most likely it was Justin who had it.  She looked around for a hiding place.  The only thing she could see was a pool house.  She took off toward it with the dogs still at her heels.

     She kicked the dogs away and shut the door as quickly as she could.  Brandi opened the door just enough so that she could see but not enough for the dogs to reach her.  Justin opened the back door and stepped out on to the patio; he was worried about his dogs, it wasn’t like them to bark like this.  He called to them but they wouldn’t come to him, they remained barking and pawing at the pool house door. 

     Justin started cautiously toward them, walking slowly along the edge of the pool.  Brandi pulled her gun and took aim at him.  She was nervous and it was dark, so she aimed for the light.  But it would be a lucky shot at best.  She squeezed the trigger and then much to her surprise she heard a splash.  She cursed softly to herself and darted out of the pool house and drove into the water without stopping to think about what she was doing.   

     Brandi search frantically in the dark until she bumped into Justin’s unconscious body afloat in the cool water.  She quickly lifted his head out of the water and checked for signs that he was breathing.  The dogs were still barking as she swam to the shallow end pulling Justin along with her.  

     By now Kim had moved to the gate so that she could see what was happening with her friend.  She was concerned for her but there was little that she could do to assist her.  Then she got an idea, she look frantically for a stick or something to beat against the gate.  She finally found something and she began to make a little noise to lure the dogs over to her.  Once they were close enough she reached in and grabbed them by the collars and held them.  They pulled on her pressing her against the fence but she didn’t let go.

     Brandi pulled Justin out of the pool and laid him on the ground while the dogs were restrained.  She rolled him onto his back and patted him a few times to make sure that he hadn’t inhaled any water.  She fell on to the ground next to him, tired and defeated.

     Kim struggled with the dogs, one of them finally wiggle out of its collar and took off toward Brandi.  Kim called out to warn her but the dog was too fast and it quickly latched onto Brandi’s leg this time digging into the flesh of her calf.  She screamed then fired her gun at the dog.  She pushed the animal way freeing her leg and fell back onto Justin.

     “Shoot the damn dog.” Brandi breathed looking in Kim’s direction.  Kim nodded and grabbed one of the darts from her pouch and poked the dogs before releasing her hold on it. 

     “Are you okay?  What happened?” Kim called out taking a seat on the driveway.

     “Poor planning, that’s what happened.” Brandi replied finally finding the strength to get up.  She walked over to where Kim was.  Kim looked up at her and then looked at the gate before hanging her head.

     “What do you think the odds are that this gate is electric?” Kim asked.  Brandi cursed and hit the gate as hard as she could.  “Relax there has to be a manual over ride somewhere.” Kim added, trying to comfort her friend.

     “Well I am not an electrician.  We don’t have time for this.”  Brandi explained.  Then she smiled and ran back to the pool house, returning shortly with an axe.  Brandi ordered Kim to step back.  Kim jumped back as Brandi began to strike at the tracks that the gate was on, finally knocking it lose.  She pulled the gate so that there was a big enough gap for them to get through.

     “Jesus, Brandi.  I am not so sure that we should be tearing stuff up.”  Kim said as she climbed through. 

     “He is rich, he can buy a new gate, there was no way we were going to be able to lift him over that fence.” Brandi explained as she limped back to where she had left Justin.  They lifted Justin as best as they could and drug him toward the car.  Kim stopped once she noticed something.

     “Brandi, you’re bleeding.” Kim pointed out.

     “Yeah so, come on let’s go.” Brandi begged.

     “But should we leave blood on the ground like that?” Kim asked, “I have seen the CSI shows.  They can identify you with that.”

     “He’s heavy, I am not stopping until we get to the car; if you would pull faster there will be less blood.” Brandi explained.  “Besides don’t they have to have something to compare it to?”  Kim thought for a minute, Brandi was right after all they would have to be in the system.  She was pretty sure this was the first felony for all of them. 

     Kim pulled with all her might, Justin seemed heavier than JC for some reason, or maybe she was just worn out.  They looked around before proceeding to the SUV.  There was no one in sight as they lifted him into the back with his friend.

     “You know after all this is over, these guys should really look into moving.  This area doesn’t appear safe.” Brandi explained.  Though it was working in their favor she would hate for something worse to happen to them.

     “I am very sure that will be the first thing they do.” Kim noted.  Kim started to climb into the back when Brandi stopped her and handed her the keys.  Brandi pointed to her wet clothes and then to their bags letting Kim know her intentions.  She could secure Justin, but most of all she wanted to change her clothes.

     Kim got down and let Brandi get in before shutting the door.  Brandi got in carefully trying not to step on JC.  She quickly stripped off her wet clothes and tossed them aside.  She giggled when she realized that she was naked in the back of a car with two really hot men, too bad neither of them knew it.  Once she was done she got the tape out and bound Justin, she had a little trouble getting the tape to stick to his wet skin but she finally got it and then climbed up front to direct Kim to the next stop.

Lance was attending a charity event that evening, now late into the night they hoped they would catch him as he left.  Kim pulled into a parking garage and they both got out.  They had a dumb plan to get Lance and they were really hoping it would work.  This was getting tiring. 

The girls waited outside of the club where Lance was believed to be, watching party goers pass by them.  Brandi nudged Kim when she saw a man that appeared to be Lance come out and head for his car.  Kim ran up to him and nervously asked him for his autograph, allowing Brandi time to come up behind him.  Lance smiled sweetly at them and agreed to give her an autograph.

“Oh thank you, but this is kind of embarrassing, I left my magazine in the car, and I really want you to sign it.  Do you think you could follow me to my car so I can get it?” Kim lied.  Lance looked her over, she seemed harmless enough. He looked at Brandi as well, who just smiled back at him and sweetly as she could.  So he agreed and they began to head into the parking garage.  Brandi stayed behind him, with her gun behind her back, in case he ran. 

Meanwhile back inside the SUV, JC’s eyes fluttered open.  He looked around himself in shock.  He could see Justin lying near him, and he nudged him a few time, but Justin didn’t stir.  That’s when JC heard Lance’s voice.  He knew right away who it was.  He looked up through the tinted windows toward the girls and his old friend.  At this point JC wasn’t sure what was going on but he knew that is couldn’t be good.  He struggled for a minute to get free, but the tape that bound him wouldn’t give.  He fell down in frustration.  Then he did the only other thing that he could think of, he began to kick at the rear window as hard as he could in the confined space with his limited movement.  Lance stopped when he heard the noise and looked at the car in confused.  They were still a few feet from it.

“What is that?” Lance asked getting a little worried.

“That’s a really good question, I don’t know.” Kim said latching on to Lance’s arm as if she was scared too.  Though she really didn’t know what it was she had a pretty good idea.  She sent Brandi a concerned glance.  Brandi readied her gun. 

“Oh my god I think that is our car.” Brandi said, she got behind Lance and hid as if she too was now scared.  Lance crept closer to the car, still leery of its contents and kind of wondering why Brandi smelled like a pool.  Brandi gave Kim a wink; at least they wouldn’t have to drag Lance very far.

“Is there someone in there?” Lance asked unable to make anything out through the tinted glass.  Brandi just shook her head and continued to look scared.  She unlocked it for him and he opened the latch with caution. 

Lance was shocked when he saw JC’s terrified face staring back at him and Justin’s motionless body.  He took a step back bumping his back into the barrel of Brandi’s gun.  He slowly raised his hands in fear.

“Just get in.” Brandi groaned shoving him forward again.  He looked at her then toward the gun that was at his back.  He reluctantly climbed in.  Kim went around and got in the passenger seat.  She pointed her gun at him so Brandi could shut the door.  Brandi eyed JC and then reached in and smacked him.  He groaned and mumbled at her hatefully.

“That is for kicking my window.” She snapped pointing at him.  JC didn’t seem fazed by her as she slammed the door shut.

“Turn around and put your hands behind your back.” Kim instructed.  Lance positioned himself between his two friends, his eyes now fixed on JC.  JC mumbled something from under the tape, but Lance couldn’t understand him and was too afraid to move, let alone pull the tape off. 

“What the hell is going on?” Lance asked turning a little to see Kim, as she worked to bind his hands.  Kim didn’t answer him.  “Please, if its money that you want just tell me how much, we can go to the ATM.  I’ll give you whatever you want just please don’t kill us.” He begged.

Kim didn’t answer him.  She reached around and slapped a piece of tape over Lance’s mouth as JC continued to willfully express his unhappiness about the situation. 

“Now lie down and shut up, both of you.” Kim snapped, moving her gun between the two of them.  “You know it’s lucky that he didn’t break the window.” She added turning to Brandi, who was now in the driver’s seat.

It was lucky, lucky for him.  It had been a really long night and Brandi was so ready to return home.  She didn’t want to have to deal with any more issues.  Lance slowly lowered himself and tried to get comfortable in the cramped vehicle.  That’s when he noticed that Justin was wet and smelled of chlorine.  It kind of made since now what Brandi had smelled like a pool but he still wasn’t sure what had happened.

JC watched out the window as they drove off, trying to read the signs to see if he could get a better idea of where they were or where they might be going.  Some time passed before they noticed Justin started to move a little.  Justin slowly became aware of his surroundings, and look around frantically. 

“I think we may have a problem.” Kim said watching them in the rearview mirror.  Justin started to panic bumping into Lance and JC as he tried to get free.  Brandi pulled Kim’s gun out of the cup holder and handed it to her.  Kim spun around and pointed it at him and waited for him to notice.  He stared at her for a little bit and then began to plead with her through the tape.

“We are almost there aren’t we?” Kim questioned, keeping the gun pointed at Justin.

“Yeah, about half an hour away.” Brandi said.  Justin looked out the windows, by now they were in the middle of nowhere and that didn’t sit well with Justin.  Bad things happen to people in the middle of nowhere.  All of this didn’t bode well for them.

Kim observed that he seemed to be okay now so there was no need to waste darts.   She turned aback around and Justin turned to JC.  They just stared at each for a long time in a forced silence.

It seemed like forever to the guys but they finally pulled into the driveway that led up to the old house.  The girls got out and went around back to open the hatch.  They grabbed Lance’s legs and pulled him out first.  They got their keys out and then led Lance inside.

Once they were out of sight Justin began to inch his way toward the exit, eventually falling out of the back and onto the ground.  He laid there in pain then tried to free himself, a feat that he had to admit looked easier on TV.  He didn’t stop trying until he looked over and saw Brandi standing over him.  She grabbed his legs and cut the tape before standing him up.

He shoved her as hard as he could and took off running.  When Brandi regained her footing to took aim and shot Justin as he tried to flee.  JC witness the whole thing and began to freak out, believing that she had killed his friend.  Kim came out and tried to calm JC.  Brandi went over to where Justin had fallen and wrapped her arms around him to lift him.  She began to drag Justin into the house

“Kim grab you man.” Brandi joked.

“Ugh… he is not my man.” Kim snapped back at her.  She quickly cut the tape on JC legs.  She kept her gun in one hand, were JC could see it, she figured fear would be a useful tool right now.  He looked at her scared but allowed her to take him inside the house, he hesitated at the stairs to the basement but with a little encouragement he did continue.

When they got down there Brandi was chaining Justin’s hands together and securing him to the floor.  Kim led JC to the sofa; she freed his hands and then spun him around.  His blue eye studied her; it kind of made her nervous.  She placed his hands together in front of him and began to chain them together in a figure eight pattern, making it as tight as she could without hurting him.  Once done she locked it into place with a small pad lock.  Kim picked a second chain which was attached to the floor and locked it into place as well.  She pushed him down onto the sofa and took hold of the edge of the tape.  He braced himself as she ripped the tape off as fast as she could.  JC kept his eyes fixed on Kim as she went over to Lance and grabbed the edge of the tape that covered his mouth.

“Who the hell are you and what the fuck is going on here?” JC snapped.  Kim paused and looked at him then Brandi.

“Should I put the tape back on him?” She questioned, hesitating to remove Lance’s gag now. 

“Is he going to be okay?” JC asked looking at Justin.  Brandi looked at Kim and smiled.

“If he asks any more questions, I say gag him.  And god I hope he is okay, Otherwise Katy will kill me.” Brandi commented.  She went felt him for a pulse just to make sure.   JC bit his tongue, not wanting to be gagged again, he just stared at Lance.  “You know what?  It’s late and I am tired so why don’t you shut the fuck up.  So my friend and I can go to bed, and then in the morning you can ask all the stupid questions that you want.” Brandi explained going over and putting her hand on JC’s shoulder.  JC nodded, which made Brandi smiled.  She pointed out an air mattress to him and then she darted for the steps. Kim removed Lance’s gag and followed Brandi.

“I don’t want a damn air mattress, I want to go home.” JC replied as the girl disappeared up the stairs.  They locked the basement door behind them and headed off to bed.

JC waited for them to leave then tried frantically to free his hands when he realized he couldn’t he headed for the stairs stopping only when he reached the end of his chain.  He tugged on it as hard as he could but it too wouldn’t budge.  “This is just fucking great.” JC snapped falling onto the steps defeated.

“Now let’s just calm down, JC.  They are just girls they don’t seem dangerous.” Lance said trying to calm his friend.  JC shot him a pissed off look.

“Oh my god, Lance, are you fucking kidding me?  By the way, in a horror movie you would be the first person to get killed.” JC said.  He picked himself up off the steps and made his way back to the sofa.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Lance questioned.

“I was trying to warn you earlier, you weren’t supposed to investigate the sound you nimrod.  The ones that investigate strange noises are always die first in horror movies.” JC yelled.

“How was I supposed to know?  I thought I was being nice.” Lance explained.  JC tugged at his hair in frustration.  “I am just saying that right now, I think we should try to get some sleep so when they come back in the morning we can try to work something out.” He added.

“I call the air mattress.” JC said not looking at Lance.

Some time had passed; the sun was out now and shining into the windows.  Chris was slowly becoming aware of the steady rocking of the car as is moved down the highway.  He moaned loudly and started to move his hands.  His eye shot open when he realized that they were tied together.  He looked at them and the tape that held them together.  He tried to free them but it only seemed to make it tighter.

Chris looked around, the car was fairly small and Joey was lying beside him.  He kept his movement limited, he could tell that the car was moving but couldn’t easily see the front seat without making it clear that he was awake.  Chris wasn’t sure what their plans were for them so thought it best to not alert them that he was conscious yet. 

While he waited for Joey to wake, Chris slowly began to peal the tape from his mouth, trying not to yelp as it tugged at the stubble on his face.  He almost had it off when Joey started to stir.  So he got a good grip and yanked it as hard as he could.  Chris put his hand over his mouth and he recovered from the pain.

By now Joey was become aware of the situation.  Chris grabbed his arm and directed his attention to him before he completely flipped out.  He motioned for Joey to be quiet nodding toward the front seat.  Joey nodded that he understood.

Chris reached over and grabbed the edge of the tape that covered Joey’s mouth and carefully pulled it off.  Joey gritted his teeth and collected himself, as he slid a little closer to Chris.

“What the hell is going on?” Joey whispered as softly as he could.

“I don’t know I think we have been abducted.” Chris explained trying to recall what had happened the night before.  Joey asked him what they wanted just Chris just shook his head, he wasn’t sure himself.

“Right now, I want you to be quiet, so I can sleep.” Katy interrupted.  They both looked up at her in shock.  She had been listening to them for awhile.  The guys recognized her right away as the girl from the club and assumed the other girl was driving. 

“What the hell is going on?” Chris snapped no longer concerned about being quiet. 

“You know Mandy; you probably should have tied their hand behind their backs.” Katy said ignoring Chris’s question.  In hind sight that would have probably been a better idea, but there was nothing Mandy could do about it now.  Mandy glanced from time to time into the rearview mirror. 

“What the hell did you do to us?” Joey asked still feeling a little hung over and out of sorts. 

“That is a good question, what exactly did you do to them?” Mandy questioned realizing that they had not discussed that prior to the kidnapping.  Katy spun back around in her seat.

“Let’s just say those shots were extra special.  You know the date rape drug is surprisingly easy to come by.” Katy stated.

“You slipped me a roofie?” Chris yelled.

“If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t rape you.  In fact I am not even sure that you can rape an unconscious man.” Katy giggled.

“I am sure you can.” Mandy questioned to herself.  Chris turned and punched Joey in the arm as hard as he could with his hands tied.

“God damn it Joey, I knew we should accept drinks from strangers.” Chris snapped looking at his friend hatefully.  Joey just lay there, after all the girls hadn’t looked dangerous last night from what he could remember.  Katy turned and bopped Chris on the head.  She pointed at him and told him not to fight.  Chris rubbed his head and gave her a dirty look; his head was already killing him from last night.  They had a lot to drink before the girls even came over.

“So where are we going?’ Joey asked.

“You’ll see.” Katy replied.“What’s going to happen when we get there?” Joey asked.

“You’ll see.” Both girls answered looking at each other and smiling.    Joey just groaned in frustration. 

“You do know that my family is farily poor, so if it’s money you want you’ll have to get it from me.” Chris explained.  “I think I got about a100 bucks on me.”

“That is very tempting but no.  We don’t want your money.” Katy said.

“Well I have to pee.” Chris stated.  Katy looked at him and questioned his seriousness.  “Well you did abduct us from a bar, where we had been drinking all night.  That liquor has to go somewhere.  And no I can’t hold it.” He added.

“I have a cup.” Mandy beamed.

“No, he is not urinating in my car.” Katy snapped.  She thought for a minute about their options.

“Not that is matter but I kind of have to go too.” Joey chimed in.  Mandy looked at Katy and added that she too had to go as well, if they were going to stop.  This was not in their plans, they had forgotten that they were all human and it really was a long drive.  Katy asked them how long they thought they could hold it.

“A little while, but you know that it is not healthily for a guy to hold it.” Chris pointed out.

“Yes, well your prostrate health doesn’t concern me right now.” Katy replied.  She thought they could pull over and just let them go by the side of the road but she was afraid that someone would think that they were having car trouble and stop to help them.  They could let anyone see the guys tied up. 

“Look for a rest stop, remember on the way over they weren’t very busy.”  Katy recalled.  They drove a little ways before finally coming to one.  Once the car stopped Mandy turned to Katy and asked what the plan was.

“You go inside and do what you need to do then come back and report to me how many people are inside.” Katy said.  “Then I’ll go in, I have a dumb plan.”  Katy was good at thinking on her feet, and all of this really excited her.  She also knew that sometimes the simplest plans worked best.   Mandy nodded and got out of the car.

Katy watched her walk into the building, noting how obviously nervous she was as she moved, there were very few cars around and not much movement, Katy wasn’t sure what Mandy had to be worried about, she was just going to the bathroom.

While Mandy was gone Chris lifted himself up to have a look around.  Everything Katy had said was correct the rest stop wasn’t very busy at all, not enough to be helpful to him at least.  Mandy returned and reported her findings.  Katy smiled and instructed her to stay with the guys for a minute as she got out.  Katy was gone for awhile, Mandy fidgeted nervously with the keys.  But Katy finally returned, walking around back passengers’ side door.    

She grabbed her coat from the floor and draped it over Chris’s hands to hide the fact that he was tied up.  She motioned to Mandy to get out and do the same for Joey.  Mandy followed Katy’s example carefully and then helped Joey out.  They locked arms with the guys and lead them inside, to any observers they just looked like a loving couple. 

Once Inside Katy guided them to one of the men’s restrooms, there was a sign on it that said it was closed.  When Mandy protested, stating that the restroom was closed Katy just smiled and told her it wasn’t closed, it was ‘reserved’.  When she had come in to use the restroom she had put the sign up to insure that is would be empty.  She snatched her coat and shoved Chris inside.  Joey tossed Mandy her sweater and followed Chris into the restroom.  Chris walked up to a urinal and proceeded to do what he had come to do. 

“What are you doing?” Joey asked.

“What does it look like I am doing?  I really had to pee.” Chris explained.

“We need to be thinking of a way out of this place.” Joey whined.  Chris was open to suggestions as he finished what he was doing and went to wash his hands. 

“We have been abducted by College girls, I am not certain but I am pretty sure that I weight more than both of them combined.  I say we just run for it.  There is no way that they can’t catch both of us.  Then whoever gets away goes for help.” Joey explained.

“I am game, but you may want to use the restroom because on the off chance this plan of yours doesn’t work, I don’t think they are going to be letting us out of the car again until we get to where ever the hell we are going.” Chris answered.  Joey agreed and went about his business.

Still outside the door waiting for the guys to finish, Katy and Mandy just flashed each other a smile, having heard their entire conversation.  They had fully expected something from the boys.  Katy place one hand on her gun and slid her leg in front of the door, bracing herself against the door frame.  Mandy got on the other side and did the same. 

Joey was washing his hands, while Chris prepared to pull the door open and dart out.  Thinking to himself that he was really too old for this.  They agreed on a count of 3 as Joey positioned himself to run out first.  Chris stopped him for a minute and held out his hands.  Chris knew that he couldn’t get the tape off but Mandy Joey could, with their hand free the odds were more in their favor.  Joey stopped to undo the tape, and Chris returned the favor.  Once that was done and out of the way Chris proceeded to do the count down with his hand, in case the girls were closer than they thought.

On three Chris pulled the door open and Joey darted past him, but quickly tripped once he hit the door frame where the girls had placed their little trap.  It all happened so fast that Chris didn’t realize that Joey was down until he tripped on Joey’s legs and landed on top of him.  Both men laid there in pain, groaning slightly.  The girls could not stifle their laughs; once they composed themselves they helped them up, quickly locking arms with them again.

Katy jammed the barrel of her gun into Chris’s side so that he could feel it, after all tranq gun or not it sure felt real to him when placed as it was.  Chris’s eyes widened and he shot her a concerned look.  They had considered that the girls might be armed.  He willing let her lead him away.  Joey let Mandy help him up but once outside he shoved her as hard as he could knocking her down and he took off running.

“Joey, No!” Chris yelled, once he saw what was going on, but Joey couldn’t hear him, just his heart beat as it was racing now.  Katy raised her gun and took aim, Chris bummed her as she fired but the tiny dart still struck Joey and he fell to the ground.  Chris yelled and took off toward Joey and Katy didn’t try to stop him.

Once there Chris fell to his knees and search Joey for signs of life, finally coming across the tiny dart in his leg.  He pulled it out and examined it, and then looked up at Katy puzzled.  She kept her gun pointed at him as Mandy glanced around them, but luckily no one was around now. 

“Seriously, if we wanted you dead, don’t you think we would have done it already, Instead of hauling your asses someplace else?  Now get up and pick him up.” Katy explained.  Chris slowly got to his feet.

“Why should I carry him?  You’re the one that shot him and he’s your hostage.”  Chris asked getting in her face a little.

“Because, he’s heavy and you’re his friend.  But if you need a third reason, because I said so and I am the one with the gun.” Katy snapped.  Her eyes were intense and fixed on him.  Chris groaned in anger, then knelt down and tried to lift Joey.  He quietly complained to himself that Joey had put on a little weight since they stopped tour, then again so had he. 

Katy finally put her gun away and went to Chris’s aid, hoping to get out of there before any one saw them.  Mandy stayed close with her hand on her gun, making sure that Chris could see her at all times.  Mandy opened the hatch and they loaded Joey in, Chris flashed Katy a hateful look her before climbing in himself. 

Before shutting the hatch Katy got the tape out and smiled at Chris.  He sighed and held his hands out to her.  She shook her head and motioned for him to turn around first, she wanted to do it right this time and really limit his actions.  She worked to quickly bind her hands behind his back and then did the same to Joey.

“It’s your turn to drive.” Mandy beamed as she tossed Katy’s the keys.  She agreed and got in, noting that Chris was awkwardly silent for the rest of the trip and as Chris suspected they didn’t stop again to use the restroom.

It was mid-morning when Justin started to come around.  He glanced around the room, confused about where he was.  The sun was shining in the few tiny windows.  Lance was still sound asleep on the sofa and JC was laid out a crossed a nearby air mattress.   Justin got the remote off of the coffee table and chucked it at Lance.  It hit Lance on the head and bounced onto the floor.  Lance’s eye shock open and he sprung up, then turned to Justin while rubbing his head. 

Lance looked at Justin and then at the remote slowly piecing things together.  Concern was written all over Justin’s face.  He questioned Lance about where they were and what was going on, but Lance didn’t have the answers that he was looking for.  The girls had not said much last night.

“How to two girls’ kidnap three grown men in the course of just one night?” Justin asked. 

“I think they just out smarted us.” Lance explained.

“Of course they out smarted you, you’re an idiot.”  JC chimed in from his place on the floor.  JC tossed a turned on the uncomfortable bed before finally climbing off of it and joining Lance on the sofa.

“I am not an idiot; I am just a really nice guy that got taken advantage of.  There’s a difference.” Lance reasoned trying to defend his actions from the night before. 

Kim was in the kitchen leaning against the counter sipping her coffee.  She looked at Brandi and smiled as the guys’ voices echo from the hand radio.  She knew that the guys didn’t know that they were listening.  Brandi looked up at Kim from her seat at the bar just as JC called them both psychos’, and both of them giggled; it felt good to laugh for once.  They debated on what to fix the guys for breakfast; they thought they knew everything about the guys accept for apparently what they like to eat for breakfast.

“They’re not going to be happy to see us.” Kim noted.  Brandi smiled at her and then pulled a quarter out of her pocket.

“Flip for it; loser goes down there to ask them what they want to eat?” Brandi questioned.  Kim nodded and called it while Brandi prepared to flip it.  Kim grumbled when Brandi revealed the coin.  “Have fun down there, I’ll be listening.” Brandi said with a smile, Kim just flashed her the ‘I hate you’ look and headed for the basement door.

When Kim reached the bottom step she could feel all three of them looking at her.  It was like that dream people have where they are naked and everyone is staring at them.  She could feel her skin crawling.  She forced herself to look up at them.

“Do you guys want some breakfast or lunch?” She asked softly.

“No, we want to go home.” JC snapped, glaring at her from the sofa.  His eyes were the most intense shade of blue that Kim had ever seen.  They twinkled with hatred and frustration. 

“Well I can’t do that but I can get you something to eat if you would like.” Kim explained.  JC got up and walked over to her, dragging his chain along the floor as he moved.  JC, as calmly, as he could asked her why they were here and what the girls wanted.  He eyes were begging her for an answer but Kim just shook her head.  When he pressed her further she snapped.  Justin and Lance just watched intently from their places, chiming in with questions of their own from time to time.

“I hate repeating myself and if you haven’t figured out by now that we are missing two people.  They are enroute and when they arrive someone will explain everything to you.” Kim said.  She faintly heard Justin and Lance mutter, Chris and Joey’s names.  There was a brief pause, “So now to the matter at hand, what would you like to eat and I swear to go if you make me ask you again I will bitch slap you.” Kim warned pointing her figure at JC since he was closest to her.  A little too close in fact for Kim comfort. 

“I didn’t know prisoner’s had a choice.” JC mumbled, flashing his hand chains at her and clanging them together on purpose, if nothing else to annoy her.  JC was clearly un happy, he was a pop start for crying out loud he should be treated like this.

“If we pick lunch what do we get?” Lance asked, he could tell that Kim was get annoyed and it probably wasn’t a good idea to upset your captors.  Kim turned to him and smiled; she listed off a few things and informed them that if there was anything they wanted she could see about getting it.  Justin and Lance agreed on pizza, while JC remained quiet.

“Well I am not eating.” JC stated, folding his arm across his chest as best as he could.

“Good, it looks like you have been putting on a little weight.” Kim fired back, shooting him a dirty look and then running up the stairs. 

Kim huffed angrily once she reached the living room; Brandi was in the kitchen putting the pizza in the oven.  When she was done Brandi turned to Kim. 

“You know you could be nicer to JC.” Brandi said.  Kim looked at her with a blank look on her face before questioning her.

“Why? He’s so annoying.”  Brandi rolled her eyes.  “Hey I got the order so you can take it down there to them.” Kim added.  Brandi just smiled, she wasn’t afraid of the boys any way.  She just really liked to push Kim into situations to help expand her social skills, but she did secretly wonder how long it would take Kim to realize that she had a set two sided coins.

Brandi waited impatiently for the pizza to cook and then rounded up some sodas to take down to the guys.  They greeted her with some distaste, though Brandi just shrugged it off, after all she would be upset too if the same thing happened to her.  She set the pizza and pop down on the table in the middle.  Brandi looked at JC, she laughed to herself.  JC was not fat, hell if anything he was too skinny.  But he hadn’t offended by Kim’s comment before, he took great pride in his appearance, but he still wasn’t eating.  This whole situation had left him without an appetite.  Brandi didn’t linger long; she didn’t want to be bombarded with questions. 

The house was not the most entertaining place in the world, there was little to do to pass the time while they waited for Katy and Mandy to return.  Kim surfed the internet, shocked to find that there was no news of the guys’ disappearance yet, but it hadn’t been 24 hours yet either.  Brandi was listening to music in her bedroom trying to enjoy the alone time, she knew it would get crazy once the others got there.  The guys watched TV and took naps to pass the time.

Katy finally called before dark to let them know that everything was alright, minus a few mishaps, and that they were on target to arrive there in the morning, as long and nothing else happened.  Brandi was pleased to hear that, she liked Kim but their group dynamic was better when they were all together.  Brandi couldn’t stifle a laugh when she heard Joey’s voice in the background, begging for them to stop some place to eat.

Brandi and Kim fixed the guys a quick dinner.  The guys still asked questions and grumbled about but they didn’t try to escape, or maybe they just had not come up with a plan yet.   The girls sat up and secretly listening to the guys while they ate dinner just to get a better idea of what they were thinking and once the conversation down stairs got boring they went to bed to insure that they would be sure to be awake when the others arrived.

The next day Brandi was on the sofa trying to relax and enjoy her coffee when she heard a car coming up the drive way.  She yelled for Kim and then darted to the door.  Kim carefully made her way up the basement step, having just taken the guys some breakfast, and joined Brandi out on the stoop. 

Katy and Mandy climbed out of the car and stretched their legs, just thankful to be standing for once.  They greeted their friends warmly and then opened the back hatch.  They pulled Chris and Joey out and helped them stand up. 

Once up on his feet, Chris looked around, as they got a further from the car he started to get nervous, he had felt strangely safe inside the car, maybe because he didn’t think they would kill him in the car.  But now out here in the middle of nowhere anything could happen.  It didn’t help that on one would tell him anything.  He turned suddenly and bit Katy as hard as he could on the arm until she dropped her gun.  Then he shoved her and took off running.  Brandi lunged at him knocking them both down.   She wrapped herself around his legs as he kicked at her and yelled at her to get off of him. 

Katy stood there in complete shock, starring at her arm, anger building up inside of her.  She reached for the stun gun that she had stashed inside her boot and stormed over Brandi and Chris, pointing the gun at Chris.  She ordered Brandi to let go of him and before Chris could get back up she shot him in the back with the stun gun and shocked him.  As he laid there on his stomach groaning in pain, Katy smiled.

“Hey, Brandi look if you push this button, it zaps them again.” Katy explained demonstrating it on Chris, just for spite.

“Damn it, I fucking hate you.  I think I just pissed myself.” Chris groaned loudly.  Brandi reached down to help him up. 

“Be careful, Brandi.  We didn’t stop much on the way he may have actually pissed himself.” Katy warned, not hiding her laughter.  She placed her hand over his bite wound as a few drops of blood ran down her arm.  But she didn’t say anything as she went over to help Mandy get Joey into the house. 

As they entered the basement, they were greeted with concerned looks.  The guys clearly had expected Chris and Joey to arrive but seeing it was another story.  Brandi set Chris down in a chair.  He was still in pain from his experience.  She tethered him quickly then asked him sweetly if he need something to drink.  He nodded to her, taking time to look her over.  Mandy and Katy worked to secure Joey with the last set of chains.

“I can’t believe you freaking zapped me.” Chris snapped, still slowly recovering from the shock.  He glared at her hatefully.  Katy spun around and got down on his level.

“You bit me!” She stated pointing to her arm.

“You kidnapped me!” Chris fired back.  Katy paused for a second to stand straight, he back still aching from the long car ride.

“Well… you’re not a very good hostage.” She stated as a matter of fact.  Chris stuck his tongue out at her and she returned the gesture.  The others watched in awe, they could imagine what Chris was thinking.  These girls were clearly nuts.

“You know what, why don’t you come up stairs with me so I can get Chris some water and you can cool off.  I think Mandy and Kim can handle things down here.” Brandi suggested taking Katy by the arms and pushing her toward the steps.

“Good thinking, I need to reset my stun gun anyway.” Katy said flashing Chris a smile before heading up the steps.  In the kitchen Katy leaned up against the counter going through their make sift medicine cabinet. 

“You know Brandi you better be careful I think Chris may have rabies.”  Katy joked dabbing something on her injury.  She shot Brandi and sly smile.  “I am sorry that I tried to fry your man.” She added as Brandi fished some ice out of the freezer. 

“It’s okay, I guess we are even.  I almost drowned Justin.” Brandi said not looking at Katy reaction, which was one of confusion, followed by a short ‘huh?’.  “Yeah he kind of fell in the pool.” She sighed.

“You threw him in the pool? What pool?  Where is there a pool?” Katy questioned, trying to wrap her mind around what she had just heard.

“No, he fell into his pool.  But I dove in and got him out in plenty of time.  Oh and then I kind of dropped him and he fell down the basement steps.  But don’t worry he was unconscious, both times.  I am sure he didn’t feel a thing.” Brandi explained filling up the glass for Chris.  She braced herself for Katy to lay into her, but instead she just heard laughter. 

When Katy finally composed herself she shot Brandi a smile, Brandi knew this smile well.  It was Katy’s special smile, the secret sign that Katy was up to something or had done something she probably shouldn’t have or she was thinking about something she shouldn’t be.  It was such a dead giveaway but she couldn’t help herself.

“Chris hates me.” Katy stated the smile still there on her lips as she spoke.  Brandi retuned the smile this time.  She glanced at the glass of water in her hand.

“Justin hates me or at least he will when he finds out what I did to him.” Brandi said.  They both let out an evil giggle.  This was their secret plan all along, the real reason why Katy went to Orlando and Brandi to L.A.  It was the secret that Mandy and Kim would never know about.  It was their belief that it would be easier to get closer to the guy that they liked if he was more pissed off at someone else.  Though Katy had to admit she really didn’t intend to do all the things that she had done to Chris, it was all just a big accident as was what Brandi had done to Justin.

“You know nothing is going the way that we planned it, is it?” Katy asked still smiling.  Things really weren’t going as planned but things weren’t going badly by any means, and after all she was having fun.  The excitement thrilled her.

“Not in the slightest.  You know we never talked about that happens if everything goes wrong.” Brandi pointed out, getting serious for a minute.  Katy sighed, she didn’t think that they had to talk about it, deep down they all knew the plan should things go south. 

“You run, you just run like hell.” Katy stated coldly.  Brandi noticed that she had said ‘you’ instead of ‘we’, but she didn’t stop to correct her or ask her about it.  She didn’t even want to think about it anymore instantly regretting that she had even brought it up.  They were in deep now and there was no turning back.

“You know what, I am tired.  I am going to go up and take a nap.  You can handle all this right?” Katy asked as she put the last touches in her arm injury.  Brandi just nodded and head for the basement.  She knew that she could handle this and it was probably a good idea for Katy to rest before she went and zapped someone else. 

“Okay we are all here now, so do you mind telling us what the hell is going on?” Justin asked.  Brandi handed Chris his water and then turned to her friends.

“If you are going to kill us, please let us know now, I hate being lied to.” Chris chimed in.  Mandy chuckled; she knew they weren’t going to kill them.  Mandy looked at the other two girls, her eyes begging them to let her explain everything.

“You guys are going to write and sing a new song for us.” Mandy blurted out, she smile growing with her excitement.

“And why would we do that?  We broke up remember?” JC asked. 

“We’ll your all together now, aren’t you?” Kim pointed out. 

“And as for why, JC, because the sooner you do it, the sooner you can all go home.” Brandi added. 

“Oh and we know all the songs that you guys have ever written, so you better make sure it’s a brand new one.”

“So we write you a song, and then what?” Joey asked.

“Then you sing it and we record it.” Mandy said pointing the sound stage that they had built in the corner.  

“And why are we recording it?” Chris asked.  He already hated the idea and he certainly didn’t want to relive it ever again once they were done.

“Duh, so we can listen to it over and over again.  Even after you guys go home and also we need it for the music video.”  Mandy answered.  Chris groaned and buried his face in his hands. 

“Music Video?  That could take weeks?” Justin whined. 

“Well then you better get to work.” Brandi said tossing some note pads and pens onto the center table.  “Collaborate, it will go faster.  Also let us know if you need anything, there’s a keyboard and stuff over there.” She added and then the girls left so that the guys could get to work. 

Justin reached down and picked up one of the pads and a pen from the table.

“What are you doing?” JC asked.  He was watching Justin intently though Justin never looked up at him.

“I am writing a god damn song so we can fucking go home.” Justin growled, his eyes fixed on his paper and he scribbled a few things down.  “Now you can help me and we can get out of here, or just shut up for awhile.”

JC slowly picked up the paper but he honestly didn’t know what to even write about, what kind of song did the girls want, but most importantly what kind of song was going to get him out of here the fastest.

Katy woke from her nap finally feeling human again.  Driving all day and Night had been harder than she thought, but so worth it.  She got up from the now deflating air mattress and headed down stairs. 

Down stairs Mandy was sitting at the table and Kim was busy fixing some lunch.  Katy eye what Mandy was working on and it peeked her interest so she started to question her about it.  She took a seat beside her Mandy at the bar.  Mandy looked up from her note book and smiled. 

“I am writing in my journal.” She explained, Katy looked got an interested look on her face and asked her why. 

“I have always kept a journal.  It’s a great place to keep my thoughts.”

“Somehow I am not so sure, when committing a major felony, it is such a great idea to document it.” Katy said with some concern in her voice. 

“Relax no one will ever find it, unless of course they find me, at which point I will already be screwed any way.  At least this way they will get my story right.” Mandy stated kind of proud of herself.

“Hey do you guys want to run this down to the fellas and see how they are doing?” Kim asked setting a plate of food down on the bar.  Mandy carefully closed her journal and tucked it away before picking up the plate; she turned to Katy and sweetly asked her if she was coming too.  Katy could hear the faint sounds of the guys arguing coming over the radio, so she got up and grabbed one of the long handle tazors from the counter.

“Yeah, but we might need this.” She said. 

“Yes, JC is being incredibly difficult.  Maybe you can get through to him; god knows the rest of us have tried.” Kim explained.  Katy smiled her special smile, looking at the weapon in her had.  Then the smiled suddenly faded, she was enjoying this way too much for her own comfort.

“I’ll fix him.” Katy warned then raced to catch up with Mandy.  Mandy delivered the food with a smile, setting the plate on the table and letting them have at it.   “So how’s it coming?” Katy questioned rocking a little on her toes, like an impatient school girl. 

“Crapy.” JC snapped while the others stuffed their faces.  Being held captive was one thing, but they weren’t about to go hungry as well.  Katy looked at him concerned about what he had said. 

“If you haven’t noticed this isn’t the most inspiring environment.” He added, reading the expression on her face.

“What do you want a motivational posted or something?” Katy asked, trying to be a total smart ass and taking a very defensive stance. 

“No, I want to go home, you freaking nut case.” JC answered.  He remained seated and stared the young woman down.

“You know what JC, I think you just need to make the most of life and whatever fucked up situation may arise.  You got to meet this thing head on.” Katy boosted, approaching him.

“Fuck you.” He replied, with some degree of force.  But Katy didn’t flitch, almost as if she expected it.   She moved in closer to him bending down to face him.  She looked him square in the eye and pulled the Tazor baton from where she had tucked it.  She flipped it on and held it dangerously close to his face.  He expression changed, the hardness slowly drifting away.

“You want some inspiration, JC?  How is this for inspiration?  If you don’t put something on that paper tonight, I’ll take this thing to your nut sack.” Katy warned.  Her evil smile glaring back at him, frightening the hell out of him.  JC stared at her for a moment and moved slightly in his chair.  The twinkle in her eye, told him that she was actually thinking about doing it.  She suddenly stood up straight and just pointed the thing at him.

“You know what that is extremely motivational.”  JC said nervously “I think I am good now.”  Katy grinned and turned to the others, pointing the baton at them.

“Anyone else need some inspiration?” She asked and stopped when she saw Chris.  She held it out to him and stared him down.  Chris nervously crossed his legs.

“You know I am still recovering from you last does of ‘inspiration’ and I am very fond of that part of my anatomy, so I would really like to pass on that.” Chris explained.  He eyes fixed on the crazy women and her weapon.

“Yeah, about that, I really feel bad about shocking the shit out of you earlier.” Katy said getting serious for a minute. 

“Really?” Chris asked suddenly interested again in what she was saying.

“No not really, but I was told that I should say that.  Something about hurting your feelings, I think.” Katy answered.

“So why did you say that if you didn’t mean it?  And they why tell him the truth about it after the fact?” Joey asked more than a little confused. 

“Oh Katy doesn’t believe in lying.  Seriously you can ask her anything and she will only tell you the harsh truth.  But you usually have to ask her; otherwise she says nothing, because saying nothing isn’t the same as lying.” Mandy explained, as if she had heard it all before.  Chris thought for a minute, then he got an idea and he figured he would try it.

“If you really feel bad then let me shoot you with it.” Chris begged, getting up out of his chair.  He stood before her and she milled it over in her head.

“Oh I don’t feel bad about it; you bit me you little shit.  But you seem like a business man so let's negotiate.” Katy explained.  She felt her skin tingle at the challenge. 

“No, Katy this is a really bad idea.” Mandy chimed in.  Katy just winked at Mandy.  Mandy took it as a sign to step down so she sat next to Joey on the sofa, impressed that he still smelled of booze from the night club.

“My terms are simple; I want to shoot you with that damn thing.  What’s your offer?” Chris asked.  Katy thought for a minute, she looked at JC then Justin and they both stared back at her.

“I have one condition.  You are the moron that put the group together in the first place.  So you pull you guys back together and finish writing the song, and by finish I mean completely done and ready to be sung.  And then I will let you shoot me with the stun gun.  In the back just like I shot you.” Katy explained.

“Deal!” Chris beamed and moved to shake her hand.  He knew that they had to finish the stupid song anyway, so really her terms were pointless.  Katy calmly shook his hand; he was impressed with her grip though.  It was a strong and confident hand shake.

“Katy, I don’t think this is such a good idea.” Mandy said.

“I love it.” JC chimed in, mainly since the woman had just threatened him.

“See, JC loves it.  Joey smiled, everyone is happy.” Katy explained.

“Actually Lance and Justin don’t seem to care.” Mandy pointed out.

“That is because she hasn’t done anything to us yet.” Lance answered softly. 

“She kidnapped you.” Mandy yelled.

“No, technically the other two kidnapped them.” Katy said with a smile.  "I don’t want you to feel left out though, I haven’t done anything to you yet because I haven’t thought of anything.  But give me some time and I will come up with something great.”  Katy said kind of disappoint in herself for not thinking of something already.

“Lance is gay; you don’t have like a million gay jokes rolling around in your head?” Mandy asked.

“No, actually I find that really hot, in a weird yet tragic way.  Jesus thanks for reminding me, now I will have to be nice to Lance because I totally have to hots for him.”  Katy whined, Lance just laughed.  “Well that can’t all hate me I guess.”

“Not to change the subject in any way, as I am sure you and Lance will make a great couple down the line.  But Joey dude you smell.”  Mandy whined.  Joey lifted his shirt to check, he did smell like a bar.  Justin followed suit, after all they had been their longer, and he kind of wondered why he was smelling chorine all day.  Katy pointed out the shower and bathroom which she assumed they had already known about.

“We don’t have any clean clothes though.” Justin explained. 

“That’s fine just strip, I’ll run put them in the washing machine.” Katy answered very casually.  Justin sat there looking her over for a minute, she looked dead serious.  She batted her green eyes at him and waited, either for him to shoot her down or lose the clothes.  “We are probably going to need to wash the underwear too, so let’s go boy, chop chop.” She added.

This time she was met with a long draw out versions of her name, which could only come from Mandy.  Katy turned to her and made a pouty face, like child being rejected when asking for candy. 

“Katy, upstairs there is a box in the living room.  It has clean clothes for the guys in it, go get it and bring it down here.” Mandy ordered.  Katy hung her head and did as she was asked, grumbling to herself that Mandy wasn’t much fun as she made her way upstairs. 

“You didn’t really mean that did you?” Brandi asked, once Katy cleared the steps.

“Which part are you talking about, the part about wanting to see Justin naked, or the part about shocking in the junk, or the thing where Chris shoots me?” Katy questioned. 

“Don’t be stupid, I know that you want to see Justin naked and I know that you would totally sock them.  I mean the thing with Chris, for once I agree with Mandy that is a bad idea.” Brandi said.  Katy laughed, she wasn’t sure what shocked her most that Brandi wasn’t on board, since she after all was the one that told her to apologize to Chris in the first place, or that Brandi was surprised that Katy had a really dumb idea.

“It’ll be fine, the joy of the actually finishing the song will over write the pain of being zapped.  That thing only has one shot.”  Katy said finally finding the box.  They had guessed on the sizes, she really hoped that they could all find something that fit, as she peered into the box.

“Honestly, Brandi, I am looking forward to seeing Katy get her ass handed to her for once, maybe then she won’t be so trigger happy.” Kim added.  She smiled at Katy as she spoke.  Kim adored Katy, but sometimes she could be too much, maybe being knocked down a few notches wouldn’t hurt.

“I suddenly feel so loved; we can continue this conversation once I deliver these goods.”  Katy explained.  The box was getting heavy after all, and this looking like it could be a long conversation that went nowhere any way.  So with a smile to walked away from her friends to take the guy their clothes.

The guy rummaged through the box and arranged a plan for the use of the shower.  There was just enough length of chain for the guys to move around the basement and get into the bathroom, but heaven forbid if you got it wrapped around anything.

“Hey guys, you should come and listen to this” Kim said interrupting their card game.  The girls ran over to where the hand radio was.  They could hear the guys arguing down stairs.  They questioned as to if one of them should go down there and help sort things out, or if it was best to just leave the guys to work it out on their own. 

“You have an ego the size of a freight train.” Joey snapped.

“I do not, I am just saying that JC and I are the better song writers.” Justin explained.

“That doesn’t mean that the rest of use can’t have some input as well.  I thought we are supposed to be working on this together.” Joey replied. 

“Hey I can write songs too.  I helped write ‘Falling’ and most of the song for my new band.” Chris chimed in. 

“I know that you can write, Chris, and you do some pretty good stuff, but I am just not sure it’s up to the music master’s high standards.” Joey explained.  By now Joey was standing and Justin rose up to meet him in the middle. 

“Hey, I like Chris’ new stuff, I just forgot to mention him.  I am not perfect you know.” Justin answer, poking Joey in the chest with his finger.

“You could have fooled us.” JC said under his breath.  The room erupted into a massive verbal argument, with everyone involved.  With all the commotion going on it was hard to make out who was saying what to whom.  Justin finally had enough, he didn’t have to take this, not here and not from his former band mates.  So he hauled off and punched Joey as hard as he could, sending Joey flying into the end table, which cracked under his weight.  Joey sprung back into his feet and launched himself at Justin.

They both feel to the floor taking Lance with them in the process and sending Chris running to avoid being drug into the middle of it as well.  Lance was helplessly pinned between Justin and the floor.  He begged for them to stop as the wrestled watch other, throwing punches left and right.

“I am going to kick your ass, Timberlake.” Joey yelled.

“Dude, get off me you have freaking lost it.” Justin whined.  They both froze when they heard Katy scream at the top of her lungs, not really sure what she has said, or if it had even been a word at all.  She went over to what was left of the end table, she eye burning into them.

“You fucking broke my end table; do you have any idea how long I spent putting the damn thing back together?” She yelled.  She picked up one of the bigger pieces and moved closer to the guys, but Brandi and Kim latched on to her before she could exact her revenge on both of them.  They held her arms and she screamed obscenities at the guys.

Justin stared at her in awe, while he still had a hold of Joey’s t-shirt.  She really looked like she intended to beat him with that thing.  Her eyes were glazed over and her breathing was labored. 

“I am innocent, I swear.” Lance pleaded, though he had managed to get out from under Justin, his chain was still stuck so he couldn’t get far.  Joey and Justin quickly started to blame the other for the whole thing and before anyone knew it their fight resumed, both throwing punches.  One of them finally hit Lance knocking him back out of the way.

Brandi just looked at Kim, the both sighed and then they released Katy.  Brandi took the piece or broken furniture from her and handed her one of the stun batons.  Katy smiled and turned it on.  Joey didn’t even see if coming when Katy smacked him on the ass with the baton as hard as she could, almost breaking it in the process.  Joey almost instantly fell onto Justin in pain.  Justin confused by what was going on now just raised his hands as a sign of surrendering. But Katy was merciless by now; even her crush on him could save him now.  She rolled Joey off of him and smacked in the side just as hard as she had hit Joey, this time the baton broke and she tossed it aside. Katy went over to Lance and began to tend to him, lovingly like nothing had even happened. 

“You know Katy, I think you are just supposed to poke them with it, not beat them with it.” Mandy said picking up what was left of the weapon, she looked it over carefully but there was no saving it, it had been completely destroyed.  She watched as both Joey and Justin rolled on the floor in pain.  Katy calmly undid the chain that connected Lance to the floor and helped him up.

“What are you doing?” Brandi questioned nervously.

“We have to untangle them, and right now I trust Lance more than I do those two.” Katy explained, she took Lance over to Mandy and Kim, and then Brandi and she proceeded to sort out the rest.  Katy lifted Justin as best as she could and pushed in back into his chair. 

“He started it.” Justin snapped, pointing at Joey.  Joey was in too much pain to respond to him.  Brandi helped him back up onto the sofa, though he butt was kind of sore he didn’t fight her.

“I don’t care who started it, you’re going to end it.  Show me what a real man looks like, Timberlake.”  Katy explained her face still very close to his.  She smelled like cookies. 

“I knew it, you are fucking insane.” Chris said.  “One minute you are beating the shit out of him the next you are hitting on him again.” Katy just smiled.

“That is the beauty of a Katy rampage, it’s fast… it’s furious… and then it’s completely forgotten.” Brandi explained.

“I can’t help it.  I don’t believe in dwelling on stuff.” Katy reasoned.  She was the type to get it all out of her system at once and then to be done with it.

“So in addition to feeding and taking care of them, now was have to provide them with group therapy?” Kim asked.

“Well when you have known each other for as long as we have, you can start to get on each other’s nerves and yeah some people’s egos can get in the way of real progress.” JC explained.  He looked at Justin as he spoke; Justin just glared back at him.

“Yeah, well check your ego at the door buddy.  Everyone is equal here.” Kim stated.       

“We want input from everyone on this, or no one goes home.” Mandy added.

“Whatever happened to, beating will continue until moral improves?” Katy asked, but no one answered her.  Mandy just shook her head no.  “Well you guys are just no fun then.”  Mandy helped Lance back to his seat and reattached his chain.

“But to be on the safe side Katy is going to stay down here and baby sit you guys for awhile.  God knows that we need a break from her.” Brandi said with a smile.  She didn’t really need a break from Katy but the guys seemed to be afraid of her so she tough she would play along.  Katy smiled and hopped on Justin lap, much to his surprise.

“I am on top of it, literally.” Katy beamed; the other just rolled their eyes and headed away.

“Wait you can leave her down here with us, by herself.” Chris whined but the others just laughed and continued up the steps.  Justin studied the women now in his arms whether he liked it or not, she was kind of cute.

“You know I can’t write with you on my lap.” Justin said, letting his face move dangerously close to his.  His lips defiantly in her line of sight, but the girl seemed un phased. 

“Oh, I know that silly.” She said, she picked Justin note pad off of the floor and chucked it at Joey.  “Joey is going to write for you.” She said, Joey just shot her an angry look but he finally picked it up and opened it, kind of curious himself as to what Justin had already written. 

“What exactly are we supposed to be writing a song about?” Justin asked.  He played with a strand of her hair; after all he figured if she was going to sit on him he might as well fuck with her.  Katy thought for a minute.

“Write about me!” She answered excitedly.

“Yeah, great idea and we can call it, Crazy Bitch.” Chris chimed in.

“You know what I really don’t like you.  Isn’t there already a song out there with that name?” She questioned to herself more than anything.  The guys got back to work on the song; Katy loved listening to their ideas, and tried her hardest not to chime in.  After all it had to be an ‘N Sync song, with little outside input. 

JC couldn’t help but notice that Justin was not being his usual self any more; he had little to say about the song, his fascination in the girl on his lap was so apparent.  He played with her and tried to use all his smooth moves on her, and JC had to laugh because Katy wasn’t having any of it.  The more she shrugged him off the harder Justin tried, to the point where he was wonder why she was even sitting on his lap.

It was getting late and the girls were getting tired.  It had been a really long day for everyone, but the guys had managed to make some headway on the song.  Mandy checked in on them last to make sure that they had everything that they needed to get the through the night and then headed off to bed herself.           

The basement was uncomfortable so the guys planned to stay up as long as they could to work on their song, they were all in a hurry to get home after all and escape didn’t seem like much of an option.  The girls were young but they didn’t appear to be stupid.  Once it was late into the evening shortly after mid-night, the guys felt safe to talk about the situation.           

“So what are we going to do?” Justin asked.           

“Besides try to write a song basically at gun point?” JC asked, all of this was really make his head spin, he couldn’t focus any more.           

“What if we finish the song and they still don’t let us go?” Chris asked, seriously concerned.  “I mean one song could turn into two, and two could turn into a whole album for all we know.”  The guys milled it over in their minds.           

“Come on you guys they are four girls, armed with dart guns.  There are five of us; surely there is something we can do to outsmart them.” Lance said.

“Yeah, Joey and I tried that logic and I ended up having to carry his ass to the car.  And it doesn’t help that at least one of them is completely nuts.” Chris explained, Joey just nodded in agreement; their plan at the rest area had gone terribly a rye.             

 “Man, they are all nuts, who in their right mind abducts a middle aged boy band just to record a freaking song?”  JC responded.             

“I think that is your answer right there, they have to be fans, why else would they go through all this trouble and specifically target us.  We should try to appeal to their inner teenager.  You guys should flirt with them, hell I will flirt with them if I have to.” Lance suggested.             

“I have seen they way that one looks at Joey, like he is the greatest thing since sliced bread.” Chris pointed out, recalled Mandy star cross gaze at the club, though he can’t recall most of what happened that night he does remember at least that much.  Joey just smiled, Mandy was pretty hot after all and she really seemed into him at the club.  Justin didn’t say anything but he knew that he had already tried a few basic tricks with Katy and got nowhere, so seducing the girls was not going to be as easy as it might seem, it was almost like they expected the guys to try something.           

They talked about it for a long time; no one had any better ideas on an easy way out.  After awhile Chris sat back in his chair and smiled.  He had just gotten a really dumb idea.           

“I don’t like that look, Chris.  Whatever you are thinking about just forget it.” Lance warned, but it was too late Chris had already committed to his plan.  He picked up the remote off the table and turned the TV on.  Chris slowly began to increase the volume.           

“What the hell are you doing, it’s three o’clock in the morning?” JC questioned covering his ears.           

“Exactly, it’s late; maybe they have neighbors nearby that will call the cop for excessive noise.  Or at the very least it will miss the girls off.” Chris yell over the TV.           

“I don’t know Chris, I didn’t see any neighbors.” Lance yelled.  Chris just shrugged, he didn’t care but he wasn’t about to sit here and do nothing.  It wasn’t long before they heard footsteps above them.  Mandy and Brandi came flying down the steps.           

“What in the hell are you doing?” Brandi snapped.  Chris just smiled.  Brandi groaned and started to chase him around the room, trying to get the remote from him.  Mandy started for the outlet to unplug the TV but Joey so the chance to doing something.  He jumped up and looped his arms around her.  She screamed at the top of her lungs, which was nothing compared to the TV at this point.

Brandi turned around to see what was going on and as soon as she did, Chris tossed the remote to JC and tackled her.  They rolled around on the floor for awhile become increasingly tangled in his chain.  Lance got up and while Joey had a hold of Mandy, he searched her for the keys, but found nothing.  In their hast to get down there and figure out what the problem was neither girl had grabbed a weapon, and Brandi had left her keys in the lock upstairs.  So there they were still trapped in a basement, accept now they had 2 screaming girls and a TV that was blaring.             

“This has to be the stupidest plan I have ever seen.” Justin yelled.            

“Well you didn’t exactly have a better plan.” Chris argued, he now had Brandi pinned to the floor, trapped under his body weight, but she was still hitting and yelling at him.  Finally she maneuvered herself just enough to kick him square in the privates.  He yelped and tried to lift off of her but he couldn’t.  In the process of wrestling her to the ground he had somehow bound them together with his chain.             

“Get the fuck off me or I will kick you in the junk again.” Brandi screamed, still fighting him.  But she had to admit having him this close to her, made her heart skip a beat.  His face so close to hers, his weight on top of her was almost comforting.           

“I can’t I am stuck.”  Chris answered her, not really having to yell given their close proximity, his breath hot against her skin, sending shivers down her spine.  Chris shifted a little trying not to think about the fact that he had a young woman pinned beneath him.  He didn’t want to embarrass himself but getting aroused, it’s not like she wouldn’t notice something like that the way their bodies were pressed together.            

Meanwhile back in her bedroom, Katy was laying on her bed with her pillow over her head trying to drown out the noise.  Brandi had left to deal with the problem but she had been gone for awhile, Katy debated on getting up to check on things.  She rolled over a few times before tossing the pillow across the room.  It hit the wall and knocked her katana over.  Katy smiled and got up; taking the katana with her she headed down stairs.             

Before she even entered the basement she could hear the chaos, when she reached the landing at the bottom if the steps she pulled the katana from its case and tossed the case aside.  She pushed past Mandy and Joey, jumped over the sofa and reached the TV in record time.  She took a stance and began to chop at the wires behind the TV until she severed the TV’s power cord causing the TV shut off and everyone in the room to stare at her in awe. Katy turned to them and calmly put the dull side of the sword to her shoulder and made for the steps.           

“Excuse me?  Can I get a little help here?” Brandi asked.  Katy turned and looked at them, her eye moving between Mandy and Brandi a few times.           

“Yeah, I don’t see a problem with this at all.  Have fun you two.” Katy said, she bent down to pick up her katana case and start up the stairs, until she heard both Mandy and Brandi call her name at the same time.  Katy was already laughing herself as she backed back down the stairs.  “I was joking you guy, Joey let her go and Chris just get up.” Katy asked.  Joey complied and Mandy darted over to Katy, in case he tried again.           

“Um… I would love to comply but I am stuck.” Chris explained.           

“Well I didn’t bring my keys, so you are just going to have to roll around until you figure it out.” Katy explained, rather enjoying this form of torture.  Brandi took hold of Chris shoulders and before he knew it she rolled them over so that she was sitting on top of him, straddling him trying to untangle the chains.  She flipped them around a few more times before she finally had them lose enough that she could slip out.  She arched her back, slowly make her way down Chris’ body.  Chris couldn’t move at this point, his eyes fixed on her as she moved her body in ways he could only imagine, her hands on his thighs, her ass in the air, the way her back as arched.  He swallowed hard and closed his eyes, trying to think of something else, kittens or old ladies.  Brandi finally cleared the last loop and looked back at Chris.           

“Are you alright?” Brandi asked.  Chris opened his eyes and looked at her perched on her knees near his feet.  He just nodded and mumbled something under his breath.  Brandi smiled, okay so she had done most of that on purpose, but it serves the man right for talking her in the first place.  Brandi got up and went over to the TV first to examine the damage.  She reach down and pulled what was left of the power cord out of the outlet for safty reasons and then turned to Katy.           

“A little over dramatic don’t you think?’ Brandi questioned, showing Katy her handy work.           

“Solved the problem didn’t I?” Katy asked.           

“You could have been electrocuted. “ Brandi snapped.  Katy just shook her head and point to the sword rubber handle.  She slipped it back into its case and disappeared back up the stairs.             

“Damn, she is fearless.  That is kind of hot.” Justin said softly.  He had never seen a woman move that fast or act with such confidence.             

“She is nuts, I can’t believe you guys let her have a real weapon.” JC snapped.            

“Yeah well, it’s was supposed to be ‘just decoration’ but I give you mind word, it will disappear after tonight.” Brandi sighed. 

Brandi’s eyes opened slowly, after the crazy night they had the other girls were still asleep.  She could see Katy still curled up with her favorite pillow, dreaming about god knows what.  Brandi wasn’t sure how she got stuck sharing a room with Katy.  She climbed out of bed and headed down stairs.           

She put some coffee then looked at the basement door.  She couldn’t hear anything over the radio, but she grabbed her keys any way and went to check on them, secretly hoping that someone was up.  She really wanted some company.  She got to the down step and looked around at the sleeping men.  They looked so prefect and so peaceful, unlike the chaos of the night before.  Disappointed Brandi turned to go back up, but stopped when she heard Chris whisper her name.           

“I didn’t think anyone was awake.” She said with a smile, happy to see his big brown eyes.             

“Well this isn’t the most comfortable sleeping arrangement.” Chris explained, wiggling slightly in the chair that he was in.  Chris took a moment to look her over as she stood in the light of the doorway.  Her tank top and pajama pants clung to her body in all the right places.           

“No one else is up yet, would you like to come up for a bit and keep me company?” Brandi asked.  She knew she shouldn’t given all the trouble he had caused lately, but she really wanted someone to talk to and, well let’s face it some alone time with Chris was just what she needed.  Chris smiled and quickly made his way over to her, careful not to wake the others.  He held his hands out to her so she could unchain him from the floor and grant him access to the upper level.           

“Sorry guys, it’s every man for himself.” Chris said softly before following her up the stairs.             

Once up stairs they sat down on the sofa, Brandi asked him if he wanted some coffee.  He said yes, but while she was away he studied the room.  The first thing he noticed was that the front door was locked up pretty tight.  She secretly watched him from the kitchen while she poured them some coffee.  He was looking around like crazy; she could tell right away that he was up to something.  His attention snapped back to her as she handed him the coffee cup and sat back down beside him.           

“So tell me about yourself.”  Chris asked, looking at her very intently.           

“What would you like to know, I am not a very interesting girl.” Brandi said.           

“Come on don’t be modest, you’re an escape artist that kidnaps boy bands.  I’d day you were very interesting.  How old are you?” He asked.  Brandi laughed at how is snuck that last part in there.            

“I am 23.” She replied.           

“That’s pretty young to be committing a major felony.  Please tell me that a smart girl like you didn’t come up with this crazy scheme.” Chris said.           

“Yeah well, a girl could grow old waiting on you guys to get it together.” Brandi said with a smile.           

“Honestly, I miss the group too.  But I understood the reasons behind the break up.” Chris said.  He studied her reaction, god she had pretty features.  Images from last night were dancing in his mind, but he shook the thought away.  “You’re a very pretty girl.  Isn’t there something better that you could be doing with your life, rather than wasting it on a has been boy brand?”  He took his hand and brushed a strand of her hair out of her face, noting that her skin was very soft to the touch.  Brandi blush a little, his big brown eye just gleaming back at her.            

“Thanks, you sweet.” She gushed, sliding closer to him on the sofa.  He just smile and looped his arm around her.  They sat like that for awhile, just enjoying the peacefulness of the quiet house.             

Brandi turned to him and was about to say something when he kissed her.  Whatever she had thought about saying completely escaped her mind in that second.  The kiss was short.  He pulled away to see what her reaction would be.  She looked at him and blinked a few times but said nothing.  Her blue eyes sparkled with a strange mix of confusion and love.  Chris, acting on instinct, he pushed her back onto the sofa and pressed his lips to her again.  This time he let his hand roam a little.  She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer.           

Their kisses started to grow more feverish and forceful.  He looped his hands around her and ran them over her back and her ass as best as he could with them still being bound together.  He groaned in frustration, but Brandi barely noticed.  He was a great kisser, his lips so forceful, like he was going to eat her alive.  That when Brandi started to notice a pattern to his movements.  She smiled to herself as he kissed along her jaw line and down her neck.  He continued for awhile and then Brandi pushed him away slightly.  She looked him in the eye and then she slapped him as hard as she could.           

“Jesus, what the hell was that for?’ Chris asked, looking at her shocked and confused.  He couldn’t pull very far away from her thee way his arms were.             

“You’re looking for my keys.” She snapped.           

“Come on, what did you expect?” Chris asked as she slid out from between his arms.  She resisted the urge to slap him again.             

“Ugh, you are such a jerk.” She said sitting further away from him, with her arms crossed.             

“Whatever, you were totally enjoying it.” Chris fired back, not willing to admit that he had kind of enjoyed it as well.             

“I did but that is not the point.” Brandi pouted.  Chris kind of started to feel bad about it, thought he wasn’t sure why, after all he was the victim here not her.  Yet how was it that she was making him feel bad?           

“Well not that it matters but I meant everything that I said.” He replied.  Brandi just pouted at him some more.  He wasn’t going to get off that easy.  “What else can I do to make you not be mad at me?  I don’t want your psycho friend to come find me when I am sleeping or something and start slicing shit off.” He added.  Brandi thought about it and then smiled at him.           

“Show me your tattoo.” She begged.             

“What tattoo?” Chris asked, looking the tattoos he had on his arms.           

“Oh, you know the one.” Brandi replied, her big cheesy grin said it all.  Chris blushed a little.   

“Seriously, that one?” He questioned, making a mental note to take those twitter pics down when he got home.           

“Yes, that one.  Show it to me as a sign of trust.” She said.  Chris threw his head back in defeat and then stood up.  He carefully un-did his jeans and then lowered them just far enough to reveal the lip print tattoo that he had on his right butt cheek.  Brandi smiled, please with his peace offering.           

“Oh my god, what the hell are you two doing?” Kim yelled, frozen in place on the stairs, which as luck would have it gave her a clear view of Chris’s butt.  Brandi fell on to the sofa in tears from her laugher.  That was perfect timing.  Chris quickly pulled his pants up and spun around, smiling at her nervously.  Brandi finally composed herself enough to offer her friend a morning greeting.             

“Seriously, what the hell?” Kim repeated finally moving off of the steps and into the kitchen.  “What is he even doing up here in the first place?” Kim asked.

“It’s a long story, but I brought him up here because I was lonely.” Brandi whined.           

“By the way, your ass, not something I want to see first thing in the morning.” Kim said looking at Chris.             

“Not sure why anyone would ever want to see it to be honest.” Chris joked, turned to Brandi.  He raised an eye brow at her but Brandi just laughed, her sides were really starting to hurt.  Chris smiled too; it was nice to see her smile even if it was at the cost of his dignity.           

“So now I have to asked, why do you have lips tattooed on your ass?” Kim asked, still unable to shake the image from her brain.    Brandi chimed in as well; she wasn’t sure why he had it either.           

“If you must know, I have a friend that is a tattoo artist and one night after a lot of drinking, it sounded like a really good idea.” Chris explained.  Kim nodded her head and signed, she had never been drunk enough to consider a tattoo a good idea, but she imagined it could happen.  “Apparently it’s also a good conversation starter.” He added.           

“So you show a lot of people your ass then, do you?” Brandi questioned.  Chris just smiled and sat back down.  He actually mooned people more than you might think.             

“Um… Brandi, question.” Kim stated from the kitchen.             

“Yeah…?” Brandi asked.           

“Why are your keys in the sugar bowl?” Kim asked pulling them out and tossing them into the sink.           

“Oh, I hid them in there so Chris wouldn’t find them.” Brandi said smiling at Chris.  She had put them in the sugar bowl when she has gone to get the coffee.  Chris gave her a grin and a nod, she had out smarted him and he knew it.             

“Touché” He said.  Kim just shook her head and proceeded to get some sugar for her coffee. 

            The guys woke to find Chris missing; this concerned them given what had happened the night before.   They were worried about their friend and he wouldn’t have escaped without them, would he?  Finally Mandy slipped down the steps to the basement with Chris in tow.  Somehow she had gotten drafted to check on the guys and to return Chris so that the guys could get back to work.

              “Chris, are you okay?” Lance asked, happy to see his friend back in one piece.

              “Did they torture you?” Justin questioned.

              “Define torture; it was pretty brutal up there.” Chris said with a smile, it had defiantly been though something.  He was smiling so the others guessed that it couldn’t have been that bad, whatever had happened.  “Let’s just say I think we are grossly out witted here.” He added taking a seat while Mandy chained him back up.   Mandy quickly got the guys breakfast orders and turned to Joey who was still sound asleep in the corner.

              “Should we wake him?” Mandy asked.

            “I am not doing it but you can.” Lance offered, he still remembered how hard Joey was to wake up in the mornings for the year that they had spent touring together.  Mandy went over to where Joey was and knelt down beside him.  She whispered into his ear.  Joey moaned and shooed her with his hand.  Mandy repeated herself a little louder this time.  He moved to roll over and ignore her but somehow she got caught in the blanket.  She laid there for a minute now on top of him somewhat, tangled in the blanket and chains.

            “She whined to be let out and playfully hit him, after all she liked be this close to him.  Joey finally realized that she wasn’t going to let him sleep any more but he figured that he would have a little fun with the girl.  In one swift motion he rolled over on top of her.  She was pinned beneath him.  He looked lovingly into her eyes and greeted her in a sexy voice.  Mandy felt her heart flutter.  She tried to sequel but the air just caught in her chest.

            “See now I am really glad that I didn’t wake him up.” Lance joked.

            “You’re smashing me.” She finally managed.   Joey just laughed; he knew that he wasn’t that heavy.  He playfully ran his hand down the side of her leg.  Goose bump followed his gent touch on her leg.  “You’re such a big teddy bear but get off me.” Mandy yelled then kneed him in the crotch as hard as she could.  Joey gasped and rolled off of her.  Mandy jumped up while Joey laid there hold himself, grumbling to himself something about her breaking something.  She just smiled, served him right after all.

            She started to walk away when she realized that she didn’t get his breakfast order.  He informed her that he would eat anything and the others laughed because they knew it was true, Joey was known for his appetite.  Mandy just shook her head and headed back upstairs.  Once she was out of sight Justin turned to Chris and began to drill him about what he had seen upstairs.

            “Honestly, I think we are fucked, they have the door upstairs locked too.  I didn’t see a phone or anything, just a computer.” Chris explained.

              “You could have used the computer to send out a message.” JC said.

            “First of all you know that I can’t type that fast, they would totally stop me before I got a two words done and second who would I contact?  I don’t know where I am or who those girls are.” Chris answered; it wasn’t like he hadn’t thought about it.

            “They can track IP addresses can’t they?”  Lance inquired.

              “Maybe, but it still goes back to my typing skills.  I have already been shot once with the tazor.  So I am good there, one of you guys can give it a go though.” Chris said.

              “Speaking of that, we should have the song done today, could we maybe do something when they give you the gun to shoot Katy?”  JC asked.  He was really over this whole thing and really just wanted to go home.

              “It’s still one against three and I don’t like those odds when I am the one with the gun and the most likely to get hurt.” Chris said, but it got him thinking about it.  He was looking forward to shooting Katy but he did wonder what she might do to him in return.

            The guys finally dropped the subject and quickly got back to work on the song.  Since finishing the song was the only way that they knew to insure their freedom.  They slaved away for hour before Justin finally distant and distracted.  Talking to him was like try to have a conversation with the wall, it just went nowhere.

            “Are you feeling alright dude?”  JC finally asked.  Justin snapped to attention and shook some thoughts out of his head.

            “Yeah I am fine, just got a lot on my mind right now.  This is just all so surreal.” Justin said.  He knew that they were all handling it differently, but he didn’t want to admit that there was something else that was bugging him too.  After a few more failed attempts to act normally he excused himself from the group, heading into the sound booth that the girls had built down there.  It was the only place that he thought he could get a minute to himself.

            Once inside he shut the door and took a seat at the mixer.  He hung his head and tried to sort out his thoughts.  He couldn’t focus right now but it wasn’t for all the reason that he had given the guys, and he did feel bad about lying them.  He groaned as he rubbed his side where she had hit him the day before, it was sore a slightly bruised.  How could someone so small be so strong?

              Justin didn’t want to fess up to it but his relationship with is actress girlfriend had been suffering as of late, they were so busy with their lives that they barely made time for each other.  He hardly thought about her, even now his thoughts were on another woman, a woman that he barely even knew none the less.  He couldn’t put his finger on his new obsession with the TV samurai from the night before.  Justin was probably the only one not afraid of her, and he wasn’t afraid of her because he was totally turned on by her.  The smell of cookies and sugar floated through his mind.

            Katy peered into the room, quickly noticing that something was missing.  All eyes were on her as she surveyed the guys.  She had just woken up not too long ago and had been drafted to check on the guys and see if they needed anything.

            “Where is Justin?” She finally asked.  The guys nodded toward the sound booth, they were kind of afraid to talk to her.

            “He needed a minute to himself.  He seems a little distracted.” Lance commented.  Katy nodded; she had kind of noticed that yesterday during the last half of their session together.  He was Justin Timberlake, why on earth did he ‘need a minute’?  Surely the stress was nothing new for him; the man had been doing this since he was a child.

            “You should go in there and give him some of your ‘motivation’ words.” JC said, after all he wanted Justin to get back out here so that they could get this done and over with.  Katy debated about it, she didn’t want to be pushy or anything, but she probably should check on him in case he was in trouble.   

She knocked softly on the door, when there wasn’t an answer she tried again a little harder.  That time Justin responded, though it didn’t sound like he knew that it was her, he sounded a little annoyed.  But he did invite her in.

“Hey are you alright in here?” Katy asked stepping inside.  She could tell by the way he was seated that he was uncomfortable so she closed the door behind her.  Justin stared at her for a minute, questioning why she was really there.  He hadn’t expected it to be her.  That scent of hers suddenly no longer a memory.  His thoughts raced for a minute before he composed himself.

“I am fine; I just needed a mental break.” Justin said.  He watched as Katy climbed up on the table that was in here and sat beside the mixer.  He looked her over; he had missed her and wanted to create a mental picture for when she left him again.  He made an observation about her and then quickly called her out on it.  “Do you not own a pair of pants?”  He asked her.  She was wearing a skirt again today and it wasn’t the same one that she had on yesterday and it wasn’t even the same pair of high heeled boots.  Katy looked down at her legs and tapped her heels together.

“I have pants I just don’t wear them often.  I like skirts, they make me look taller and they are less restrictive in the event that I need to kick your ass again.” Katy explained.  Justin smiled, she was pretty short and he really liked the way her legs looked in a skirt, and maybe he needed to have his ass kicked once and while.  He let his eye rack over her legs which were fairly close to him.  He was sure if he tried hard enough he might be able to see her underwear.   The way that she was sitting and fidgeting around on the table it would have been an easy task.  He knew that there was another chair in the room; he wasn’t sure why she was sitting where she was.

“So the guys say that you need to be motivated.” Katy interjected.  She wasn’t stupid she could see the way that he was looking at her.  Justin smiled, and Katy felt her heart flutter at the sight of it though she tried not to show it. 

“I am fine, I just got a lot on my mind right now, even before you add the whole kidnapping thing on top of it.  There is just so much going on around me.” Justin explained. 

“Yeah, it must really suck being you.” Katy joked.  She was sure he had a great life, okay so maybe it was a little stressful but he had a lot to be proud of.  “So talk to me Timber Tush.” Katy teased.  Justin rolled his eyes; did she really just call him that?  What does that even mean any way?  Justin hung his head and put his hands on his forehead.  He had a million questions with this girl, yet he was still infatuated with her.   Katy just sat there bouncing her legs off the edge of the table, looking at him intently.  Well he had her undivided attention, so he guessed now was as good a time as any to get some answers.  He stood up and put his hand on her knee to stop her movements.

“Do you ever stop moving, do you even know how to sit still?” He asked.  She was a little thrown off by his closeness but she managed a simple no to answer his question.  He leaned in a little closer and in hailed deeply before speaking softly into her ear.  “Why do you smell like cookies?”  He let his hand slip a little further up on her leg, just to see if she would protest.  Suddenly Katy was wondering who the ‘weird’ one was.

“Oh that’s easy, that is what I had for breakfast.” Katy said with a smile, she wonder why he was asking so many questions about her, she thought they were going to talk about him, now that was a topic she knew more about.  She knew all kinds of stupid random facts about him, why weren’t they talking about him?

“Cookies for breakfast?” Justin questioned looking her in the eye.  Her green eyes twinkled with an almost childlike wonderment.  Katy licked her lips at the thought of the yummy cookies she had enjoyed just moments before heading down there to see him.  Justin’s hands found their way back to his face in frustration. 

“I love cookies.  They are great any time.” Katy beamed.  She watched him in curious amusement, for a minute she thought she could actually see the gears turning in his head.  But even she wasn’t expecting what he did next.  He dropped his hands away from his face and got closer to her so that he could kiss her.  The kiss was soft and sweet.  He secretly watched her as she closed her eyes and coed softly.  She limbs when limp and stopped their twitching.  She became almost peaceful.

“You even taste like cookies.” Justin joked finally snapping her back to reality, which kind of angered Katy because reality sucked.   And then just like that the feet began to sway again accept now Justin was there still standing between her legs but it didn’t seem to bother her.

“Yeah well they were some pretty awesome cookies.  I will bring you some next time I come down.” Katy said.

“I don’t want your cookies, I want you.” Justin sighed.  He had finally come to the realization himself, though he wasn’t sure why he had just told her.  Katy blinked a few times and then proceeded as if the information that had just been received was flawed.  She moved to get up from the table but Justin didn’t move.   He watched her for a minute, there was a flurry of emotions across her face, none of which Katy knew what to do with.  After a minute moved away just enough to allow her to get to her feet.

Justin took her by the hand and led her into the recording part of the sound booth and closed that door behind them.  He pushed her up against a nearby wall and began to kiss her again, this time with a little more force.  He paused a looked her in the eye this time.

“I need you.” He groaned.  He managed to get his arms around her.  “Do you know what the song is about that we are writing?” He asked.  She just shook her head, she couldn’t be sure of anything right now; just that Justin Timberlake had her pinned against a wall and was asking her stupid questions.  “It’s about finding love in all the wrong places.  I can’t go back out there and write about finding love until I have had a chance to…” His voice trailed off at the end as he searched for the right words.

Katy stood there waiting for him to find what he was looking for, though she wasn’t sure about much, she was pretty sure that what they were doing didn’t have much to do with love but it was more of a need that they both had.  She was okay with it too; it wasn’t like she thought that she could compete with any of the girls that he had ever seriously dated.

“Fuck me?” Katy blurted out.

“I was going to say… to explore my feelings toward you.” Justin replied somewhat shocked by her answer but not sure why, she was the kind of girl that could say anything at any given time.

“Oh, like explore them sexually?” Katy questioned still really confused at this point as to what they were doing.  “Because generally speaking the only emotions I create in people are ones for confusion or anger and this doesn’t feel like either of those.”

“I am very confused by you, but I like it.  My life is so predictable right now; I could use a little excitement.” Justin explained.  He pressed his hips against her to prove his point and to answer her other question.  Katy felt herself melt again, she thought quietly to herself about the pros and cons of proceeding down this path.  She knew that she was probably going to jail and it might be awhile before she would see another guy again, so this could be a good thing.

She kissed him this time and passionately rubbed her tongue against his.  She felt him push her skirt up and press her hard against the wall.  But she didn’t try to stop him.  Her hand roamed freely over his body while he fought with his restraints, causing to groan and grunt in frustration.  Katy didn’t have her keys and if she had she probably would have aided him; it was kind of a turn on to see him struggle like he was.  He really was working for it.

Katy slowly undid his jeans to give him time to re think what he was about to do.  Katy didn’t believe in regret, so this wasn’t going to be a problem for her.  At least she could brag about having banged a pop star later.  But she wasn’t anything special so what was really in this for him, just a good time maybe or a release form a very stressful situation?  He continued to groan and moan for her to hurry up.  When she finally freed him, she stroked him a few times.  At this point he needed her even more than he had confessed to needing her.  He just wanted to crawl inside of her and take up residency there where nothing could ever get to him again.

“So just how sound proof is this room?” Justin moaned as he lifted her up a little.  Katy giggled.

“It was built by 4 young girls, what do you think?” Katy asked.  Justin smiled and he pressed himself against her, teasing her a little.

“I’ll try to be quiet then.” Justin whispered, he breathe was hot on her neck and it sent chills down her spine.  She reached down between them and pushed her thong aside, clearing the path for him.  With a series of movements, that were just as fluid as his music video dance steps, he had her moaning and called his name.  She hated it that he had such power over her, he could literally make her speechless with just a single kiss, so what he was doing to her now left her completely stupid and at his mercy. 

When it was done her mind was completely goo.  The sensations had been too much for both of them.  He kept her pinned between him and the wall for what seemed like forever, just listening to her heart beat and her breathing, still reeling from the flurry of emotions that he had just experienced.  She was quiet for once; he pulled away from her and just stared at her in awe, her tiny frame still between his arms. 

She bit her cheeks to keep from say those three words, she knew they were there on the tip of her tongue and if she opened her mouth they would spill out and spoil everything.  This moment was one she had dreamed about since she was 16, and she wasn’t going to let those three words scare him off so soon, god knows she was going to give him a million other reasons to run soon enough.  Katy didn’t think that he wanted to hear them; this was probably just another notch on his bed post.  Okay now she was just too quiet, Justin thought as he studied her.

“You okay babe? I didn’t hurt you did I?” He asked sweetly.

“I… I always knew that you had great rhythm.”  Katy sighed.  He smiled and released her, it was good to see that she still had her sense of humor. 

             Mandy was surfing the internet when something caught her eye.  The news was already buzzing about the missing boy band members, though they seemed to have no leads or no clue where they were, Mandy still felt her chest tighten.  This was so real now, they were really in deep.

            There was chatter of the radio in the kitchen as Justin re-joined the group, he appeared to be in much better spirits, which kind of made the girls wonder what on earth Katy had done to bring him out of his hiding place and they questioned if sending her down there had been such a good idea.

              “Well Just seems to be feeling better.” Brandi stated as Katy exited the basement.

              “Yeah well I should have been a stress counselor or something.” Katy said with a smiled, she was after all very proud of herself.

            “Stress counselor?  I have never seen you stress about anything in my life.”  Kim pointed out.

              “Exactly!” Katy said.   She made her way over to the sofa where the others were and sat down on the arm.  “I never understood what stress was good for any way; it just makes you feel crappy.”  Katy added just as Mandy turned around to look at them.  Since they were on the topic any way, Mandy informed them of her findings online.  “Its fine, it sounds like they are about done with the song.”

            “Speaking of that, where are we going to get a band to record the music?” Kim asked.

            “Chris has a band.” Brandi answered.

              “I am not going back to Florida, and besides no way we are getting 3 guys in the back of my car.  Joey and Chris were cramped enough.” Katy explained, plus there was the whole time thing, it would take forever to make that trip again.  And it wasn’t like they would record it there without asking a ton of questions.

              “Music is not going to be a problem, remember that internship that I had at that recording place?” Mandy asked as she typed out an email.  The girls just nodded.  “Well I met some really nice people there, and some musicians.  Once the guys have the lyrics nailed down I can send them to my friend and see if they can knock it out for us really quickly.”

              “They won’t ask any questions?” Brandi wondered out loud.

              “Probably, but I will just make something up.  They might put it together after the fact but by then it won’t matter.” Mandy explained.  She wasn’t sure what she was going to tell them yet, but she would think of something.  She sent her email then turned to say something when they heard a loud thud.  The noise scared all the girls and forced them to look in the direction of the basement door where the sound had originated.  After a series of concerned glances Katy finally got up and approached the door.  She flung it open keeping one hand on her gun.

            JC was standing at the bottom of the steps staring her down.  He was impatiently tapped his foot, and that is when Katy noticed that he was missing a shoe.  She rolled her eyes and heading for him, pausing to collect his shoe.

              “Seriously?  What the fuck dude?” Katy snapped as she handed him the shoe.  She could see the other girls now at the top of the stairs watching her, still a little cautious.

              “We’re done writing the song.  I figured that would get your attention.” JC explained.

            “Really, you are done already?  Give it to me then, Mandy will type it up for you guys.” Katy asked she held out her hand but JC just shook his head and nodded toward Chris.

            “Chris has it; he insisted that he hang on to it since the two of you have a deal.” JC explained.  Katy groaned and headed for Chris.  Chris stood up as she got closer and she held out her hand but he just shook his head.

            “We had a deal; you don’t get the song until after I shoot you.” Chris explained.  Katy looked him over; he had the notebook behind his back.  She was pretty sure she could just beat him up and take the book from him but they did have a deal.  By now the other girls had made their way down the steps and were kind of aware of what was going on.

            “No, we should work with a third party.  I am not going to want to notebook after you shoot me; I am going to want to take a nap.  So you give the notebook to one of the other guys, I’ll let you shoot me and then they have to give the notebook to Mandy.” Katy explained.  She looked at Mandy and waited for Mandy to confirm that she understood the plan.  Chris nodded and handed the notebook to Justin.  Katy calmly went over and handed her tranq gun to Brandi, to insure that this wasn’t a trap that the guys had set for them she wanted to be unarmed.  Katy turned back to Chris and fished the tazor gun out of her boot.  She was a little frightened by his excitement when it came to causing her pain.

              “Katy, are you sure that you want to do this, I mean we can just drug him and take the stupid thing.  You don’t have to let him shoot you.” Kim said.

              “I am a woman of my word, besides pain is only temporary.  I’ll be fine.  Though I have not been tazored before, I have been maced before and the discomfort fades.” Katy explained.

            “Wait a minute, you have been maced?  When did that happen?” Mandy questioned.  Though she wasn’t sure why this surprised her Katy was known for getting into trouble.

              “Brandi knows about it, she was there.” Katy answered.  Brandi paused to think and she finally recalled the incident in question.  She laughed a little just thinking about it, that was a great summer.

            “Oh yeah, that’s a long story.  I’ll tell you about it later.” Brandi said.  Katy pointed the gun at Chris, which made him step back a little.  Then she flipped it around in her hand so that the handle was to him.  He smiled and carefully took the weapon from her.  Justin watched Katy closely; he thought he had gotten her out of his system but seeing her again just made it all return.  He watched as his friend prepared to shoot her, there was no fear in her eyes.  She carefully slid the coffee table over so that she wouldn’t hit it when she went down.

              “Okay, ready whenever you are just don’t count down or anything and please don’t shoot me in the face.” Katy explained as she tried to relax her limps, after all it would hurt more if she was tense.  Chris lined up his shot and then just like that she went down.  She could hear Chris laughing and some others in the background as the charge ripped though her body.

              “So which button is it that zaps them again?” Chris asked, before she could respond he found it and gave her another surge of pain.  He was still laughing at her as she rolled around on the floor moaning obscenities at him.  Justin chuckled a little too, oh how the mighty have fallen, once the room settled down Justin got up and handed the notebook to Mandy and then turned to Katy, who was still on the floor staring up at the ceiling.  He carefully pulled the darts out and then scooped her up in his arms.  He fell back into a nearby chair and just let Katy bury her face in his chest.  She inhaled deeply, the pain of the tazor gun quickly fading and the memories of Justin returning full force.

              “Hey whose side are you on here?” Chris asked.  He eyed the young man with some distaste but he also questioned Justin’s motives, after he had tried putting the moves on Brandi and that got him nowhere.

            “I didn’t know we had sides.  But I have to say it looks like the girls are still kicking our asses here, so I would rather be on the winning side at this point.” Justin explained, but in reality he would be on any side that Katy was one.

            “That is true but you know if we had a united front we might not be in this position.” Lance explained.  The girls just chuckled, at least Lance was started to get it.  If they would just work together and a group, they could totally over power and outsmart them.  It was disappointing that they hadn’t thought of is sooner. 

             It had been late by the time Mandy had finished typing the lyrics up for everyone.  So instead of starting to record they had all just gone to bed early.  The guys had done a great job on the song so far, Mandy couldn’t contain her excitement as she typed it.  It was everything you would expect from ‘N Sync.

              “So what happens now?” Kim asked, looking over the printed lyrics.

              “Well we shouldn’t waste time; we can get the guys in the studio today and start laying down the vocals, while Mandy works to getting the music.” Brandi explained.  Katy just nodded, though she didn’t want Justin to leave to soon, but she knew that he had his own life and who was she to keep him from it?

            They could see Mandy walking around the living room while talking on her phone.  She was talking with her friend and trying to explain to him what they needed without tell him exactly what they needed it for.  She repeated a few things that the guys had suggested to her about how the music should sound, her friend on the other end seemed to understand but it was a really odd request to be coming from Mandy.

            “Okay, it sounds like the guys are all awake down there, why don’t you two go down and get things started.  The guys have all done this before so they should know what they are doing, you just have to supervise.” Brandi explained.  Kim nodded and gathered the print outs before heading to the basement.  Katy ran into the kitchen and grabbed her cookies, she knew Justin had said he didn’t want any but she wanted to take them to him anyway.

            When they got to the basement the guys were playing cards, there wasn’t much else to do since the TV was still out of commission.  Joey’s eye lit up when he saw what Katy had in her hand; he questioned her about it right away.  Justin just laughed.

            “Its breakfast, you want some?” Katy answered.  Joey smiled and Katy went over to where he was.

            “That is not breakfast.” Kim replied, rolling her eyes at her friend.  Katy just sat down on the floor by the table and smiled as they dived into the package.

            “Sure, it is.  It’s morning and I am eating them, that makes them breakfast.” Katy reasoned.  Justin took a cookie from her and ate it but he really wasn’t that hungry.

              “Any way, we are going to get started on the vocals.  We’ll add the music once we get it.  So who wants to go first?” Kim asked.  She handed out the papers so that the guys to look it over again and familiarize themselves with their parts.  Chris and JC volunteered to go in first.

            “Great, Kim you take them in there and get things going.  Joey and I will stay out here and supervise the cookies.” Katy beamed.

            “Somehow I don’t think that is what Brandi meant by supervising, I think she mean that we were supposed to watch the guys, not your sugar intake.”  Kim said as she helped Chris and JC into the sound booth.  Katy just laughed, she knew what Brandi had meant and there was nothing wrong with her sugar intake.

            Chris sat down at the laptop that was set up in there while JC headed into the other room to see what exactly the girls had set up for them.  Kim pulled up close to Chris, she wanted to see what he was doing, she was very curious about the music software they had gotten.  The laptop wasn’t hooked up to the internet but she just wanted to make sure that he didn’t try anything.  Chris wasn’t exactly trust worthy.

              Once they were set up JC began to sing a few lines so they could test some stuff.  His voice was so beautiful, Kim was in awe of it, and he did it so effortlessly.  She secretly wished that she could sing half as well as him; she kind of hated him for it. Chris gave JC the sign that everything was working, JC nodded and got to work really singing the lines.  Kim asked Chris a few questions from time to time about what he was doing and why, Chris was trying not to get annoyed with her, after all he had been that curious once too.   After a while Chris and JC switched places.

            Back in the other room Katy was playing cards with Lance and Justin.  Lance was kicking their butts at poker, who knew Lance had a great poker face?  Joey was in the shower.  It was fairly peaceful; Katy was amazed with how down to earth the guys were.  She and Joey had talked for an hour about their favorite cookies; it was the stupid little things that she enjoyed about them.

            “Man, I suck at this game.”  Katy stated finally tossing the cards down.

            “You are just mad because you lost.” Lance joked.  Katy got up and asked the guys if they wanted something to drink, she was just about to head up the stairs when she heard Kim’s voice.

            “You are so egotistical, that sounds awful.” Kim snapped.  It was impressive that she was loud enough that you could hear her from outside of the sound booth; Kim was usually very soft spoken.

            “What do you know about music any way?” JC fired back.

            “Well I know what sounds good and what doesn’t” Kim answered.  By now Katy had given up on her beverage mission and was listening intently to the argument.

              “Do you think that you could do better?” JC asked.

            “A def monkey could do better.” Kim answered.  Chris was still in the recording area watching the two of them go at it; he wasn’t even sure what had sparked their now heated conversation.  It was hard to watch but he was pretty much trapped, if he tried to leave at this point he would have to walk past them and risked getting pulled into it.  So he just stood there watching them.

            “They sound like they are married.” Justin chimed in.  Katy wasn’t sure why they couldn’t just get along; Kim was generally a very sweet person.  Of course she couldn’t speak for JC on the matter.

            “You’re such a bitch, I am out of here.” JC said getting up.  He forcefully shoved the door open and stormed into the main room.  He quickly realized that everyone was looking at him.  JC began to pull frantically on his chain; he just wanted to leave this place.  Katy was kind of afraid that he was going to hurt himself.

            “What’s the deal, JC?” Katy asked moving closer to him.

            “I can’t work in these conditions.” He yelled, still working at the chains.

            “You mean you won’t lower yourself to work in these conditions.” Kim answered standing in the doorway.  Her arms were folded across her chest and she just glared at him.  Katy cringed at the words Kim had just said.  It probably wasn’t the best thing to say at this point and if it made Katy of all people flinch you know it’s bad.

              “Would you shut up, you don’t even know me.” JC answered, turning to her.  It was true that she had only known him for four days now, but she could already tell that he was self absorbed.  Katy put her hand on his arm and he shoved her off before returning to his heated argument with Kim.  They were slinging insult left and right.

            Katy thought about her options here, it was clear this could go on for hours if she let it.  Katy pulled her tranq gun out and shot JC without warning.  Kim just laughed at him as he fell to the floor with a thud.  Kim then turned to Katy and laid into her about JC.  Katy calmly nodded and agreed with her, all the while re-loading her weapon.  Kim was so heated by now she didn’t even see it coming when Katy shot her too.  The guys just stared at her in awe; it wasn’t like them to take out one of their own.

            “She is going to be so pissed at you when she wakes up.” Chris stated, now standing over Kim.  Katy just smiled; it wouldn’t be the first time Kim was mad at her.

              “Yeah well I am equal opportunity.  It’s not like I know who started the fight, but I sure ended it didn’t I?” Katy asked.  Her evil smile danced across her face.

            “I don’t even know who stated it and I was there.  If you ask me those two were made for each other.” Chris joked.  Katy’s grin increased and it was like a light went off in her head.

            “Oh my god, I have the greatest idea ever.” Katy yelled and then took off up the stairs without another word.  She ran past Brandi and Mandy on her way to fetch something and then darted back down the stairs.  Mandy and Brandi glanced at each other and debated on investigating what she was up to, but sometimes with Katy is was best not to know.

            Katy set the digital camera down on the table and went over to JC first.  She quickly unchained him and proceeded to drag him over to the chair.  The other guys just watched her, not really sure if they should help her or not.  Lance finally took pity on her as she struggled with the unconscious man.  He helped her get him into the chair.

            “What are you doing?” Justin asked, no longer able to contain his curiosity in the matter.

              “It’s the golden rule, unconscious people are fair game.  So we are going to have a photo shoot.  Who knows we might use them for the music video or something.” Katy explained as she headed over to Kim.  Lance followed her though he wasn’t sure why she was helping her.  They lifted Kim onto JC’s lap.  Which caused Katy to sigh; they really did make a cute couple.

            Lance had to admit they looked peaceful now; he helped Katy position them like a loving couple.  Katy grabbed her camera and snapped a few shots before rearranging them several more times.

            “Lance, why are you helping her, you know JC is going to kill you, right?” Justin asked.

            “Because this is fun, and you heard the woman, it’s like when you have a sleep over and you play pranks on the people that fall asleep first.  They are fair game.” Lance explained.  After a few rounds of photos Lance positioned them so that Kim’s face was on his should and his head was against her forehead.  It was such a sweet, yet innocent pose, and that is the way they decided to leave them.

              “You know that she is just going to delete those photos, right?” Chris asked.

            “You are so right; I need to go back these up before they wake up.” Katy said.  She thanked Chris and hugged Lance, which kind of made Justin jealous, before starting up stairs.  She paused and turned to head back down; she had almost forgotten in all the excitement that she had unchained JC.  That could have been bad if he had woken up.

            She thought about it a minute and then asked the guys if JC was right handed or left handed.  They reluctantly answered her.  She quickly wrapped the chain around just one of JC’s writs and locked it tightly so that he couldn’t slip it off.

            “There that might work better.” Katy explained.

            “That is not fair, what about me?  You think I want to have both my hand bound together?” Chris asked.  Katy smiled and she got her gun out again just in case this was a trick.  By now Joey had returned and he wasn’t about to asked about why JC and Kim were the way they were, he had kind of heard everything.  But he wanted the slightly freer range of motion as well, they all did.  Katy worked quickly to re-do they guys chains, so that she could get up stairs before they woke up.

            Katy hadn’t been gone long when JC started to move a little.  Chris, Justin and Joey were in the sound booth now, so it was just Lance sitting there watch the two of them.  JC slowly became aware of something on his lap.  When he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was Lance, the second was the girl passed out in his lap.  At first he was angry but he had to admit that she looked peaceful there in his arms.

            JC was trying not to move too much, but he questioned Lance about what had happened.  Lance blamed Katy of course, since he wasn’t ready to admit his own involvement just yet.  JC felt himself tense up as Kim slowly started to wake up and she unknowingly snuggled up closer to him.  Her hand gently grasped at his shirt as she moaned softly.  It was like she was having a really good dream.  Kim could smell the downy on his t-shirt and she could hear his heart beat, she wondered later why it had been racing so fast.

            Kim suddenly snapped to attention and started down at JC, the look of sheer confusion on her face.  She released her hold on his shirt.  Her expression quickly turned to anger but not towards JC anymore.   She screamed Katy’s name at the top of her lungs and took off up the steps to find her friend.  JC sat there a little dazed for a minute.

            “Are you alright, buddy?” Lance asked.

            “What the hell just happened?” JC asked.

            Upstairs the guys could hear, yelling and the sound of frantic footsteps across the floor.  Lance cringed when he heard Kim scream his name, clearly Katy had ratted him out.  But then again there was no honor among thieves, or pranksters for that matter.

             “Why couldn’t you just let him leave?” Kim asked.

            “Because we need him, he is an important part of the group.” Katy answered, even though they had been over this a few times already.  Katy didn’t understand what the big deal was and why Kim was so upset, it’s not like the photos where that bad.  They were very mild compared to what they could have been.

            “We could have just gotten one of the Backstreet Boys; they are all cuter than JC.” Kim explained.

              “No we agreed to get ‘N Sync.” Mandy explained coming into their conversation.

             “This just isn’t fair; I mean it’s apparent by the way Justin coddled you the other day that the two of you are very close.  Joey and Mandy flirt with each other all the time.  Brandi and Chris have spent some time alone together.  I have no one.” Kim explained.

            “Lance is pretty hot.” Katy chimed in, not denying the Justin comment.

            “Lance is gay, you idiot.” Mandy snapped.  Katy just smiled, she kind of though Lance’s gayness needed to be put to the test.  He was just too cute to like boys.  “And there is nothing going on between Joey and me.  He’s married remember.  We are just both very flirtatious and yeah that is probably wrong but he is just so cute, I can’t help myself when I am around him.” Mandy added.  She had been feeling a little guilty about her feelings toward Joey.  His wife had to be worried sick about him by now.

            “You know it’s not that I don’t want to continue this talk, but my Katana is missing and I know one of you hid it from me, so now I am on a mission to find it and when I do there will be hell to pay.” Katy said getting up, she had noticed the missing weapon when Kim had been chasing her and she attempted to arm herself but it wasn’t where she had left it.

            “It’s probably in the same place as the crossbow.” Kim sighed.  Mandy looked at her confused, this was the first she had heard of a second weapon.  “Oh you didn’t know?  Yeah apparently we have a crossbow.” Kim explained.  Mandy just shook her head, it wasn’t worth getting into.

            “Oh yeah, that’s right you guys borrowed that.  Yeah I am going to need that back as well.  I love that thing.  It’s just so cool.” Katy beamed, but sadly that was now something else she had to search for.  Kim just smiled, she was pretty sure that Brandi had made both disappear, but she wasn’t about to tell Katy that part.  Katy left the two of them alone and headed up stairs.

              Mandy waited for Katy to disappear before turning back to Kim.  She could tell Kim was still trying to sort things out, and she didn’t like seeing her friend this way.  Mandy had talked to Brandi, and she knew about Kim’s true feelings for JC.  It was the way she looked at him when he wasn’t paying attention but what she couldn’t figure out was why Kim was being so difficult.

            “Are you Okay?  I mean really okay?” Mandy asked.  Kim looked up at her trying to act confused about what she might be implying.

              “Yeah, JC just get’s on my nerves.  He is just so perfect and it really bugs me.” Kim said softly.

              “Does it bug you because you like him?” Mandy asked.  Kim just took a deep breath.  “Why are you fighting this?” Mandy asked.  She carefully slid something in front of Kim.  Kim’s eyes watered a little as she looked at it, it was one of the photos that Katy had taken, damn her, she had printed some of them out.  Kim cursed Katy in her head; she thought she had gotten rid of them.  They did look cute together, so innocent.

            Kim started to cry softly to herself and Mandy hung her head, this hadn’t been her intention.  She came around and patted Kim on the back, trying to console her.  They spent a few minutes that way, neither of them saying anything to the other.  Kim wiped her tears away and ran her wet fingers across the photo, thank goodness it was dry or she would have smeared it.

            “What is wrong Kim?” Mandy asked, choking on her words a little.  She thought back to the past conversations that they had together.  The danger that they were all in, was apparent, and she needed to know what was on Kim’s mind.

            “I am just not as strong as you guys are, I can’t do this.  I can’t fall in love and then just walk away.” Kim said.  Her insides were churning just thinking about it.

            “That doesn’t make us stronger than you, if anything it just makes us stupid.” Mandy joked trying to lighten the mood.  Kim did crack a smile.  “And who knows what will happen once this is all over.  I am not saying that you have to fall in love with JC, just trying being nice to him.”

            “But nice could lead to other things; I would rather have him hate me.  It makes what we are doing here a whole hell of a lot easier.” Kim explained.

              “As Katy would say, easy is over rated.” Mandy replied.  Mandy headed back into the kitchen to see about fixing the guys some lunch.  She didn’t want to press Kim to much about it otherwise Kim would just shut down.  There was mild chatter coming over the radio but Brandi was down there, so it didn’t alarm Mandy.

            “Man, I have never seen you this bent out of shape over a chick.” Joey stated looking over at JC, who had his face buried in his hands.

            “I am not bent out of shape over a girl, she just sets me off that is all, and this whole situation has just sets me off.” JC explained.  He questioned in his mind if what he had just said was the truth or not but it had sounded good.  “Like you should talk, you’re married and you are hitting on another woman.”

            “Yeah well you try being married to me.  It’s not easy you know.  Kelly puts up with a lot of crap; I don’t even know how she does it.  I am shocked everyday when I wake up to find that she is still there.” Joey explained, trying to not get emotional while thinking about his girls.  He didn’t realize until just now how much he really missed them.  But Kelly was good to him, all the late nights out with the guys, surrounded by beautiful women, coming home drunk.  Yup she was pretty awesome.  “Just fess up, Kim pushes all your buttons and you let her because you think she is attractive.” Joey said, just to change the subject.

            JC leaned back in his chair and glared at Joey, they had been friend fat too long and Joey knew him too well.  But it still didn’t hide the fact that they were all being held there against their will.

            Brandi was in the sound booth with Lance and Chris, she assumed that the others weren’t getting into too much trouble but she couldn’t be sure.  Her eyes were fixed on Chris as he working on the laptop.

            “You know the staring is kind of creeping him out.” Chris said, not diverting his eyes from the screen.  Brandi smiled, she liked it that he knew that she was staring at him.

            “I can’t help it, you are just so cute.  I love watching you work, you do this so effortlessly.”  Brandi explained, causing Chris to blush a little.  It wasn’t that this was easy by any means; he was just used to do it with his new band.  It would be easier though if they had the music for it, but Mandy was pretty sure that she would have something for them to work with tomorrow.

            “Well I hate to disappoint you but I think it’s about my turn to take a shower.  So you are going to have to sit there and stare at someone else in a little bit.” Chris explained.  Brandi pouted though the thought of him in the shower was kind of a turn on.  Chris laughed a little under his breath, teasing this girl was just too easy.

             Brandi had her head on the table now; she could feel Justin beside her but the excitement she had left with Chris.  Justin watched her for awhile out of the corner of his eye while he tried to figure out the program on the lap top.

               “You know you are a huge downer for my ego.  Most girls would kill to b

e in the same room as me.” Justin stated.  He finally turned to her as she glanced at him confused.  Yeah okay he was completely gorgeous and talented, if you are into to that sort of thing.  But Brandi wasn’t she like guys with a little more depth and that were a little goofy.

            “I am sorry about your bruised ego, but you just aren’t my type.” Brandi explained.  Justin shrugged, he could understand that and he really wasn’t hurt by it.  He just couldn’t take the silence in the room any more.

            “But Chris is your type?” Justin questioned.  Everyone had seen what she had done to him the first night they were all there, her little Houdini act.

              “Um yeah, I mean you know Chris better than anyone I am sure.  It just seems like he would be so much fun to be around.  And he is so dark and handsome.” Brandi signed her eyes fixed on Joey, who was now at the mic, trying to nail his parts for the song.  But her mind was drifting elsewhere at this point.

            “Define fun?  He loves to play a lot of pranks on people and he probably eats just as much sugar as Katy.  But he is a good friend, he’s has always had my back.” Justin explained.  Brandi laughed, she wasn’t sure that anyone could eat as much sugar as Katy.

  Justin watched her carefully, it was clear that her mind was where it should be.  Justin smiled as he had a thought, if her mind was in the shower with Chris, and then there was no reason why she shouldn’t be in there too.  “You know, the bathroom door doesn’t lock.” Justin stated out of nowhere.

            Brandi shot up and looked at him, her mind racing about what he has just told her.  She knew it was true, because the girls had taken the lock off so that the guys didn’t try to lock themselves in the bathroom for whatever reason.  She questioned him about his seriousness.

            “Chris does loves a good practical joke.  You know Katy had a camera earlier.” Justin suggested.  It wasn’t that Justin wanted his friend to suffer, but Chris did seam tense and this could help to lighten the mood a little.

            “Well maybe not the camera, but it would be pretty funny to see the look on his face.” Brandi said, no longer able to contain her smile.  But she didn’t want any photographs of Chris to get out on the internet or anything; you just can’t be too carefully with that stuff.

            “It would be hilarious.” Justin said and nodded toward the door.  That was all the encouragement Brandi needed and just like that she was up and on her way.  Justin just shook his head; Chris was going to kill him.  He secretly hoped that Katy would protect him.

            Brandi made her way to the bathroom, the other guys seemed pretty distracted with their card game, and she hoped that they didn’t notice her as she entered the bathroom.  She pushed the door open and slowly went inside making sure to close the door behind her.  The shower was running and the small bathroom was filled with steam.  She stood in front of the shower; her heart was in her throat.  She was questioning in her mind what exactly she was doing there, but in one swift motion she shoved the curtain aside.  Chris felt the cool air hit him like a title wave and immediately turned to her.  He stood there like a deer in head lights for a minute, trying to cover himself as best as he could.

“Jesus Christ, can’t a guy take a shower?” He finally snapped.  Brandi just stood there staring at him, kind of making him feel uncomfortable.  Suddenly this joke wasn’t so funny.  She smiled slyly as he stood there under the streaming water naked as the day he was born, thinking to herself that this was so hot.

“Well you did kiss me; you know a girl could get the wrong impression.” Brandi explained.  She scanned him with her eyes again trying to take it all in; he was trapped in the confines of the tiny shower.  There was nothing between them and nowhere that he could go.  She could see everything accept the parts he hid with his hands and she had to admit that she really liked what she saw.  He didn’t say anything; he knew kissing her had been the wrong thing to do but he had been desperate.  He thought back to the make out session they had, and he felt a shiver run down his spine, she had been a great kisser.

Brandi had entered the bathroom with every intention of pulling her little prank and then walking out, with the image of him etched in her brain of course.  But seeing him there in the flesh was a little more tempting that she thought it would be.  She reached into the shower and turned the water off.  As she got closer to him she looked at him lovingly.  He pressed himself against the back of the shower, the tiles cold against his bare skin.  Brandi ran her hands down his chest as she slowly dropped to her knees.

Chris wasn’t sure why but he didn’t protest or try to stop her.  He threw his head back and moaned loudly.  This wasn’t what Brandi had planned to do; she just wanted to scare the crap out of him. Chris’s head was spinning now, what was she doing in the bathroom in the first place, had he taken the teasing a little too far?  This was insane, he should stop her, but he just couldn’t form the words.

After a minute he found the strength to pull her back on to her feet.  She whimpered but before she could speak he kissed her, for real this time.  There was no more pretending with her, she was hot and he knew it.

“What the hell are you doing to me?” Chris asked pressing his forehead to hers, his wet body very close to her.  She paused to think about the question and was about to answer when he stopped her.  “No, not that, I know what you were doing there.  I am talking about all the flirting and tormenting.  What is all that for?  Are you trying to break me down, because I have to say that you are doing a hell of a good job?”  Chris explained.

“I like you, a lot, and I just want you to like me too.” Brandi sighed, almost ashamed. 

“Well for the record kidnapping a guy is not a good way to get his attention.” Chris explained, still very aware that he was her prisoner in more ways than one.

“Oh, I know it’s not but it is how you get a new song from a boy band that is being incredible difficult.” Brandi stated.  Chris hung his head; he couldn’t argue with her there, the band had no real plans to get back together, even though they all knew it was what the fans really wanted.  His hands where on her shoulders, he was afraid to touch her any place else at this point.  Though he didn’t have the luxury of clothes to hide his apparent interest in her, he still didn’t want to encourage her. 

She leaned in and kissed him again, slowly feeling the tension in his arms fade.  He wrapped his arms around her and pushed her backwards out of the shower stall, until they bummed the cabinet.  He pinned her against it. 

“Why did you come into the bathroom?” Chris asked, getting serious for a minute.

“Because Justin said it would be funny.  He said you like to prank people.” Brandi explained.  Chris was kissing along her neck and he chuckled a little against her skin.

“I like to pull pranks on people not be the one that gets pranks pulled on them.”  Chris explained, but in reality the joke was on her now.  She was in there and was about to get more than she had bargained for.  He tugged at the button on her jeans and waited for her to protest but she never did, so he lifted her out of her jeans and up onto the counter.

He kissed her and familiarized himself with her body for a minute, stopping from time to time to watch the expression on her face.  He lived for that look of pure happiness that danced across a woman’s face in the heat of passion and he was already longing to get Brandi to that place.

Outside of the bathroom Katy was still on her mission to find her missing weaponry and it had finally led her back down to the basement.  She searched around the basement for a minute before Joey finally stopped her to ask her what she was doing.

“I am looking for my katana.” Katy explained.

“Don’t you think if it was down here, we would have already found it?” JC asked.

“Maybe you don’t know it’s down here, and this is the last place I would look for it.  So it would make sense to hide it down here.” Katy explained. 

“I am pretty sure if it was down here, we would know.  At least one of us has been in this room at all times.” JC said.  Katy put her hands on her hips and pouted a little, she really couldn’t find it and it was started to annoy her.  It wasn’t like she needed it any more but it was just driving her nuts that she couldn’t place it.

She sighed and decided that Justin could cheer her up so she headed for the recording booth.  When she stepped in the door Lance waved at her from the sound booth which caused Justin to turn around.  He smiled at her, seeing her still made his heart rate increase.  She took a seat next to him before realizing that someone was missing.

“Where is Brandi?  I thought she was down here watching you guys?” Katy asked.  Justin smiled and slid his hand onto her leg, under the table so that Lance couldn’t see what he was doing.

“She went to check on Chris.” Justin said.

“Oh okay, but where is Chris?  I have been all other this house and I didn’t see them.” Katy explained.

“Chris is taking a shower.” Justin said.  He couldn’t hide the sly smile on his face any more.  Katy jumped slightly as his hands slid closer to someplace that it probably shouldn’t be.  She was forced to retaliate; she kept her eye fixed on Lance though.  She didn’t want him to exit the booth without her knowledge and catch her doing something very bad to Justin.

            Justin hung his head to hide the expression on his face as she worked her magic on him.  He noted how nimble her hand was and how shift her movements were, it was like the night she attacked the TV all over again.

            “Stop or we are going to have a mess to clean up.” Justin begged.  He wasn’t about to try to explain that to the guys and the bathroom was a little occupied at the moment.  Katy just smiled and then proceeded to pretend like she dropped something.  His head snapped to attention, now he had to keep an eye on Lance and try to act normal.

            If it was her plan to drive him insane she was doing a pretty good job.  Thank goodness her torture didn’t last long; she climbed back into her chair and just grinned at him, placing a pen that she had found while she was down there on the table.

              “So why is Brandi in the bathroom with Chris?” Katy asked as if nothing had just happened.

            “Well I might have given her the idea that it would be funny to scare Chris.” Justin confessed.

            “Why would you do that?” Katy asked, slapping his arm.

            “What?  I didn’t tell her to do anything.  That is all on her.  I just said that the door wasn’t locked.” Justin said.  After all it’s not like he suggested to her that she take it further.  For his part he was innocent.

            “You know she has a thing for Chris, and a bathroom isn’t like a sound stage, it’s like a conductor.  So if they do what I think they might do, everyone is going to know.” Katy explained.

              “Oh yeah, I didn’t think about that part.  Maybe they can be quiet.” Justin said.  That’s when Lance exited the sound booth.  They both looked up at Lance and smiled.  He kind of got the vibe that he was missing something but he really didn’t want to know.

This wasn’t exactly how Brandi had envisioned things going, she was sure she had some naive fantasy about them doing everything perfectly, but she wasn’t complaining now as Chris leaned against her for support.  He breathing labored and his bad knee was killing him, but he didn’t complain. “You can finish your shower now” Brandi finally whispered in his ear.

  “Actually I was about done, when you so rudely interrupted.” Chris explained.  He grabbed a towel and proceeded to dry off what little moisture was left on him.  Brandi smiled and got the hair gel.  She ran her fingers though his wet hair, she really only did it just as an excuse to touch him again.  They redressed and prepared to exit the bathroom.

Brandi stepped out first, praying that on one was watching.  Once into the main room again Joey looked over at her and just smiled.  That was all it took, her cheek flushed red and she took off up the stairs with Katy in hot pursuit. 

Chris wanted to go after her and tell her that it was alright but he knew the chain wouldn’t let him get that far.  He turned and grabbed Justin by the arm, pulling him into the now vacant recording booth. 

“What the hell were you thinking, sending her in there?” Chris snapped.

“What, I thought it would be funny.” Justin said.

“This is not funny, it’s serious.  You always say that I date the wrong girls.  Why on earth would you send her in there, how is she any better than the girls that I normally date.  She kidnapped us for crying out loud.” Chris said getting in Justin’s face a little.

“Exactly, she seemed like your type.  Hell she is better than most of the girls you date because she is actually smart enough to pull something like this off.  The girls you date are retarded.  And it looked like you could use something to relieve your stress.” Justin said. 

“Stress?  Justin, we are hostages, we should be stressed.” Chris explained, and that is when it hit him.  He finally understood why Justin had sent her in there, and why Justin was being so nice to the crazy ninja girl.  Now he wondered just how much talking the two of them had actually done the other day in the sound booth.  “Justin Randal Timberlake, you didn’t do what I think you did, did you?” Chris asked.

“That is none of you business, just like what happened in the bathroom is none of mine.” Justin answered his arms folded across his chest now.  Chris stood there shocked for a minute, though Justin had a point.  It was none of his business and he had just done something equally as bad.

“But Justin that girl is nuts, you have to be careful with her.  I have dated girls like her before and I can tell you that they are nothing but trouble.  She keeps a sword in her bedroom for crying out loud.” Chris said, expressing a deep concern.  Justin laughed a little, he was pretty sure he had told Chris something similar once before.  The sad part was that he knew Katy was trouble and that just made him want her more.

“I’ll be careful, but you just banged her friend, so don’t think she won’t come after you too.  Please don’t say anything to the others; I know JC would freak out about it.  And I won’t say anything about you and Brandi.” Justin offered.

“Deal.” Chris said shaking Justin’s hand.  Chris knew he would have a harder time denying what he had done, but he wouldn’t rat Justin out.  “By the way, your fly is unzipped.” Chris added.

             Mandy stood there watching them for a minute; Katy had literally tackled Brandi onto the sofa and was trying to calm her down.  Mandy wasn’t sure exactly what had happened but she got the just of it from what the two of them were saying.  Of course Katy trying to convince someone that they didn’t do anything wrong is like a drug dealer telling you that you aren’t a drug addict.

              That’s when Mandy thought of a better solution; after all they needed Brandi to be comfortable and in the right frame of mind if any of this was going to work for them.  She headed down to the basement, where she found Chris and Joey playing cards.  Joey smiled right away when he saw her, he couldn’t help it that she made him happy.  Mandy approached Chris and waited for him to glance at her.

            “Can I trust you?” Mandy asked.

            “Is that a trick question?” Chris questioned, still focused on his game.

              “No, I don’t care what you and Brandi did or didn’t do in the bathroom, but we need Brandi mentally here to make this all work.  So if I unchain you will you go upstairs and talk to her?” Mandy asked.  That got his attention, now his eyes were fixed on her.

            “Of course.  I would have done it already but I wasn’t about to chew off my own hand.” Chris joked, flashing his tethered wrist at her.

            “Okay, I’ll unchain you but if you try to escape I will shoot you with the tazor gun myself and by talk to her I mean have a conversation, not whatever else to two of you do together.” Mandy explained.

            “Jesus, I am not a pervert.” Chris snapped.  He was appalled by her assumption.  He was pretty sure that he could control himself, tough he wasn’t sure what had caused him to cave in earlier.  It wasn’t like he had planned it the first time and he didn’t want to make a complicated situation even worse.  Mandy smiled and proceeded to unlock Chris’s chain.  She let him lead the way as they headed back up the stairs.

            When they entered the living room they found Brandi and Katy in the middle of a friendly hug.  It wasn’t clear what had transpired between them while Mandy was away but apparently the rough and tumble session had ended and they had made amends.

              “Not sure what you need me for, I think you two make a cute couple.” Chris joked.  His arms folded neatly across his chest.  His gazed fixed on the two of them.  Brandi looked at him in awe and quickly shoved Katy away from their hug, realizing that it probably didn’t look kosher.    “Can we talk, in private?” Chris asked.  Brandi just nodded and motioned for him to follow her.  She felt her heart rate increase as she led him up to her bedroom, even though her intentions were pure.

            Mandy smiled, she was pleased with her good deed for the day so as her own reward she headed back to the basement, and after all it seemed Joey needed a new opponent for his card game.  Katy headed outside, still on her mission to find her missing stuff, and she hadn’t check out side yet, though she really hoped they weren’t out there.

              When they got to the bedroom Brandi sat down on her bed and faced Chris.  Chris leaned up against a nearby wall, trying to avoid the bed at this point and the temptations it might cause.  Though he respected and cared about Brandi from now on that temptation would always be there.  She looking up at him with her loving blue eyes and Chris felt his heart melt.

            “So what do you want to talk about?” Brandi asked trying to play dumb, deep down she knew what this was all about. She was having a hard time looking at him, but she forced her gaze in his direction.

            “Well you took off like a bat out of hell earlier and I just wanted to make sure that you were alright.” Chris explained.

              “I just got embarrassed, that’s all.” Brandi said, a little ashamed.  It wasn’t like her to get embarrassed so she wasn’t sure what really happened.  Maybe the whole situation had just been too much for her, after all she had been dreaming about Chris for year.

            “You don’t have to worry, Joey is just a dick.  He didn’t hear anything he was only assuming that something happened and he just smiled at you just to fuck with you.  And I am not going to tell anyone exactly what went on in there.” Chris offered, trying to make her feel better.  But it was the truth, Chris didn’t kiss and tell.

            “What you guys don’t talk about your sexual conquests?” Brandi joked.

            “No, we don’t generally.  I mean I really don’t want to hear about Lance and his boyfriends or Justin and his Hollywood sluts.” Chris said with a laugh.

              “Oh I bet Justin has some good stories, didn’t he date Janet Jackson?” Brandi said.

            “Well there are just some things about some people that you are just better off not knowing.  Besides Justin is young he can afford to do stupid stuff like that.” Chris explained.

            “But I am young?  So what does that make you just one of those ‘stupid things’?” Brandi asked.  Chris cringed a little that was not all what he had meant to say or imply.

             “I am convinced that guys mature slower than women.  Justin is a great guy and one day he will find a great woman that will help he realize that there is more to love than just sex.  Me on the other hand I am an old fart that already knows all that crap.  I don’t normally do this kind of stuff.”  Chris explained.

            “What get kidnapped and then seduced in a bathroom?” Brandi joked.  She could tell that Chris was struggling to find his words, though she couldn’t tell if it was nerves or if he was trying to lie to her. 

           “Well the being kidnapped is a new experience for me, but I have to say it does seem to have some perks.  What I meant was I don’t have meaningless sex with random women.” Chris said.  Brandi laughed, trying to hide the fact that the wheels were really turning inside her head.  She couldn’t help but think how cute he looked standing there addressing her.

              “Is that what this was to you, just meaningless sex?” Brandi replied.  Chris snapped to attention and looked at her nervously.

              “No, that is not what I am trying to say at all.  Honestly, it’s not like that.   Women are nothing but trouble.  I only go for the ones that I have feelings for.” He said.  He looked down at her as he said that last part and Brandi felt like she was about to burst, had he really just said that.  “I don’t want you to think that I am just one of ‘those guys’, we have had conversations and yeah I have only know you for a few days, but Justin always said that I fall in love too fast.”  Brandi stared at him for a moment; if she hadn’t been blinking Chris might have thought she was frozen in place.

            “Love?  And I am not so sure that any one should listen to what Justin says.  He gives out bad advice.” Brandi finally breathed.  She couldn’t wrap her mind around what Chris was trying to say anymore, her trust issues bubbling up inside of her.

            “Well maybe not love yet, but you said that you wanted me to like you and I can tell you that much is certain.  And as for Justin, his heart is in the right place but sometimes I wonder where that boys mind is.” Chris said, after all he didn’t want to freak her out with the ‘L’ word just yet.  “Also, I don’t think that we should do what we did a little bit ago again for awhile, but I would just like to see where this goes.”  He motioned for her to come to him.

            Brandi got up and walked over to him; he pulled her in close and held her there for a minute.  He kissed her on the fore head before releasing her, but she stayed near to him.  She was still reeling from what he had said, was this really happening?  Was she really about to start seeing Chris Kirkpatrick.  She laughed at the thought of it all which made Chris shoot her a concerned look.

            “Can you really call it dating someone, if you abducted them?” Brandi asked.  Chris laughed and held her tight.  This was a pretty insane situation, though technically her crazy friend had abducted him not her.  He wanted to reassure her of his feeling for her so he tilted her chin up and kissed her, trying to keep it as tame as he could, not wanting the fact that they were alone to tempt him into to taking it any further with her again.

              “We should go back to the other before someone starts more rumors about us.  I think Mandy already thinks that I am a sex addict.” Chris suggested, not that it bothered him after all Brandi was young and very pretty.  He wasn’t sure that he could do better at his age but he thought in his mind that she could do much better than him.  He hoped to god that she wouldn’t realize that at least for awhile longer.

             Joey watched her face for awhile as she looked at her hand.   He could tell that she had no interest in the card game and was simply trying to play just to please him.  It was sweet of her to come keep him company after stealing away his last opponent.

              “You know we don’t have to play cards, if you don’t want too.” Joey finally said.  Mandy looked up at him and smiled; she was really trying to figure this game out.

              “I don’t want you to be bored, since Katy killed the TV and all.” Mandy explained.

            “We can just sit here and talk.” Joey suggested.  Mandy looked at him blankly, what on earth did the two of them have to talk about?  It was like they were from two different planets.  When she froze and didn’t answer, Joey set his cards down on the table and moved to be beside her on the sofa.  She reluctantly set her hand down as well and turned toward him.

              Joey had hoped Mandy would start the conversation off, but when she said nothing he started to ponder what to say first.  There really wasn’t much going on in his life right now accept Kelly and the girls, but he assumed Mandy didn’t want to hear about that.

            “So tell me about this music video?” Joey asked, when he couldn’t think of anything else.

            “We went over the lyrics last night, the four of us, and we came up with some great ideas.  We might start shooting it soon; after all we don’t want to keep you guys here too long.” Mandy answered.  It stung a little to think that they might all be leaving soon; Mandy thought she could stay here like this forever.  But eventually someone could find out and ruin it.

            “I am not going to lie I was totally freaked out at first, but you know it’s been nice to get away for awhile.” Joey said.  He looked down and was picking at his finger nails.

              “Yeah well next time I recommend a vacation to a kidnapping as a form of escape.” Mandy laughed.  Joey laughed too.  His laugher was so warm; it made Mandy’s eyes close.  Joey looked over at her, she seemed so at peace.  That is when he leaned in to kiss her.  Her eyes opened as he approached her and she turned her head suddenly, letting the kiss fall on her cheek instead.  Joey snapped back when he realized what he had just done.

            “I am sorry I shouldn’t have.” He rattled off nervously.

              “It’s alright; I shouldn’t have done what I did to you in the club.  I am a flirt and it just sort of happened, of course Katy was encouraging me which didn’t help.”Mandy said, that guilty feeling suddenly returning.  Okay so maybe talking with Joey was a bad idea, they should have stuck with just playing cards.   “Joey we can’t…” Mandy started to say, but she turned and became lost in his big brown eyes.

            “Yeah I know.  I just can’t help but become enamored with you and your innocence.” Joey said.  He played with his wedding band and secretly hoped Mandy hadn’t seen him do it.  “We can be friends though, right?” Joey questioned.

            “Sure, I have a lot of hot guy friends.” Mandy said with a smile.  She was laughing on the inside that Joey had just called her innocent, after all she had kidnapped him.  She was just glad that Joey wasn’t mad at her and made a mental note to try to watch how much she flirted with him from now on.  She just wanted to be close to him.  “So as my new friend, you care to show me what in the hell I was doing wrong here?” She added picking her hand back up and showing it to him.  This just was not her game.

              Joey laughed and slid a little closer to her, he carefully went over her hand with her and showed her where she had gone wrong, all the while trying hard not to touch her in a way that a friend wouldn’t. 

Mandy had just adjusted to Joey’s closeness when Lance reappeared from the recording booth.  She sighed inward, almost glad to see Lance.  Surely she wouldn’t be tempted with him around.  Lance joined them around the table and questioned them about what they were doing.  Mandy suddenly remembered why they were all here in the first place.  She got up and casually patted Joey on the knee before excusing herself, as she headed for the recording studio.  She thought that she should check on Justin and JC to make sure that they weren’t up to something.

Upon entering JC didn’t even look up at her, but Justin gave her a friendly wave from the sound proof room, where he was trying to re do a few lines.  Mandy slipped in beside JC and looked over at what he was doing, which wasn’t much.  It wasn’t hard to pick up on JC’s demeanor. 

Mandy began to try to start up a conversation with JC, which was harder than it should have been in her opinion.  He kept giving her short answers and he wouldn’t even look at her.  Mandy started to play with the sliders on the mixer out of sheer boredom. 

“Stop doing that.” JC stated, it wasn’t that she was hurting anything, her movement were just annoying him.  He just wanted to get this all done so that he could go home and just forget any of this had ever happened. 

“So why don’t you like Kim?” Mandy finally asked, her curiosity getting the best of her at this point.

“She’s bossy and she just knit picks everything that I do.” JC sighed, without looking over at her.  There was a hint of something in his voice that Mandy couldn’t place.  She took a chance and pulled something out of her back pocket, she had been carrying it around in case Kim had another melt down.  She tossed the photo onto the laptop in front of JC and waited for a reaction.

“What the hell is this?” JC asked lift the photo to get a better look at it in the dimly lit room. 

“That is one of the photos that Katy took while you and Kim were passed out.  You can keep it if you want.” Mandy offered.  She watched at JC’s features softened slightly.  There it was.  He couldn’t deny it.  He liked what he saw in the photograph.  JC shook his head suddenly as if to shake a thought he was having.

“Excellent, now I have something to show to the police.” JC said, trying to let on too much.  It wasn’t that he had a problem with his crush on Kim, but she clearly didn’t feel the same way about him and he was talking to her good friend.

“I think you just don’t get along because you are so much alike.” Mandy said trying to repeat what she had told Kim earlier. 

“I am not like that.” JC answered.  He kind of felt offended.

“Are you sure about that? You are kind of being snippy to me right now.” Mandy replied.  JC looked over at her; there was something in his eyes, like he wasn’t telling her everything.  “I am guessing that you are not so good at poker either.” Mandy added, recalling how Joey had just kicked her butt and claimed that she had a pretty good ‘tell’ when she was bluffing.  JC just looked at her confused; He couldn’t understand what a card game had to do with anything that they were talking about. 

“You like her don’t you.” Mandy questioned.  JC turned to her suddenly; try not to act surprised by her question. 

“I am not admitting to anything; accept that I want to go home.” JC replied, but it was alright Mandy didn’t need a confession at this point.  She was pretty sure that they were both just fighting with their feelings for each other but maybe in time and with a little help they could both cave in and find happiness.

Brandi and Chris were now in the kitchen helping Kim fix dinner.  Chris glanced at the front door and he felt a guilty feeling wash over him.  Since their talk Brandi hadn’t tried to restrain him, but she was keeping an eye on him just in case.  She wanted to him feel like she trusted him, she even wanted to trust him, but she knew she couldn’t let him leave under any circumstance. 

She saw him looking toward the door, but he didn’t move toward it so she let it slide after all there was not harm in thinking about something.  He turned back to them and aided Brandi with the salad without giving the door another thought.  Once they were done Chris delivered the food to the guys himself while Brandi remained upstairs, still unable to face the guys yet.

Chris didn’t fight when Mandy chained him again, after all just because Brandi trusted him it didn’t mean the others had to.  By now it was getting late and they needed to secure the guys for the night any way.

             The next day the sun was up but Katy not so much on her way the check on the guys in the basement, she tripped coming down the stairs.  There were a series of thuds as Katy went tumbling down, abruptly stopping when she collided with the wall at the end of the steps.   The accident sent a tiny hand held video camera sliding across the floor; it stopped at Kim’s feet.

              Kim glared at her for a minute, having just delivered breakfast to the guys.  She had on her way back upstairs, but as luck would have it she hadn’t made it that far otherwise she would have been lying in heap at the bottom of the stairs with her friend.  Kim reached down and picked up the camera, checking to for any damage before addressing her friend.

            “You idiot, you could have broken this thing.” Kim snapped, but the camera appeared to be fine.  Katy allowed herself to tumble down the last few steps leading down from the landing and laid sprawled out on the floor for a minute.

            “I think I broke myself instead.  I appreciate your concern.” Katy moaned.  Chris and Lance chuckled in the back ground.  She could see Kim standing over her now.  Kim wasn’t sure if she should help her or laugh at her.

              “So, um… what happened?” Kim asked after suppressing her need to berate her friend.  After all it seemed that she had already taken a beating.  Katy sat up and looked back up the stairs in awe, her body still aching slightly.

            “I tripped.” Katy stated, though she couldn’t be sure what she had tripped on if she had even tripped on anything.  She could have just stumbled in her excitement to see the guys, she couldn’t be sure.

              “So are you alright or do we need to take you the ER?” Kim asked.

            “Maybe she knocked some sense into herself.” Chris offered.

            “That is highly unlikely.” Katy said raising an eye brow at Chris.  In her mind there was nothing wrong with the way she behaved so why on earth would she ever change?  “I think I am fine, I may have just bruised my ego.” Katy answered.  She reached her hand out for Kim to give her the camcorder.

             “Just promise me you won’t break this, we don’t have time to go and replace it.” Kim lectured, placing the small device into Katy’s hand.  Katy smiled and began to set the camera up.

            “Yeah well I can’t get any closer to the ground than I am currently.” Katy joked.  Kim just rolled her eyes and heading up the steps slowly.  After all the only more embarrassing than falling down the steps, is falling up them.

              Justin rested the urge to run and assist his fallen angle, after all he didn’t want to guys to think that he was totally smitten by her.  Instead he just sat there and watched her get the video camera ready.  Katy didn’t say anything for a few minutes as she played with the features on the camera.

            “Nice thong by the way.” JC stated.   The silence was kind of getting to him.  The guys still weren’t comfortable enough to speak freely to one other in front of the girls, so he felt the need to address her instead and if he could embarrass her that was all the more enjoyable for him.  Katy looked at him a little confused, then quickly moved to make sure her skirt was pulled down.  It was, but Justin didn’t have the heart to tell her that the whole room had seen her underwear as she made her rolled the steps. 

           “Thanks, I color coordinated them especially for you.” Katy lied.  JC watched in amazement as the girl seemed mostly unfazed by his comment.  Okay so maybe wearing a skirt most the time had its risks but it wasn’t like they weren’t all adults here.  It wasn’t the first time any of them had seen a thong.  She smiled at JC and winked playfully, which caused him to turn away from her suddenly.

            “So what’s with the video camera?” Justin asked, trying to move on from the topic of her underwear to something that was a little less distracting for him.  Katy turned her smile toward him.  She leaped up off the floor and stumbled toward Justin as the heel of her boot snapped, likely damaged in her fall.  Katy supported herself against the sofa as she checked the damage, curse under her breath as she realized that it was unlikely that she could fix it.

            “Today is just not your day, princess.” Lance signed.    He kind of felt bad for her, it seemed like nothing could ever get her down.  She climbed on to Justin’s lap, weather he wanted her there or not, after all the guys half expected it by now.  Her crush on the pop star was no secret.

            “This is the camera for the music video, I thought I could get some practice with it today while you guys work on finishing up the song.” Katy finally answered.  Justin nodded to let her know that he understood, though he had little interest in her answer as he looked over her broke boot and checked for any other damage that she might have missed.  He wouldn’t put it past her to break her leg or something and just not tell anyone.  But she appeared to be otherwise fine, just a few scraps.

              “I thought maybe you were here to make a ransom tape.” JC suggested.  She looked at him and tilted her head to the side before laughing.  “Why is that so funny?” He added.

            “Because this isn’t about the money, it never has been.  Not sure why you can’t understand that?” Katy asked.  After all if had been about money the girls would have taken the cash in their wallets when they searched them for their cell phones, but they didn’t.  And god knows Brandi and Kim could have taken stuff from their homes, but they didn’t.

              “What is this really about then, or is it just about making a stupid music video?” Chris asked.  After what had happened yesterday with Brandi he was starting to wonder if the girls had atelier motives.  Katy knew that it wasn’t just about making a music video, but she wasn’t about to explain to the guys.  It was something that they needed to figure out on their own.

              “It’s not a stupid music video; it’s going to be the greatest ‘N Sync video ever!” Katy yelled.  Katy turned the camera on and flipped to around so that she could film her and Justin as she playfully kissed him on the cheek.

            “Yes, because that doesn’t make you look like you have other reasons for abducting us at all.” JC pointed out and Katy just stuck her tongue out at him.

            “Hey weren’t you the one that lectured me about keeping a journal?” Mandy asked.  Katy jumped a little; she hadn’t heard Mandy come down the steps.  “Somehow I think filming the prisoners is way worse than just writing about my day.” 

           “It’s not like that, with my brilliant videographer skills you won’t notice that they are chained at all, I promise.  Plus I will edit it and delete the evidence.” Katy replied. 

           “Yeah, well I have seen the crime dramas and they can recover that stuff.” Mandy said.  Katy just shook her head; they needed this footage for the video maybe so Mandy was just being paranoid.  “So I got the music, we can start putting it together and if my friend needs to re-do anything just let me know.” Mandy added, holding up a flash drive.

            “Excellent.” Chris said then he and JC followed her into the recording studio.

              “You want to go with them don’t you?  I can see it in your eyes.” Katy said looking at Justin.  He just sighed and nodded, he did want to go see what the music sounded like, but he felt guilty about leaving her.  His stomach churned slightly even though he wasn’t going that far.  What on earth was this girl doing to him?

            Katy smiled and climbed off of him.  She went over to where Lance was on the sofa, after all Lance had been a huge help during the photo shoot with Kim and JC.  They began to talk about the video right away.  Justin got up and was about to disappear into the other room when he stopped and paused.  He watched her smile and laugh with Lance.  It made him wonder if she was even still thinking about him at all, was it really that easy for her to move on from him?  He shook the thought from his head and entered the room, making sure to close the door behind him. 

              Once the digital music files were transferred Mandy got up and let JC take a seat, after all he knew more about setting up the rest of it than she did.  Mandy was standing behind JC watching him.  She jumped when she felt some one’s hand on her back; a million things were running through her mind in the seconds that followed.  The touch was gentle not offensive, but completely out of nowhere, and whose hand was it?

            Justin took a seat beside JC, which meant that the hand could only belong to Chris.  Mandy slowly turned to meet his eyes; there was an innocence to his expression, as his hand remained in light contact with her.  It was making her nervous though, Brandi would kill her if she thought there was anything between them.  He motioned to the other room with his eyes before speaking.

              “Hey Mandy, can I talk to you for a second?” He asked.  Mandy just swallowed hard and nodded then let Chris guide her away from the others with him hand still close to her.  Once inside the other room Chris shut the door behind them sealing from off from JC and Justin.  Justin watched carefully as they disappeared.

            “What is up with those two, I thought Chris wanted Brandi?” Justin asked.  JC looked up from the laptop though the window at Chris and Mandy.  There was nothing about their body langue that indicated anything of a romantic nature.  Chris did seem nervous, but that could be related to any number of things.

            “You know J; two people of opposite genders can actually just have a conversation that has nothing to do with sex.” JC explained.

                “Right, I know.  I am just saying what could the two of them possibly have to talk about that they couldn’t talk about in front of us?” Justin asked.  JC thought about it for a minute but he didn’t have an answer and he really didn’t care.  He just wanted to get this song done so they could all leave.

            Mandy took a seat on the stool facing Chris and waited for him to say whatever it was that he wanted to say, it made her nervous.  She wasn’t sure what to expect from the guys any more.  There hadn’t been any escape attempts lately and it wasn’t clear if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

            “I wanted to ask you for a favor, but I just couldn’t in front of the guys.  I am not sure how they would take it.” Chris said.  Mandy nodded to him.  “I would like to have dinner alone with Brandi tonight, if that is even possible.” 

           “Oh, like a date?” Mandy asked, not even trying to hide the smile on her face.

               “Yes, like a date.  I think I owe her that much.  You know a chance to get to know the real me.” Chris explained.  Mandy thought for a minute.

            “How do I know this isn’t some kind of trap and you won’t drug Brandi or something, and then try to run off?”  Mandy asked, after all Chris had tried stuff before.  Chris had expected her to question his motives but he didn’t have an answer for her, other than giving her his word.

              “I’ll have to run to across the others and see what they say.  I want to help you and I think Brandi would enjoy it, but we’ll see.” Mandy said.  She got up and headed for the door, pausing to look back at Chris, making sure that there wasn’t anything else that he wanted to ask her.  His stomach was in knots and it felt like High School all over again, but he finally followed her out of the room only to be met with Justin’s concerned expression.

            Chris chose to ignore Justin and got to work, helping JC match the music and the lyrics, once the guys were under way Mandy excused herself from the room.  She hoped they wouldn’t get into too much trouble while she went to process Chris’s request.  After all it was a sweet gesture.

             She stopped to collect Katy.  Katy and Lance were giggling.  They stopped once they realized that Mandy was now standing over them.

            “Dare I even ask what you two are up to?” Mandy questioned putting her hands on her hips as she waited for a response from them.  Lance and Katy exchanged a series of glances before Lance finally spoke.

            “We are just brain storming for the music video.  We have some great ideas.”  Lance explained.  Mandy raised her eye brow at the pair, she didn’t know much about Lance but if Katy was involved then it meant trouble for someone, she secretly hoped that it just wouldn’t be her this time. 

           “Well I need to borrow Katy for a minute.  I promise you can have her back when we are done, since well you are really the only one around here that wants her.” Mandy joked.  Katy just smiled; she knew her friend wasn’t serious, everyone didn’t really hate her.  They needed her, if nothing else for their entertainment.  Lance pouted a little as Mandy pulled Katy away.  He didn’t want to stop their creative session, but whatever Mandy wanted seemed important.

            Mandy called a group meeting, it was the first that they had in awhile, and maybe it was past due as it was.  The four of them gather around the dining room table.  Kim sat nervously playing with the table cloth not really sure what they were there to talk about.

              “We need to talk about how we are going to shoot the video, I am not sure we can trust the guys to all roam free.  Also Chris asked me for a favor.”  Mandy said opening up the conversation, trying to make it seem as if Chris’s request was not the only reason for the meeting.

              “We will have to film the guys one at a time, with 2 or more of us present and armed.  Just in case they try anything.  What did Chris want?” Brandi explained.  She was curious as to why Chris would approach Mandy with a request and not her.  Mandy smiled at Brandi, she was a little jealous of her in that moment.  She wished some ne would ask her out on a date.

            “Chris wanted to know if he and you could have dinner alone tonight.  He seemed sincere.  I think he really likes you.” Mandy explained.  Brandi blushed a little, but secretly she too questioned his motives.  “I was thinking I could prepare the food and serve you guys, and then we could head upstairs.  As long as Chris can’t poison the food and you are armed.  I don’t see a problem with it.” Mandy added.

            “That could work, but why does he want to have dinner alone with me?” Brandi asked.

              “Awe, it’s a date.” Katy sighed, which caused Brandi to shoot her a dirty look.  Calling it a date just seemed wrong to Brandi, it was just an odd situation.              “He said something about you getting to know the real him, or something like that.  I think it’s sweet.” Mandy answered.  She realized that she was repeating herself a little, but it really was sweet to her.

            “I don’t know guys it sounds really shady to me.” Kim interjected but Brandi was thinking the same thing.  Katy looked at Kim and studied her for a minute.  Kim’s eyes were fixed on Mandy so she didn’t see it when Katy smiled, that evil grin of hers.  There was a twinkle in her eye and Mandy didn’t think it had anything to do with Brandi’s date.  But Mandy didn’t say anything about it as she turned back to Kim and her question.

            “I think we can make it work, that is if Brandi even wants to do it.  I mean we won’t make you do anything that you are not comfortable with.” Mandy offered.  Brandi thought so a second.  She could feel her heart skip a beat at the mere mention of his name, but did she really want to go on this date with him?  Was she setting herself up for failure once again?  It wasn’t like she could keep him once this was all over.  Brandi dropped her head to the table and cursed herself on the inside.

            The others sat there and gave Brandi a minute to get it together again.  After all they didn’t want to force the subject.  Mandy was taking the time to try to figure out what Katy was up to.

            “So you and Lance were working on video ideas?” Mandy asked.  Katy smiled and nodded, glancing at Kim from time to time.

            “Oh my gosh, Lance is a genius.  So we were thinking about just filming random scene of the guys individually, like maybe by the fire, or in the woods, I think there is a beach nearby, romantic stuff like that.  But we think there should be one main love scene with one of the guys and a girl.”  Katy rambled off.

            “A love scene huh?  Well you and Justin would be the obvious choice.” Brandi responded.  The group wasn’t sure if Justin would go for it but they knew Katy would be on board.  But Katy just shook her head.

            “I thought you guys wanted to make this video different from the others, Justin always gets the love scenes.  Not that I wouldn’t do it mind you, hell I might just do that away for my personal enjoyment.” Katy said getting a little side track from the point that she was trying to make.  She quivered slightly at the thought of Justin’s soft lips.

            “So did you have something else in mind then?” Kim asked.

            “Of course I do.  I was thinking Chris and Brandi or I could try to tackle JC.  I think we could make that work.” Katy suggested.  Brandi imminently began to shake her head.  There was no way she was going to make out with Chris just so they could film it.  “Fine, I will make out with Chris too.” Katy joked gesturing with her hands as she spoke.  Brandi just rolled her eyes; the scary part of all this was Katy was being serious.  Katy had no shame which made her the perfect girl for the music video.  But it was pretty clear that all the guys were afraid of her.

            Kim fell quite for awhile which was very unlike her.  Mandy made note of Kim’s sudden change in mood.  Was the thought of Katy kissing JC really bothering her that much?  Katy was all smiles now, it wasn’t clear to Mandy if it was the thought of having a make out session with a really hot guy or Kim’s reaction to her suggestions.

            “Yeah well, you can give JC the good news.  I am sure he will be thrilled.” Kim finally snapped.  She proceeded to pout as the girls moved on with their meeting.  Of course Katy was going to tell JC and she hoped his reaction would be more entertaining for her than Kim’s was.

              “So Brandi, are you going to turn Chris down or what?” Katy asked.  Brandi still wasn’t sure, but it might crush Chris if she turned him down, at least it she went on the date he would still be upbeat and they could get a lot more done without him moping around. 

           “Sure, what time is this date?” Brandi responded.  Mandy grinned but she and Chris had not discussed a time.  If they did it late, then the girls could just go to bed and they could have to whole first floor to themselves.  Mandy shook a bad thought from her head before answering, after all Brandi was an adult and could make her own choices.  But the girls would give them their space. 

           “How about 8pm?  Then you can lock up when your date is over.” Mandy offered.  Brandi just nodded; her insides were killing her now.  These were feelings that she wasn’t used to and it scared her more than anything.
 

             Following their little meeting all the girls headed down stairs to see how the song was coming and to get started on the next phase.  Brandi and Kim darted down the steps in their excitement to hear the song so they didn’t even notice that Mandy detained Katy for a minute.

            “You are either an idiot or a genius, I am not sure which.” Mandy snapped, grasping her friend’s arm tightly.  Katy studied her before speaking, she couldn’t be sure what Mandy was talking about but she thought it was pretty smart.

            “I am fucking brilliant.  Why what did I do now?” Katy questioned getting serious for a minute.

              “You knew Kim would either freak out or shut down when you said you would make out with JC.  You know she likes him and that is why you took those stupid photos yesterday.  Isn’t it?” Mandy asked.  Katy smiled, alright so she didn’t know for sure but she had a pretty good idea.  Kim wasn’t the easiest person to read in the world but her pranks couldn’t hurt anyone.  It wasn’t her fault that Kim and JC had made themselves such huge targets for her.

            “Okay, so you figured me out.  What are you going to do about it?” Katy asked.

            “Absolutely nothing, just don’t screw up this time.” Mandy said and returned Katy’s smile before heading down stairs.

              “You know once I get done with this, I think I might have to start targeting you and Joey.” Katy commented under her breath.

            “No don’t you even think about it, there is nothing between Joey and me.” Mandy snapped.

            “What about us?” Joey asked.  Mandy blushed, she didn’t realize that she had said that last part so loud or that Joey was standing next to her.  Of course Katy had seen him there and like a cat with a wounded mouse, Katy didn’t miss a beat.

            “You two are fixing dinner tonight.” Katy stated.  She playfully patted Joey on the arm.  Mandy began to protest when Katy stopped her.  “Hello, have you tasted your cooking lately?  It doesn’t look like Joey has missed a meal, he can help you.” Katy could help but make faces as she talked, as if to drive her point home.

            “I am a pretty good cook.” Joey stated, trying to ignore that Katy had just called him fat.  Secretly he just wanted to spend time with Mandy as her friend.  Mandy mouthed the words ‘I hate you’ to Katy before turning to Joey.  He smiled at her and Mandy felt herself melt, she was trying so hard to be a good girl.

              “So what exactly are you and the Italian Stallion going to fix for dinner?” Katy asked.  Joey just rolled his eyes and Mandy just shot her a look that told her to shut up and go away.  Katy just smiled and moved on after all she had other people to piss off.

            She took a minute to consider Justin’s reaction to what she was about to say and possibly do, which shocked her.  It wasn’t like her to care.  Surely he would know that it was just a trap.  That is when he and JC came out of the sound booth.

              “I think the song it done.” JC stated, but he didn’t seem too pleased.

              “Is is awesome?  Can we hear it now?” Mandy asked.

            “It’s not awesome but it will do.” JC said, his arms neatly folded across his chest.

            “No, it has to be awesome.  Just okay will not do damn it.  Get your ass back in there and make it perfect.” Brandi snapped.  JC kind of took a step back from the force of her words.  Brandi even had to pause for a minute she hadn’t meant for it to come out like that, it just have just been the stress of everything finally getting to her.

            “Well your boyfriend is still in there, maybe he can work some magic, but I am done with it.” JC retorted.  He knew they wouldn’t force him to work on it as long as someone was still trying.

            “He’s not my boyfriend.” Brandi snapped.  After all it was just their first date, that didn’t make him her boyfriend yet.  Of course if did help her prove her point that she stormed off to join Chris in the sound stage.  She left the door open though so that she could hear it when Katy told JC about his next project.  His rudeness was getting annoying, so yeah maybe he had this coming.

            “Is there a reason that you are all done here?” JC asked, taking a seat on one of the empty chairs.  The girls just exchanged glances and Mandy nodded for Katy to proceed with her stupid plan.

             “We thought we should get started on the video, since you are done and all.” Mandy responded.

            “Bring it on, let’s get this over with.”  JC offered, he was ready for just about anything as long as it would get him out of here, except for of course what came next.  Katy rushed over and jumped on his lap.  Justin watched in shock, as he was usually the one she went for.  She playfully gave him a wink to try to put him at ease.  “What the hell, get off me!” JC snapped.

            Justin felt something inside of his break slightly, but he forced himself to remain where he was.  He had a feeling that she was up to something but he didn’t have to like seeing her with another man.  If the filmed it for the video there was no way he could handle that.

            “Great news JC, you and I are doing the love scene, so like we should practice.” Katy said with a grin.  JC quickly dumped her off his lap and onto the floor.  He was after all stronger than he looked.  Katy sat there for a minute and pouted.  Justin wasn’t sure if he should help her up or not.  He didn’t know what was going on.

            “No way in hell I am doing that with you.” JC answered and got up so that she couldn’t sit on him again.  “Just maul Justin like you usually do.” He offered.  JC gave Justin an apologetic look; after all he wouldn’t wish that girl on any one.

            “No we voted and Justin lost because he gets the big parts on all you guys’ videos.  This one has to be different.” Katy explained as she got to her feet.  She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.  “What can I say you’re popular.” She added.

            “Get off me, I am not doing it and you can’t make me.  You are insane.” JC said trying to shove her away again but she had a pretty good grip on him this time.  Katy took a minute to glance in Kim’s direction.  She was fuming now.  JC struggled to get free and Justin finally took pity on him, plus it was getting painful for him to watch so he helped pry her off him.   Justin stood there a minute with his arms gently around her waist as she playfully fought him.  Justin knew that she didn’t really want JC, there was no way he could hold her back if she did.  But it was still upsetting to think that she might actually do it.

            “Why are you guys just watching them, help me!” Katy snapped.  She was more surprised that her friends had not come to her aide and were letting the boys bully her.

              “You can get him later, when we’re ready to film it.” Brandi said coming back into the room with Chris close behind her.

            “No way, you will have to drug me first.” JC snapped.

             “That can be arranged.” Brandi responded pulling her gun out to show him.

            “You are all nuts.  But she is on a whole other level.  I would make out with anyone else in this room, including Lance before I would even touch her.”  JC explained pointing his figure at Katy as he spoke.  If Katy even remotely cared she might have been hurt by what he was saying.

            “Really?  You and Lance? That would be so hot.” Katy beamed as her thoughts drifted to a place that no one else dare to go.  Lance protested, before JC even had a chance.  Not that JC wasn’t an attractive man but it would after all be really awkward for the two of them to work together after something that.

            “Relax Lance; no one here really wants to see that, besides Katy of course.  And I am not doing it because apparently I have a boyfriend.” Brandi stated trying to throw JC’s earlier comment back in his face.  JC turned to Mandy and Kim now to save him from his horrible fate.  Kim’s expression softened slightly and her heart fluttered as he looked at her with such hope in his eyes, unlike before when he only had contempt for her.

            “You two can flip for it.” Brandi offered, after all she had her coins with her, but the question now was who did she want to win?

              “I am not doing it.” Mandy snapped, she could feel Joey beside her, if she was going to make out with anyone it would be him, sin or not.

            “I am not kissing him; just so you can fucking film it!” Kim said, trying to sound madder than she actually was.  The truth was she didn’t want to see any one kiss JC but her, but she didn’t want it to be filmed.  She wasn’t the super model type girl that people might expect for a music video.  In her mind she wasn’t even pretty enough for JC. 

           “Well it’s either one of you or Katy.”  Brandi said. 

           “Hey why don’t you and Chris do it, you guys actually like each other.” JC pointed out, but the girls had already been over this, and if Brandi said no then the answer was no. 

           “Because I said no and aside from Katy I don’t think the other two have the fight in them to make me.” Brandi said proudly.  And if Katy had wanted to fight her about it there was only a small chance at best that even she would win against Brandi.   JC looked back at Mandy and Kim as if to verify that what Brandi had said was true.  Mandy just nodded to him, she knew she couldn’t take on Brandi and win, plus she wanted Kim to do it.

            Mandy groaned and thought about it.  She didn’t want to hurt Joey but there was a 50/50 chance that Kim would have to do it.  She wasn’t much of a gambler but this conversation was going nowhere any way. 

           “Fine, I’ll do it.” Mandy said.

            “You will?” Joey and JC said at the same time.  Mandy suddenly realized what she had said. 

           “No I meant that I would do the coin toss.  I am not agreeing to do the love scene unless I lose fair and square.” Mandy corrected.  Joey exhaled and relaxed a little.  He knew that he couldn’t have her but he didn’t want JC to get her either. 

           “Fine I’ll do the coin thing too.” Kim agreed.  She didn’t want Mandy to kiss JC and maybe she could do it, as long as JC thought that is was just for the video.  It might be nice, she might actually enjoy it.  Kim let a smile slip as the thought about it. 

           Brandi smiled and told Mandy to call it then proceeded to pull out the coin of her choice.  Katy smiled as she watched, she didn’t care who won, but she was hopeful that Brandi was thinking the same thing that she was.  Katy was probably the only other one in the room that knew about Brandi’s coin trick. 

             Katy felt Justin hand still against her stomach.  She hoped he understood what she had done and maybe she could get him alone later to talk about it.  She let her hand rest on top of his and it relaxed her so much that she missed to coin toss completely.  It wasn’t until she heard Mandy squeal that she realized that Kim had lost the coin toss and therefore now had to do the love scene with JC. 

             JC’s face read a mixture of relief and concern as did Kim’s.  Katy thought to herself that to two of them really were prefect for each other.  But she didn’t want to be left out so she made a pouty face.  She felt Justin lean in close to her ear.

            “That’s alright babe, it just means that you are stuck with me now.” He whispered softly.  She flashed him a smile as if to say that she was happy with that, hell she preferred him to anyone else in the world right now.

            “So I guess should get back to my original assignment t as director.  Hey lover boy, you make any progress on the song?  Can I hear it?” Katy asked looking at Chris.  Chris blushed a little; Brandi had confirmed with him that their date was in fact on for tonight.  But he couldn’t help but notice that she seemed a little unsure about it.

              “Yeah I think we pretty much got it, I might suggest a few little changes with the music, but you can listen to it if you want.  It might help you with the video shoot.” Chris offered.  Katy smiled and before Justin could stop her she dart past everyone and into the recording studio.

              “I’ll help her.” Justin stated and took off after her, after all the last thing they needed was for her to start pushing buttons and mess something up in there.  Plus he wanted to talk to her about what he had just witnessed and how he felt about it.  His feelings for her were starting to scare him.

            “So what are we making for dinner?” Joey asked.

            “Oh, I don’t know.  I mean you don’t really have to help me, if you don’t want to.” Mandy said, after all she didn’t want him to feel obligated just because Katy had set her up. 

           “No, it’s cool.  I would love to help you and I could use a change of scenery.  What do you two want?” Joey asked his eyes now fixed on Chris.  Chris just shrugged; he didn’t even know what Brandi liked. 

             “Well, someone is probably going to have to go to the store and I wouldn’t mind having Mexican.  We haven’t had that yet.” Brandi suggested.  Chris smiled, he loved Mexican food, though he wasn’t sure that Joey knew how to fix Mexican food but it’s not like it was that hard.

            “I don’t think Katy likes Mexican.” Kim stated.

            “It’s not like she eats anything but junk food any way.  And don’t send her to the store for crying out loud, she won’t come back with anything but cookies and crap.” Brandi said.

            “Hey, cookies aren’t crap!  And I don’t care what you have to eat on your date.  I’ll find something.  It’s not like I’ll starve.” Katy yelled from the recording studio.

            “It’s not a date, it’s just dinner.” Brandi fired back.  She didn’t want to think of it as a date, it kind of freaked her out a little bit. 

           “It’s a date.” Katy called back to her.  Justin was beside her now, his hand innocently on her knee while he search for Chris’s completed file on the laptop, which Katy was seated in front of. 

             “It’s not a date!” Brandi repeated a little louder. 

           “Dinner alone with a guy, yup that’s a date.”  Katy joked.  She laughed and smiled at her friend.  Brandi knew that Katy wasn’t going to stop once she got started.  So she reached over and slammed the door shut, for once she was really glad that room was sound proof.  She wasn’t sure if it had been the sound of the door slamming or her comments but now everyone in the room was looking at her, including Chris. 

           “Sorry.” Brandi said softly, though she wasn’t sure what she was sorry about.

            Katy smiled as the door sealed shut and then quickly turned back to the laptop.  Justin brushed her hands away a few times as she tried to touch stuff.  She really was kind of child like at times.

             “Don’t like you hitting on the others.” Justin stated, he didn’t look at her has he got the song ready to play for her.

            “I know, I was just having some fun with JC and Kim” Katy offered, but she knew this was coming.  She figured she would just be honest with him.  Katy was an acquired taste and must people just couldn’t handle her.

              “I don’t think they appreciated it.” Justin said, he could help but laugh.  He could totally see her doing it just to annoy him.  “Seriously though, can you not do that stuff around me?” Justin begged.

            “Okay, I’ll try.  But you should know I tend to act first and think later.  Which I realize that sounds really stupid, but a lot of people spend all their time thinking and they get nothing done.  I am a doer.  I get shit done.” Katy explained.  Justin nodded to her after all he loved her free spirit attitude but it was just so painful to watch her with another guy as innocent as it may be.

            “I hope you feel better, but you know I can’t lie to you.” Katy offered.

            “Right, because you don’t believe in lying.  Tell me what do you believe in?”  Justin asked.

              “I believe in you, all of you guys.  You are more powerful than you think you are.” Katy said.  She realized it sounded cheesy but it was the truth.   Her faith in them was so strong.

            “So says the chick that kidnapped me.” Justin laughed.

            “I said you were powerful, not smart.  So are we going to listen to this thing or what?”  Katy asked.  Justin shook his head and hit play for her but not before stealing a kiss.  Her lips were so soft and still tasted like sugar.  “I want to be mad at you but why is it that I can’t seem stay mad at you?” He asked, as the song played softly in the background.

            “If you figure that one out let me know, because then I will have really fucked up.” Katy whispered then kissed him again as innocently as she could, but she knew there was nothing innocent about her.

            “Is he safe in there with her?” JC asked, concerned for Justin’s well being.

              “Probably not, but he’s the dumb ass that went in there in the first place.  It’s not like any one told him to.” Brandi offered.  Chris perked up a little, realizing that they were now alone in that tiny room together.

            “Um… you know what I am going to just check on them.” Chris offered then ran past Brandi and into the tiny room before anyone could see what might be taking place in there.  He shut the door behind him and covered his eyes before turning around. “So is it safe to look?” He questioned.

            “It’s safe.  What the hell are you doing?” Justin asked.

            “You can’t be alone with her; you might do something stupid…again.” Chris snapped.  He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to look after Justin, maybe it was the older brother in him.  He just wanted to protect the younger man.

            “So says the guys spending time alone with Brandi later.” Katy joked, flashing him a sly grin that said it all.

            “It’s just dinner, nothing is going to happen.” Chris protested.

            “So I have heard.” Katy stated.  She turned her attention back to the music that was playing, just as Justin’s voice came over the speakers.  There was something in his words that calmed her, maybe it was the tone of his voice.  With Katy apparently on another planet Justin turned back to Chris.

            “So you aren’t going to put the moves over on Brandi tonight?” Justin questioned.  Brandi was a very pretty girl, what one earth was Chris thinking? 

           “No, I don’t want her to think that I am a jerk.  I want her to like me for who I really am.” Chris explained.

            “So you want her to think that you are gay?” Justin asked.  Chris groaned and shook his head; it wasn’t worth explained things to Justin some times.  As the song ended Katy turned back to them, she pulled Justin in for another kiss.  Since apparently Chris already knew, not that she was the one hiding anything to begin with.  She let her hand run along his leg.

            “Hello, I am still here.” Chris snapped.

            “Don’t think you being here will change anything.  I have no shame, remember?  In fact that is kind of hot.” Katy joked.  Chris rushed over and separated the two of them.  “You are no fun at all.” Katy added as she began to pout.  Chris looked at her but opted to address Justin instead.  It wasn’t like she was going to listen to him.

            “Behave.” Chris warned.  Justin just nodded to him.  Chris jumped back when he felt Katy’s hand lightly graze his inner thigh.  “What the hell?” He snapped.  Justin glared at her too, it wasn’t clear what she had done but it probably wasn’t something he would approve of.

            “What got you to move didn’t I?” Katy asked.  Justin gave her a warning look and she hung her head.  “Sorry, I am really trying but I just am not very good at this.  But if I can’t touch either of you then he shouldn’t be blocking my view of you and your sexiness.   There is no harm in looking, right?” Katy asked.  She really did need some clarification.  All these rules that they had were confusing her.

            Katy came bouncing out of the sound booth with a renewed inspiration for the video.  The song had been everything she had hoped for and more even though Chris though it needed some tweaks, that was not her area of expertise.

              “Where’s Mandy and Brandi?” Katy asked glancing around the small space.  It wasn’t like she could have over looked them.

            “They went to the store.” Kim sighed.  Kim was seated on the sofa.  She was sitting so that she could see JC out of the corner of her eye but she was trying to hard not to make eye contact with him.  Kim felt a little embarrassed about the whole situation and she wanted to talk to him about it but she couldn’t find the words to even start.

              “Okay well, I want to start shooting stuff today.  Are you and JC ready?” Katy stated as if it wasn’t that big a deal. After all to her it wasn’t.  She knew there would still be resistance.

            “No.” Kim snapped.  Katy shot her a look and JC seemed mostly unphased.  Either he was becoming immune to her or he just no longer cared.              “Come on no one is here, unless you want to do this in front of every

one.” Katy offered.  She thought she was doing Kim favor and in reality she was.  Kim felt a sudden lump in her throat and he struggled to choke it back down.

            “I am not ready.  I don’t even know what I should wear.” Kim offered, okay so she was stalling.  Katy turned to JC as if he would help her at all.  He just shrugged.

            “I am not going to rape her if that is what you are thinking.  If she says she isn’t ready then I have to say no as well.” JC explained.  He knew that he was on thin ice with Kim as it was, so she wasn’t about to push her in any certain direction.

            “Yeah well you can’t rape the willing.  You guys just suck.  Hey Lance you want to do something?” Katy asked only to be interrupted by Kim.

            “You can’t leave the house.  Remember Brandi said two of my have to be there if you take any of them outside.  And I think we should stay here until they get back.  And I am not the ‘willing’, I was tricked into this.” Kim explained.  Katy rolled her eyes; it wasn’t like any of the guys were trying to get away any more, accept JC of course.   Katy was still pretty sure that if he had a chance he would run.  And ticking Kim into doing to love scene hadn’t exactly been hard to do.

            Katy nodded to Lance to join her in the studio with the other two; she figured it wasn’t worth fighting about and hearing a lecture that she was just going to space out on any way.  She could just make do with some basic shots of the guys around the house.  Lance smiled at followed her back into the other room, leaving Joey to watch over the two love birds.

            Chris and Justin were seated at the table in there; they both turned when the door opened to see who it was.  Katy could feel something it in the air.  She was only mildly concerned about what they had been talking about.  It was kind of cute that Chris was so concerned for Justin.  But then again they could have been talking about Brandi and the date tonight.

            “Back so soon?” Justin questioned, he smiled when he saw her, even though it had only been minutes at best since she had left.

            “I am going to shoot Lance in the recording area or whatever you call it.  Then I can shoot you guys in there once you are done talking.” Katy explained.  Somehow the word ‘shoot’ when Katy says it makes Chris very nervous, even though he knew what she had meant.

              Katy didn’t linger to hear what Justin said in response to her.  She playfully shoved Lance into the other room.  She carefully explained the shot that she wanted to Lance.

            “So, I just pretend to sing?” He asked.

            “Or you can sing for real, I don’t care.  Just whatever works best for you.” Katy explained as she found one of the print outs of the lyrics on the floor and handed to him in case he wanted it.

              “So you are not at all concerned about what they were talking about?” Lance asked as Katy got her camera ready.  Katy just shrugged her shoulders.  It wasn’t like she was actually Justin’s girlfriend or anything; even if she was she wasn’t the controlling type.  And as for Chris and Brandi, she was happy for them but she didn’t want to get involved.  Katy pulled the camera away from her sight for a minute and pouted.  Lance thought maybe she wanted to say something.

            “I am going to unchain you, that looks awful and I can’t get it out of the shot.  You aren’t going to run or anything are you?” Katy asked.  Lance shook his head, he wasn’t going to run. Before entering the recording studio Kim had looked as though she was just looking for an excuse to zap someone.  He wasn’t about to put that to the test.

            His wrist was a little sore from the chain rubbing against the skin, but Lance didn’t complain.  He just took his place at the mic and began to sing for Katy while she videotaped.  He could see Justin and Chris threw the window they were still talking and Chris seemed a little flustered. 

           “I am not sure why they don’t give you more solos, you have a wonderful voice.” Katy stated causing Lance to turn to her and blush a little.  “So I am thinking we should film you on the beach, since um well you have some killer abs.”

            “How do you know that I have killer abs.” Lance questioned.

            “Hello, it’s called the internet.  I love the internet you can like stalk people from a safe distance.” She joked.

            “That’s a scary thought.  I would love to do the beach scene.  Is there one nearby?” He asked.  Katy thought for a minute, she wasn’t sure if there was a beach but there was a lake down the road.   They worked on a few more angles for this shoot.  Katy kept looking over her shoulder to see if the other two were still talking, she didn’t want to interrupt them.

            “So can I see them?” Katy asked out of nowhere.

            “See what?” Lance questioned, laughing slightly under his breath.

            “Your abs!  Duh.”  Katy said with a smile.

            Justin could hear Chris’s voice off in the distance but his eye were fixed on Katy, he wasn’t sure if it was deliberate but she kept bending over or getting down on the ground.  It was driving Justin insane.  He mind was wondering to places that he knew it should be.

            “Are you even listening to me?” Chris snapped, waving his hand in front of Justin’s face causing Justin to snap back to reality.

              “Yeah, man I got it.  Tread lightly and don’t get too attached.” Justin repeated.

              “That girl will rip your heart out and eat it for breakfast.” Chris explained, though he was kind of starting to wonder if Brandi might not do the same to him.  Justin laughed unexpectedly as a random thought entered his head.   Oh god he was starting to think like her.  “I am glad you find that funny.” Chris added.  Justin shook his head, it wasn’t funny this was serious and he was trying to take it seriously. 

           “Jesus, come on we have to save Lance.”  Just snapped, he jumped up and tapped Chris on the arm, letting him to follow him.  When Chris got in the room he quickly realized what Justin was talking about.  Katy was trying feverishly to rip Lance’s shirt off.  Both of them were laughing and cut it up, so it wasn’t like they were actually fighting.  But Katy was trying to undress the man.

            Katy let out a squeal when Justin grabbed her and lifted her into his arms.  After all she wasn’t that heavy.  Lance looked up at her still laughing and just stuck out his tongue.  She returned the gesture then looked up at Justin.  She could tell that he was a little mad at her and she felt her heart sink slightly with guilt.  She got lost in his blue eyes for a minute.

            “Man, I think that is the quietest she has been in days.” Lance commented.

              “What can I say, it’s a gift.” Justin said with a smile.  He liked that he could turn her into putty, but he sure the hell couldn’t get her to listen to him.  “I thought I told you not to touch the others?”

             “Technically, I was touching his shirt.  I just wanted to see what I had to work with for the video.  It was purely professional.” Kay lied.  She smiled at him and tried to play dumb.

            “There is nothing professional about this set up.” Chris chimed in.  Justin set her back on her feet and released her.  “Was there something you needed us for?” He added.

            “Yeah I want to shoot you.  I mean film you singing, to use with the video maybe.  I wanted to do more but Kim is being… um well Kim.”  Katy explained.  Justin just shrugged and asked her where she wanted him.

              Lance excused himself, since he was no longer needed and went back to the sitting area; Lance had no more than walked out when Katy heard Kim scream her name.  It caused Katy to cringe, which Justin had never seen her do before.

            “Damn it Katy, if you are going to unchain them then make sure you chain them back up.” Kim yelled to her.  Katy saw Lance’s chain being pulled back into the other room, most likely by Kim and just shrugged. 

           “Oops.” Katy replied.  Then she went to undo Justin flashing him a look that showed just how much she cared about what Kim was saying.

              “You aren’t afraid one of us will run?” Chris asked. 

           “If you think you can make it past Kim then go for it.” Katy said with a smile.  “But she is kind of in a bad mood.”

             They hadn’t even been back five minutes and Katy was already rummaging through the bags most likely looking for junk food.  She grinned to herself when she stumbled upon some pretzels.  She took a seat at the bar and waited for Mandy to look at her before addressing her.

            “So I was thinking we should move the date thing up to 7 and then after you and Joey are done cooking, we could take Joey and Lance out to the lake to shoot some stuff for the video.” Katy suggested.  Mandy thought for a minute she was already really tired, but she knew that Brandi would feel more comfortable if Katy was not in the house during what should be a very romantic evening for her and Chris.

            “Okay, but just those two.  I think two is about all we can handle at once.” Mandy warned.  Katy smiled and got up to go tell the guys the good news and to get Joey so he could help Mandy with dinner, she had not forgotten about him even though Mandy wished she would.

            Brandi had been listening to their conversation and once Katy was gone she approached Mandy.  Mandy started to say something to her but she just shook her head to let Mandy know that she had heard and was fine with it.  She still had butterflies in her stomach about tonight and now that is was going to happen sooner, But at least it would be over quicker.

              “Why don’t you go and get ready for your date, Joey and I can handle the food.  I’ll come get you before we leave.” Mandy offered.  Brandi nodded and disappeared just as Joey emerged from the basement.  Mandy watch d Joey approach her, there was a twinkle in her eye.

            “So what do you need me to do?” Joey asked as he entered the kitchen.  He rubbing his hands together, edger to jump in and help out.  Mandy smiled at him and handed him the stuff to make a salad, surely he couldn’t mess that up.  “Katy said we are going out later to do some video stuff.” Joey said.  He was just trying to make conversation at this point.

            “Yes and I have a very important assignment for you.” Mandy said turning to Joey.  He lookup at her with such interest as he hands busily worked to open the salad bag.  “We have to keep Katy busy for as long as possible tonight, so Brandi and Chris can have a chance to talk.  It’s not that I don’t trust her, but her curiosity tends to get the best of her.” Mandy commented, she turned back and worked on preparing the food.

            “Yeah, I noticed that about her.  I think Lance and I can keep her entertained for a few hours.  Her and Lance seem to be getting along pretty well.” Joey said.  He took a minute to steal a glance at Mandy’s butt as she leaned over the sink.  Her jeans fit her shape perfectly.  If Joey had been paying more attention to what he was dong he might not have cut himself.  He yelped and instinctively put his finger in his mouth.

            “Oh my gosh, Joey are you alright?” Mandy said rushing to his side.  She put her hand on his arm and forced him to show her his injury.

              “It’s nothing really.” Joey said.  But Mandy wouldn’t have it; she pulled him over to the sink and helped him clean it off.  She ran her hands over his; they were so small and soft  in comparison to his masculine hands.  Joey became lost in her gentle touch.  She left him for a second to fetch a Band-Aid for him.  “You know I think its fine, really.” Joey stuttered.

              Mandy just shot him a sly smiled and proceeded to apply the Band-aid to his cut, then playfully kissed it.  She wasn’t trying to be a flirt it was just something that she had always done for the kids that she used to babysit for.  It always made them feel better, and Joey had to admit that cut was no longer bothering him.  He softly thanked her and she turned away to do something else.  Joey’s mind was trying to digest the softness of her lip against his skin, even for the brief moment.

              Joey stood there for a minute trying to get his mind right, that’s when he noticed something out the window that located above the sink.  He watched for a minute to see just exactly what she was doing, before asking Mandy.

            “What is she doing out there?” Joey asked.    Mandy rushed back to his side and looked out the window not expecting to see what she saw there in the backyard.

            “I thought she was getting ready for her date?” Mandy asked.

            “If she is then someone better warn Chris, that doesn’t bode well for him.” Joey said.  His concern for his friend’s well being was sincere but there was nothing that he could really do for him in this situation.

              “I’ll check on her, can you watch the food?” Mandy asked.  Joey nodded and turned to the stove, just hoping that he wouldn’t burn himself next.  Last thing he wanted was to look like a complete moron in front of Mandy.

            Mandy stepped out the back door and made her way to Brandi cautiously.  She watched Brandi repeatedly chuck something at one of the trees.    Brandi could fell someone watching her and glanced at Mandy before approaching the tree and removing the three small knives from it.

              “I thought you were going to get ready for your date?” Mandy asked.

            “I am.” Brandi said with a sly grin.  She began to throw the knives at the tree again, every time hitting her mark.  She could see the confusion on Mandy’s face out of the corner of her eye.  “I am working on my aim, so when he tries to run, I won’t miss.”

            “Brandi!  He isn’t going to run and on the off chance that he does please don’t throw pointy things at him.”  Mandy said.  Brandi laughed a little, Mandy took that as a sign that she wasn’t being serious or so she hoped.  “Where did you get those any way?  Something else from Katy’s collection?” Mandy added.

            “No, actually these are mine.  Katy isn’t around is she?” Brandi asked glancing around nervously.  She didn’t want Katy to get a hold of them; they were dangerous enough without her help.

              “They are yours?  Dare I ask then what you did with her stuff?” Mandy asked.

            “It’s safe, let’s leave it at that.  I’ll tell her where everything is when we get ready to leave.” Brandi offered.  Mandy didn’t really want to know where she might have put them, knowing would only put her at risk with Katy.  Katy could generally tell when people were lying to her and Mandy was the worst liar out of all of them.  There was still something unsettling about what Brandi was doing.

            “You sure you are alright, most girls take a shower, get dressed up before a date, and not try to kill a tree with lawn darts before a big date.” Mandy asked. 

           “First of all, they aren’t lawn darts, they are throwing knives and I am not killing the tree.  This is what I do when I am stressed, well one of the things I do.” Brandi said.  Truth was she was nervous and unsure about to night, but she would never admit that to anyone.  She just wanted to be left alone but it wasn’t like Mandy to walk away.  “It shouldn’t be unheard of for me to be a little stressed.  I mean we kidnapped five guy and the longer we keep them hear the more danger we are in.  And the more likely that someone will come looking for them.” She added.  Mandy nodded, she knew Brandi was right and she was fighting with that stressed feeling as well. 

             There was a sigh as Mandy looked back toward the house and all the trouble that lied in there.  She wasn’t ready to leave yet, but god they were starting to get into more and more trouble with each passing minute. 

           “All the more reason to start filming tonight I suppose.” Mandy finally said after what seemed like a long pause.“You sure Joey can handle it in there alone?” Brandi asked as if to change the subject.  It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk about this anymore, but the girls rarely talked about the danger in general.  It was like an unspoken rule they had.

            Mandy could see Joey moving around in the kitchen, she wondered if he was having trouble, but surely he would call for her if he needed help.  Brandi got close to Mandy and whispered something into her ear.  Mandy glanced at her friend but said nothing, as soft as it was Mandy wasn’t sure that she had heard right and ignorance was bliss.

            “Why don’t you go get dressed, you’re the one with a date tonight.” Mandy said as she started for the door.  “And put those things way, you never know when Katy might pop up.”

            “It sounds to me like you have one too.” Brandi joked.  Mandy glanced back her over her shoulder but said nothing.  It wasn’t a date for her if Katy and Lance were going to be there.  And well it just wasn’t a date.  She shook the thoughts from her head and proceeded back to the kitchen.

            Brandi smiled and cleaned her knives before placing them back into their protective sleeve.  She slipped them into her back pocket before following Mandy back toward the house, after all she felt like she should make an effort to get cleaned up and look nice for Chris.  He is the one that wanted this date and she wanted it to be perfect for him.

            Joey greeted Mandy with hopeful eyes as he was struggling to make since of the directions that she had left him with.  Mandy had to admit that he had done pretty well by himself, nothing was burnt or ruined.  Brandi slipped past them and made her way upstairs without a word spoken. 

           “So is she okay?  Is Chris safe with her?” Joey asked softly just in case Brandi was still close by. 

           “Brandi is just stressed, like everyone else around here.  But trust me he is safer with her than without her.   Brandi maybe a lot of things, but I know that she is very protective, of us and of you guys.  The kidnapping aside, she would never do anything to hurt any of us.” Mandy explained.  Joey blinked a few times; it was becoming clear to him just how close the girls really were despite all the fighting and picking on one another.  It reminded him a lot of how he used to be with the guys.  He would have done anything for them, he still would but now they didn’t speak regularly so it was hard to know when they were in trouble.

            Mandy could see the gears grind away inside Joey’s head but she didn’t say anything.  She ran her hand along the back of his neck and then pulled him closer.  He instinctively closed his eyes as she placed a soft kiss on his forehead.  It was such an innocent action but Joey felt his heart skip a beat in the moments the followed.

            “I am not going to report you.” Joey stated.  He took her hands in his and looked her in the eye as he spoke.  Mandy stood there her hands in his and she felt safe with him despite all that had happened and would happen.

            “I know.” She sighed.  “We’ll just have to see what fate has planned for us.”

             “Get your ass in the car now, before I change my mind.” Mandy yelled.  Joey and Lance were at her side as they were just waiting on Katy to finally get her stuff together.  For some one that had been talking about this all day she sure didn’t have to together.  Katy finally appeared at the door – her camera bag in hand and a cheesy grin on her face.  Mandy rolled her eyes and led the guys to the car.  She wasn’t sure if they would run or not but they both appeared to be pretty calm.  Katy waved at Chris and Brandi before following them out the door.

              Chris waited for the door to close completely, before rushing around to Brandi’s side of the table and pulling her chair out for her.  Once she was seated he pushed her up to the table before heading for his seat.  Mandy and Joey had done an awesome job with the food, everything looked and smelled great.  As far as Chris was concerned that included Brandi.  She looked like an angle in the soft candle light.

              Brandi blushed slightly; she hadn’t expected Chris to be such a gentleman.  And she could totally see him staring at her right now.  Brandi quickly brushed her hand through her hair and checked herself; she wasn’t sure what he was staring at.  She hadn’t exactly planned for a date so when it came time to get dressed for this evening her options were limited but then again his were too.  But it made the whole thing seems slightly more casual.

              “Thank you.” Chris said, finally breaking their silence.

              “For what?” Brandi questioned, as far as she knew she hadn’t done anything special, well accept that one thing but that had been gratifying for both of them.

              “For having dinner with me tonight.  I know you guys have better things to be doing, like your video.” Chris explained.  Brandi smiled, but the video stuff was really Katy’s thing.  Brandi was more crowd control atthis point.  She certainly had Chris under control.

            “I am just shocked that you even wanted to do this.  I mean you don’t have to be nice to me.  I am used to the guys I sleep with turning out to be complete jerks.” Brandi stated.  It may not have been the right thing to say but she wasn’t going to lie to him.  He wasn’t her first but so far he was the nicest.  She had come to kind of expect men to be jack asses, but Chris was starting to shatter all her expectations for men.

            “I haven’t turned out to be a jerk yet have I?” Chris joked, taking a bite of his food.  He hoped she didn’t think he was a jerk, god knows he was trying not to stick his foot in his mouth tonight, which was something that he knew he was good at doing especially around girls that he really liked.  Brandi just smiled at him.  He wasn’t a jerk, he was a sweet heart, she just hadn’t ruined him yet or so she thought, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.  Her feelings for him still scared the crap out of her but she was willing to give he an honest try before writing him off completely.

            Brandi closed her eyes and for a minute she was back in his arms again.  His tender touch and loving kisses, her back pressed up against the bathroom counter.  He had to have the gentlest hands.  She had put herself into a bad place but he had made everything feel so right, even now he was being freaking prince charming and yeah it was driving her nuts.

              “Brandi?” Chris calls, bring her back to reality, damn him.

              “Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind.” Brandi lied, if he only knew what she had on her mind right now.  Chris could understand that she had a lot going on; he had a lot on his mind too.  But why wasn’t she talking to him, wasn’t that kind of the whole point of tonight? 

           “You never did tell me much about yourself.” He pointed out.  Brandi smiled again, what about her boring life would possibly interest him.  He had traveled the world with a boy band, while she was stuck at home listening to him on her radio.  But someday soon she would see the world, she had promised herself that much.

            “Why would you care, I am sure you have no interest in my crappy job, my lame friends, or my loser ex-boyfriends.” Brandi snapped.  The words come out a bit harsher that she intended. 

             “Hey now, I have had plenty of crappy jobs in my life time.  Your friends aren’t that lame, at least not the few that I have had the pleasure of meeting, and you are right I don’t care about your ex-boyfriends, unless of course you want me to arrange to have them beaten up.”  He smiled at her and she smiled back.

              “You can do that?” She questioned jokingly.  Hell she would pay just to see the look on her ex’s face if she showed up back in her hometown with Chris on her arm.  Brandi sighed and went out on a limb; letting Chris know a few things about her that might interest him, nothing of course that he could us against her later.  She loved that it made him smile to find out the stupidest little thing about her.

            Maybe this date had been just what they both needed.  Being locked down there with the guys was bringing back all the bad memories for Chris of what had happened when the group broke up.  He felt lied to and betrayed by them but yet somehow he still needed them.  It was to the point that he couldn’t think about it anymore and tonight he wasn’t, his focus was on the lovely young woman before him.  Something that he craved in his life right now was honesty, and she had it in spades.

            “How long do you think the others will be gone?” Chris asked.  Brandi raised an eye brow at him.  “Not, that.  I am not opposed to that but I am just enjoying talking to you.  I just can’t seem to get a word in edge wise around your friends. That’s all.”  Chris cursed himself on the inside, that sounded like it hadn’t come out right.  He cringed and waited for her to say something.

            “Well you kind of have to talk over them sometimes or ignore them.” Brandi explained.  Chris suddenly hated that the table was between them, clearly this seating arrangement had been poorly planned, he wanted to kiss her but he couldn’t without getting up.  He wasn’t sure he could bring up moving without seeming like he had other motives again.  Brandi could see him racking his brain over something.  They were done eating by now, so there was no reason for them to stay at the table.  “Do you want some coffee, maybe move to the living room?” Brandi offered nod toward the sofa.

            Chris smiled then got up, while Brandi went into the kitchen to get the coffee, he sat down on the sofa.  He was trying to rearrange the pillows so that they could get comfortable but not too comfortable.  Brandi smiled as she watched him fidget with the pillows, he seemed nervous and it was kind of sweet.  She sat down and handed him a cup.  He sipped on it for awhile figuring that it was best to keep his hands busy doing something right now.

              Brandi finally pulled it out of his hands and placed it on the coffee table before pulling him in for a kiss.  It was a tender kiss; he let one of his hands caress her arm while the other cradled her face.

              “I just want you to hold me.” She whispered, looking him in the eyes.  She was sure he needed more but she just needed to feel his arms around her and the safety that they provided.  She didn’t expect him to be a saint after all.  He was happy to oblige her, pulling her close to him, letting her rest against him.  Brandi rested her head against his chest listening to his heart beat, it soothed her.  It seemed to be beating a little faster than normal. 

           Chris ran his hand through her hair, he was trying all the things that he thought might relax her and but her at ease.  He knew they didn’t have to have sex for her to bring him complete happiness.  He just needed her to be there.  They didn’t even have to talk; it was like they were cut from the same mold.  They just fit.

            Kim sat silently at the top of the stairs.  She wasn’t spying on them, but thinking about their date tonight and now seeing them there on the sofa together was freaking her out about the love scene that she was going to have to do with JC.  They looked so happy and so at peace with each other, they really should be the ones to do it.  She didn’t think she could fake it, or that she wouldn’t have to fake it but he would.  It wouldn’t be real in her mind, it would just all be an act, and yeah she would never admit it out loud but she did want it to be real.

            Her heart churned in ways she wasn’t used to, the stupid thing must be broken she reasoned.  She just needed to talk to him, to see what was really going through JC’s mind.  That is what brought her to the steps in the first place; the fear of ruining Brandi’s special night was what had stopped her there. 

           But now they looked to be almost asleep, or at the very least resting.  She didn’t think that they would even notice her if she slipped past them right now as long as she could be quiet.  Kim started to get up as the steps creaked a little so she paused but Brandi and Chris didn’t move.  Holding her breath the whole way she crept across the dining room to the basement door.  She was flustered with the locks as they got stuck a few times before finally opening.

            Brandi lifted up when she thought she heard something, but when she looked around there was nothing in sight and no lights in the drive way.  Chris softly questioned her then pressed her back down against him.  They were in a house in the middle of nowhere, she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to know what the noise was.  Ignorance in bless. 

             “God damn it Joey!  Don’t be such a baby and get back over there.” Katy snapped, stomping her foot like a child.  They were quickly losing day light and she wanted  to get this shot done.

            “I am not going over there; I swear I saw something move.” Joey explained folding his arms across his chest and shaking his head in protest.  Katy wanted him stand on the edge of this cliff overlooking the beach so she could film him for the music video.  But after walking over there for a few minutes he swore he saw something move out of the corner of is eye and now was refusing to go back over there.  They were in the middle of nowhere so Katy was sure that he had just seen a snake, but what she couldn’t figure out was why a big guy, like Joey, was afraid of a little snake.

            “Fine, I’ll take care of it.” Katy said going over to where Joey claimed he saw it and searched the tiny reptile out.

              “Katy can’t, we can just film someplace else?  That thing could be poisonous.” Mandy begged, she wasn’t about to rush her to the ER when the stupid thing bit her.  But just as the words left her mouth Katy snatched the snake up, holding just behind the head, like her brother had shown her all those years ago, so that it couldn’t bite her.  She smiled her evil grin and before Mandy could even react.  Katy took off after the three of them with the tiny green snake in hand.

            They all scattered and darted around trees as Katy chased and taunted them with the snake.  She was smiling and having a great time at their expense.  Little did they know that had the simply stood still she would have lost interest and dropped the poor thing long before she wore herself out.  But as usual Katy hadn’t thought this  all the way through by the time she had finish tormenting the others the snake; it had wrapped itself around her wrist making releasing it slightly more difficult.

              “Just toss it over the side.” Mandy begged as she leaned over trying to catch her breath.

              “Working on it.” Katy stated carefully unwinding it, but the snake was determined not to make it easy for her.  She finally tossed it over the cliff.

             “That was mean you didn’t have to kill it.” Lance pouted.  Katy just shook her head she was sure the flexible creature would survive its fall.  She pointed to the spot that she wanted Joey and waited for him to take his place.  Joey was breathing heavy but he took his place away, his chest moving rapidly up and down as he gasped for air.

            “You are supposed to look as if you are searching for love, not like you are dying.” Katy joked.

            “I wouldn’t be dying if you had chased me.” Joey fired back.

              “Come on Joey fake it, make pretend.  Hell pretend that Mandy is off in the distance somewhere.”  Katy explained.  At this point she would roll Mandy down the hill with the snake if she thought it would get Joey to focus and do a good job.  Joey smiled and glanced at Mandy, he secretly hoped that no one had noticed but he suddenly had his motivation.

              Joey looked off into the sunset and thought about what he was looking for.  He kept his face serene as waited for Katy to get what she needed.  Katy watched him through the camera; she was finally getting something that she could use.  But Joey wasn’t faking, it was written all over his face, he really was thinking about something.  He casually slipped his hands in his pocket, this was taking longer than it should, and how much footage of this did she really need?  It was like Joey was one of the more popular guys in the group.  He was just Joey.

              “We’re golden, great work big guy.  Now come on Lance let get back down there and shoot your stuff.  Lance’s shot would be simple as well; he just had to walk along the beach toward her looking off across the water.  As they were hiking back down to the lake, Mandy tripped on a tree root that was sticking out of the ground.  She fell and cried out as her knee made contact with the hard ground.  Within second Joey was by her side while Katy just stared at her dumb founded, she was generally the one to trip over everything.

            “Are you okay?” Joey asked sweetly, the concern for her plastered across his face.

            “Yeah I am fine, just bumped it.  I will probably have a bruise.” Mandy explained, she started to get up but Joey scooped her up in his arm and proceeded to carry her, the rest of the way down.  Katy looked at Lance and pouted.

            “I am not carrying you.” Lance simply started.  Joey set Mandy gently down on the sand before taking a seat beside her.  “So where do you want me?” Lance added trying not to stare at the other two as they seemed to get cozy on the beach.

            “Just go that way and walk toward me.”  Katy said waving off down the beach.  It was starting to get dark now but the sunset made the scene that much more romantic.  Lance sprinted down the beach and then walked toward Katy as she filmed.  “Looks great Lance, but one little thing.” Katy said.  Lance looked at her trying to be very professional.  “Take your shirt off, it is after all the beach.” Katy said with a smile.

            Lance smiled back at her and shook his head.  He was after all pretty shy and the air was a little chilly.  None of the other guys had to take their shirts off so why should he.  Katy and Mandy exchanged glances; her knee was starting to feel better already.  And Joey’s closeness was making her slightly uncomfortable.

              “Lance just take it off, or I will take it off for you.” Mandy fired back, much to Lance’s surprise.

              “You wanna bet?” Lance asked and then took off down the beach.  Mandy quickly got up and took off after him.  It wasn’t like Lance was trying to make an escape attempt he was just trying to have a little fun.  They had been locked in a basement for about a week; he needed to stretch his legs.  Katy fell onto the sand next to Joey.  He was kind of shocked that she hadn’t taken off after Lance as well.

            “Should we go after them?” Joey asked.  Katy shook her head; they should just let them have their fun after all.  It was nice to see both of them laughing and having a good time for a change.  Katy knew Mandy had been on pins and needles about Joey since this whole thing started.  It was a guilty feeling that she just wasn’t used to.  Mandy had asked Katy more than once how she did it, just not caring.  But Katy didn’t view that as a gift.

             “How are you doing?” Katy asked turning to Joey.  He thought about the question, it was after all an odd thing to ask at a time like this.  They watched as Mandy tackled Lance to the ground, the two of them rolled around for awhile.  Joey felt guilty as he started to feel a little jealous of Lance in that moment.  He had no right to be.  Joey ran his hand through his hair and fixed his eyes to the ground.  He felt Katy’s hand on his shoulder comforting him.

            “What happens when this is over?” He asked, completely ignoring her question.

            “No one knows, I can’t predict the future any more than you can.” Katy stated.  To be honest Katy was just trying to live in the moment, planning was something that she didn’t like to do, it was best to just let things happen naturally in her mind.  Katy picked up and handful of sand and watched as it slowly slipped through her fingers, it made her smile and reminded her of the lyrics to one of N Sync’s songs.  She couldn’t remember exactly how the song went but it was very touching none the less.  Katy took Joeys hands a cupped them together before pouring the sand into them and whispering something into his ear.  As she pulled away he just glanced at her, still processing what she had said to him.

            It wasn’t long before Mandy came running back to them, flinging Lance’s shirt in the air like a flag.  Lance was close being still trying to get it back.  Katy allowed herself some time to look Lance over.  He looked great and this was going to be awesome for the video.

              “Let’s do this already.” Katy commented and got up.  She latched on to Lance’s arm and pulled him away from Mandy.  Mandy just smiled and taunted him some more.  She looked down to see Joey still watching the sand as it fell back onto the ground.  He seemed deep in thought and Mandy could only wonder what Katy might have said to him that would put him into a mood like this.

            “But… I feel so naked.” Lance pouted running his hands up and down his arms for added warmth.

              “Then you better make it snappy.” Katy added and pointed him in the right direction.

              “You might as well give it up, Lance; I don’t think you can win against these two.” Joey commented, as he snapped back to reality.  Lance rolled his eyes but wasted no time in running back down the beach, so that they could get this over with and he could get dressed again.  Lance walked toward her trying to be as sexy as he could and still convey the right message. 

             Katy finally shut the camera off and sat back down signaling to Lance that they were done.  Lance joined them and Mandy tossed his shirt back to him.  He wasted no time in putting it on which made Katy sad.  She knew he was gay and that was okay, but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t enjoy looking at him. 

             The four of them sat there in silence for awhile, letting the sun disappear from the sky and bathe them in darkness.  That’s when Katy realized that they hadn’t brought any flash lights in their haste to leave, so finding the car was going to be a challenge.  She wasn’t in a hurry to leave though, it was nice out, a little chilly sure but quiet.  No one said anything for a long while, until Katy spoke up to inform them of their situation after all the bugs and creatures of the night started to stir around them and it was creeping her out a little.

             As the pulled into the driveway Katy noticed right away that all the lights in the house were on, so much for setting the mood, Katy thought at first.  Upon a closer look it became clear that something had happened while they were gone.  The door had been ripped from its hinges and was now lying in the bushes. Mandy rushed into the house with the guys close behind her while Katy paused outside to survey the damage.  This wasn’t what she had expected to come home to.

            Once inside Mandy stood in shock, the house was wrecked.  Tables were knocked over, the sofa was moved, and the door to the basement had taken a hit.  It looked like a war zone; Mandy’s first thought was about Brandi, had the date really gone that badly.   Images of Chris lying on the floor with a knife in his back popped into her mind and it scared her, but Chris and Brandi both were nowhere to be found.

            “What happened?” Mandy finally asked loudly hoping someone would hear her and answer her.  Brandi came running up from the basement at the sound of her voice.

            “Kim and JC kind of got into a fight.” Brandi said softly.  “I am not sure how it happened, Kim had gone to bed.  I don’t even know how it started.”  Brandi brushed her hair out of her face; she was so pissed off and confused.

             “Kind of had a fight, this looks like they had a brawl.  So where is everyone?” Mandy asked.

            “Justin and Chris are down stairs; Justin kind of took a hit so Chris is tending to him.  Kim ran upstairs crying and JC…” Brandi trailed off her eyes fixed on the doorway where Katy was now standing.  Katy crossed her arms and flashed a look that said it all, her anger couldn’t be contained.  JC was gone. Kim was crying and no one was doing anything about it.

            Joey and Lance exchanged looks before excusing themselves to the basement, it was clear by the tension in the air that things were just heating up between the girls and they didn’t want any part of it.  They had just barely cleared the door frame with Brandi spoke up.

            “What the hell is that look for?  This isn’t my fault.” Brandi snapped.  She had just been enjoying a nice evening with Chris when all hell broke loose, she couldn’t have know what was taking place in the basement, she thought everyone was asleep, or at least they were supposed to be.

            “What the hell were you doing in the basement; Kim should have been your first priority.” Katy fired back getting closer to Brandi.  Mandy remain in between them, though she wasn’t sure it was exactly the best place for her to be at this point.  It’s not that she could have stopped the two of them from going at it even if she wanted to.

            “I am sorry but your boy toy was bleeding so I thought he needed me more.  Kim is the one that went down there, she started this whole mess.  I can’t be in two places at once and I though Justin’s broken nose was a more urgent matter than Kim’s broken heart.” Brandi responded.

              “No, we agreed from the get go that nothing, and no one, would come between us.  And how did she even get in the basement, she was upstairs when we left.  What were you doing that you didn’t notice her?” Katy questioned.

            “We weren’t having sex, if that is what you are thinking.  We were just cuddling.  Maybe Kim is stealthier than you give her credit for.” Brandi said.  Brandi was known for her honesty if they had in fact been doing that she would have fessed up, but they weren’t.  She was innocent, not that she could say that very often but in this case she was.

            “Come on guys this isn’t helping.  We have to work together remember?” Mandy begged.  Katy and Brandi both stepped down and took a few deep breaths. 

             “What the hell did you even tell her any way?  You were the last one to talk to her right?  Why would she think talking to JC about her feelings would even be a good idea?” Brandi asked, now turning her attention to Mandy.

            “What like you guys were helping her at all.  Of course they should have talked about their feelings, they both like each other.  If you weren’t too busy chasing after Chris maybe you would have noticed.  And you are the one that took those stupid pictures.” Mandy fired back at both of them.  She was racking her brain though to figure out what she had said to Kim that might make her even want to talk to JC. 

           “Well clearly he didn’t feel the same about her.  God, you are so stupid.” Brandi sighed. 

             “Me?  What about you?  You were here.  How could you let this happen?” Mandy explained.  Brandi huffed and folded her arms, this was not her fault.  She didn’t realize that there was a problem until JC busted out of the basement.  She had tripped on Chris and numerous tables to get to him but it had all happened so fast, her head was spinning just thinking about it.  There were several more rounds of insults tossed around between them, each trying to talk over the other and none of them really hearing anything.

            “You guys please.” Kim said softly coming down from the stairs.  They all paused and look at her.  “This is all my fault, if you want to blame someone then blame me.  I screwed up.”  Mandy closed her eyes; it was those words that hurt more than any of the others.  It was tugging at her heart strings; you could see the pain in Kim’s eyes.  The others must have felt it too because on one responded.  After a series of long breaths Katy made the first move.

            “It’s not your fault.  We’ll fix this together.  I’ll go after JC, he couldn’t have gotten far.  If you guys want to clean this mess up, oh and someone chain the guys back up for now, let’s not have any more escapes tonight.” Katy offered.  She waited for one of them to protest or offer another solution, but no one did.

            “What about Justin?” Brandi asked.

            “The others are down there now; they can take care of him.  For now we need to worry about us, we’re the ones that are broken.” Katy explained.  She paused only briefly to grab a flashlight, and then headed into the dark woods.  The others thought about what she had just said.  It wasn’t like Katy to be so deep.  When the air settled again they got to work cleaning up, but more importantly piecing together the pieces in order to figure out what had really happened. 

           Brandi and Mandy decided to divide and concur, there were two people in the house that knew what had taken place in the basement just before JC stormed out.  As Mandy stayed with Kim as they cleaned up the mess and Brandi went back down into the basement to question Justin and secure the rest of the guys.

            In the basement Chris was seated next to Justin who was still applying a cold rag to his face.  He looked up when he saw Brandi and then approached her slowly.  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, he wasn’t sure how he knew, but he just knew that she was upset. 

             “This isn’t your fault sweet heart and Justin is going to be fine.  I am sure JC will be too.” Chris offered.  Brandi felt her eyes starts to tear up and she buried her face in his chest.   But she wasn’t crying for all the reason that he thought she was, sure what had happened was bad, but she had just yelled at her friends and they had yelled back at her, Katy was right they were broken.  Sure they picked on and teased each other relentlessly but this wasn’t like that, this was real.

               “I need to know what happened.  Katy has gone after JC and if anyone can find him then she can.” Brandi pulled away from him and took a seat next to Justin on the sofa.  Justin glanced at her and a waited her questions, though he wasn’t sure how much help he would be.  “Justin, tell me what you saw.”

            “Kim snuck down here, it was kind of late.  I was writing some lyrics, when I saw her I could tell that she wasn’t there to talk to me, so I went into the other room and left her and JC alone.  She seemed nervous; I guess I should have stayed out here.  I know JC can be kind of closed minded some times.  I left the door cracked though.  They were talking about the love scene when suddenly JC just flipped out.  I ran out here to see what was going on but JC had broken free and was on his way out.  He shoved Kim and I tried to catch her but ended up taking a header into the book shelf.”  Justin pointed to his face as if to indicate that is how he broken his nose.  It had after all been an accident; JC would never hit him on purpose.  Brandi sighed, that was helpful but more details would have to come from Kim or so it seemed.

              “Why do you think JC took off?” Brandi asked.  She knew the guys would have more insight into how JC thought.

            “Honestly, I think he was just running away from his feelings.  I still think he likes her and I think she might have broken down and told him that she liked him.” Justin explained.  JC wasn’t exactly known for being easy to work with, but he was always the perfectionist.  Even now with ‘N Sync broken up he was always the one shooting down rumors of a reunion, though it didn’t hurt anything to give the fans a little hope from time to time.  JC was honest and logical.  He didn’t just give people what they wanted to hear and having feelings for Kim would seem illogical for him. 

           “Why did you guys break up?” Brandi asked out of nowhere.  It wasn’t even relevant to what they were talking about.  The guys looked at each other, most of them didn’t even know why they had done it.

            “I guess it was me, I wanted to see if I could make it on my own.” Justin offered. 

           “No, it was me.  I wanted to do that space thing.” Lance said.

            “I could have been me, I mean fatherhood changed me.” Joey offered.

            “I don’t think it was any one of us, I know I had stuff going on too, at the time.  It was all of us, we were just moving in different directions.  These things just happen.” Chris said, though deep down inside he remember just how sad he was after they broke up.  But it was all of their faults; they should have tried harder to get back together. Chris pulled Brandi close to him again; he knew what this was all about now.  “Friendships are a lot like relationships.  You have to work at them.  It takes understanding and care.  But I think you girls are going to be fine.”  Chris explained. 

           Brandi took a deep breath; maybe Chris was right they would be fine.  They were like them; they could work through their differences and make changes as needed.  She knew that the other day things that they wanted to do in life that would pull them apart but keeping in touch and taking time out of each other would keep their friendship alive.

              Brandi worked to bind the guys that were lose and they didn’t fight her, with all that had happened tonight things were up in the air more so than usual and no one wanted to test the girls any further.  Chris was nervous, what if JC went to the cops.  Would JC betray him like that?  He could take Brandi away from him forever or would he simply go home and forget all this even happened.  Brandi gave Justin a kiss on the cheek to make him feel better and Chris a passionate kiss on the lips before heading back up stairs.

              Upstairs the other two aren’t getting much done in the way of psychical clean up but emotionally they are making head way.  Kim was seated on the sofa while Mandy was trying to get the front door back on at least, so they could keep the wilderness out. Kim was talking Mandy through what had happened and what she was feeling.

            “I am sorry I ruined your date.” Kim sobbed, that was probably the worst feeling of all.  JC could have slapped her and it still wouldn’t have been worse.  Brandi faked a smiled and took a seat next to her.

              “You didn’t ruin my date; it was basically over any way.  We were just hanging out.  You could have said something, you know, told me what was going on.  I wouldn’t have stopped you from going down there but I could have been a little more prepared.” Brandi explained.

            “But you guys just looked so cute cuddling on the sofa; I really didn’t want to bother you.  I didn’t foresee things going the way that they did.  He just freaked out.”  Kim said.  Brandi blushed a little she wasn’t used to her friend referring to her as being cute in any way. 

             “That maybe the case, but we have to have each other’s back.” Mandy added.  The door kind of into place now, at least it would do for now.  She took her place on the other side of Kim comforting her as best she could.  “What exactly did you tell JC?” 

           “I told him that I was nervous about the video, because I really kind of had a crush on him.  I just didn’t want him to kiss me and not really mean it.  He looked confused at first then his eyes turned dark and he just snapped.  I think he was scared too, maybe it’s a guy thing, I don’t know you tell me.” Kim said softly, after all she really didn’t know much about guys and the way that they think.  Mandy and Brandi just nodded, defiantly a guy thing. 

           “Not to change the subject, because you are important to me, Kim.  But when Katy gets back we need to talk about what happened.  I didn’t mean to go off like that.” Brandi explained.

            “I am sure there will be more to talk about than just that.  But we defiantly have to talk.” Mandy glanced nervously at the basement door, JC flying to coop really changed things for them.  Their plans were quickly going up in smoke.

             JC stumbled over a tree and cursed at it under his breath.  He even stopped to kick it in his frustration.  The forest was very dark; the only light was from the full moon that peaked around the trees.  He was lost in the woods with no clue where he was going or even if he was going in the right direction.  He sat down on a fallen tree and put his face into his hand while called out angrily into the night, which was mostly directed inward at this point.  Why couldn’t he have just stayed and talked this out with Kim, after all he did feel the same he just couldn’t tell her that.  It wasn’t like he was looked for love right now; surely Kim would have understood that.

            “You know for some one that is trying to get away, you sure are making a lot of noise.” Katy stated she had caught up to him awhile back, and was just following him to see what he was doing.  She approached him slowly, thinking he might dart off again but he didn’t.  He remained seated but didn’t look up at her.

            “Just drug me, so we can get this over with.” JC said, maybe the drug would make him feel better and help him forget what he had just done to poor Kim.  He knew who it was; he should have known that she would catch up with him sooner or later.  It wasn’t like he stood and chance in hell of getting away.

               “First of all you are insane if you think I am dragging your unconscious ass back through this forest.  Second, I hadn’t planned on taking you back.” Katy said taking a seat beside him on the log.

            “Really?  Because I am not going back unless it’s by force.  I mean, I can’t.  I really screwed up here.  Everyone is going to hate me.” JC explained, after all he did have his pride to contend with.

               “Then I guess you aren’t going back.  I understand why you ran.  You needed to get away and right now so do I.  So let’s just hang out here awhile.” Katy offered.  He could tell that something was bothering her as well; she wasn’t being her usually witty self.  JC agreed with her and so they both sat there for a long while staring out into the trees.  There were distant sounds that made JC a little jumpy, but Katy remained unfazed.

              “I think Just was right you are fearless.” JC said.  He heard her laugh lightly.

            “I’m not.  I am just not afraid of anything in these woods, kind of like you I guess.  You did run off into the dark, so whatever you were running from must have scared you more than the dark.” Katy said raising an eye brow at him.  This time he laughed.

            “I am terrified; Kim told me that she likes me.  But I don’t know how I should feel about that.  I mean she did tackle me to the floor and then abduct me.” JC said.

            “There is your problem, fuck how you should feel and just let your feelings be whatever they are, no matter how illogical it may seem.”  Katy explained.  JC thought about it for awhile.

            “So you really aren’t going to drag me back?” He asked, part of him didn’t believe her.  Maybe she was just playing some kind of mind game with him and he wasn’t sure that he could win a mind game against her, she defied logic.

            “No.  I knew when we started this that there would be risks involved; I thought that I had taken everything into consideration.  But tonight I realized that this is costing me more that I am will to sacrifice.  It’s costing me my friends.” Katy said softly as if she was still thinking about it.  It made sense to JC, it had always been clear to him how much the girls valued their friendship, like he had once had with the guys.  “Besides, I don’t think that is had been me that was keeping you there in the first place.”

            “What’s that supposed to mean?” JC asked.

            “Don’t be stupid JC.” Katy snapped back.  No amount of planning and weaponry could ever keep five guys at bay.  It was the fear of leaving the others behind that made JC stay.  JC had the numbers on his side, there is no way the girls could have subdued all five of them if they had attempted to escape.  Someone would have gotten away, and could have gone for help.  But the guys started to fall for the girls and there was a question as to if some of them would even try to get away. 

           Katy reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny compose.  It was pretty beat up but it seemed precious to her.  She took JC’s hand and placed the compass gently on his palm.

              “Kim gave this to me a while back.  She said that I had a knack for getting lost some times and that this might help me find my way.” Katy explained.  It wasn’t just about being in the woods; JC had a lot of tough choices ahead of him tonight and might be the one need of some guidance.  Katy was sure that she could find her way this time. 

           “I can’t take this.” JC said trying to give it back to her.  He didn’t want to be held accountable for the items safe keeping, even though he was lost.  But Katy refused to take it back.  Some how she felt like Kim would want him to have it.  JC knew he couldn’t force her to take it.

            “If you just head south you will come to a small town, what you do from there is your business.  It’s not as far as you might think.” Katy explained climbing up off the log.  At this point she really didn’t care if she got lost in the woods; it was peaceful out there unlike the chaos that awaited her back at the house.

            “What about the video?” JC asked.

            “You were right before; this was never about the video.  But believe me when I say that we never meant to hurt you guys and I can see that you are hurting.” She said.  But he wasn’t the only one hurting tonight, in some way they all were.  She started off toward the house; they had traveled a fairly far from the house.   JC must have been running when he left the house to make it so far in such short amount of time.

            JC sat there alone in the woods, flipping the compass around in his hand thinking about what Katy had said, the sounds seemed less scary to him after what Katy had said.  He finally found the strength to get up and continue on his way.

            Katy walked slowly back, taking time to think about what she was ging to tell the others as well as making it appear that she had actually search for JC.  Katy didn’t believe in lying but maybe this one time it wouldn’t kill her then again maybe she would have to lie.  She paused at the door, which was just kind hanging on by a thread.  By now it was nearly dawn, the sun light rays barely visible in the distance.  What would the odds be that everyone was asleep?

            The door creaked as she closed it causing Mandy to stir a little from her place on the sofa.  Brandi and Kim were nowhere to be found, Mandy must have been voted to stay up and wait for Katy to return, a mission that she had clearly failed at.  Katy went into the kitchen and located some cookies, she thought the sugar might help her feel better, but it didn’t.

           “How long of you been home?” Mandy asked stretching her arms and trying to wake up.“Not long.” Katy sighed.  “I couldn’t get JC back.” Katy figure she might as well but that out there since it was likely the next question any way.  Mandy frowned and looked at the ground.

          “So what are we going to do now?” Mandy asked.  “We skip a few steps but proceed as planned.” Katy said.   Katy went over and turned the computer on; she wanted to at least try to put the video together.  If JC went to the cops she figured that they had at least the rest of the day to get things is order, then they would have to leave, since there was no way of knowing what JC had decided to do.

           Mandy didn’t question Katy further but left to take a shower, leaving Katy alone for awhile.  Katy was surprised that she didn’t feel as tired as she thought she would, having just stayed up all night, but maybe she could get a nap later.

             “Has anyone been up to check on Kim?” Brandi asked, looking over at the other two.  Katy was still hard at work on the computer and Mandy was writing in her journal.   They both shook their heads; they figured Kim would be down when she was ready to talk.  “Fine, I’ll do it.” Brandi headed upstairs and knocked on the first door that she came to.

             “Who is it?” Kim asked.

            “It’s Brandi.” She said softly, leaning against the door.  She could hear the a few faint sniffles.

            “Go away.” Kim yelled, but Brandi opened the door any way and went inside.  Kim was seated on her blow up bed surrounded by used tissues.

              “Don’t you listen?” Kim asked her eyes red from crying.  She wasn’t sure what hurt more, what JC had done or what she had done to her friends.  She had single handedly ruined everything.

            “Nope, I never have been good at following directions.” Brandi joked.  She got Kim to smile a little so she took that as a good sign and took a seat on the floor next to her.

              “So where is the prick at?” Kim snapped, she cringed a little as she said it, she really didn’t think JC was a prick, even after what had happened she still kind of liked him.  She didn’t realize that he was that strong or swift.

            “He is gone, Katy couldn’t find him.” Brandi explained.  It sounded kind of cold, but it was the truth and Brandi wasn’t sure that she could sugar coat it.  Katy had been out all night searching for him, so it wasn’t like they hadn’t tried.

            “What?  Is Katy mad?” Kim asked.  Brandi just shrugged, Katy wasn’t usually one to hold a grudge, just another thing that she didn’t believe in, but she was so into working on the video right now it was hard to tell if she was still mad or just focused.

              “What do you care if JC is gone, I kind of thought that is what you wanted all along the way to two of you went at it.” Brandi questioned.  Despite what they others may have believed Brandi had seen the twinkle in Kim’s eyes when she thought about JC.  She knew that Kim liked him; she wasn’t as good at hiding her emotions as she thought she was.

            “I don’t, I just don’t want you guys to be mad at me, that’s all.  To be honest I was shocked that you even brought me along on this little adventure to begin with.  I am not exactly the adventurer type.” Kim said.

            “I know, but we thought it would be good for you, you know a chance for you get out of your shell and explore the real world.” Brandi explained, after all they had discussed it at length.  Kim was always a question mark in their minds.  But they were a team and she was an important part of that team.

            “This is not the real world.  This is the fucked up universe that you and Katy thrive in.” Kim stated, laughing a little under her breath.  This was the kind of thing you only read about on books.  Real people don’t kidnapped boy bands, real people don’t fall in love with rock stars.  “You know what come to think of it the real world kind of sucks.  I think I know why you and Katy are always getting in to trouble.  It’s exciting, yet really exhausting.” 

           “Don’t worry; you’ll develop a tolerance over time.”  Brandi smiled, Kim had no idea the kind of trouble her and Katy had gotten into in the past but yes ir was exciting.  She was glad Kim was at least talking to her; she went out on a limb and asked Kim another question.

            “What really happened between you and JC?” Brandi asked.

            “I told you I went down there to see him, because I just couldn’t do the love scene knowing that I really liked him and then he would just be acting like he liked me.  We talked about it had he seemed confused, I just don’t think he could handle the pressure that I had put on him.” Kim said.  She could see herself in the reflection of a mirror that was on the other side of the room, she looked like a wreck.  “So what happens now?” Kim added.“We wrap things up here and then we leave, Katy says that was have at least today before JC finds his way out of the forest, and goes for help.” Brandi explained.  The look on Kim’s face said it all.  “This is not your fault; JC was unhappy here and would have left sooner or later.”

Kim nodded, she kind of believed that.  Then asked Brandi to leave so that she could get cleaned up and back to being human again.  Brandi respected her wishes and left, there wasn’t much more that she could do for her any way, the rest she would have to fix for herself.  Plus Brandi wanted to check on the guys, she wanted to spend some more time with Chris while she still could.

Once she got cleaned up, Kim headed down stairs not sure what to expect.  But everything seemed normal, as if nothing was wrong, but Kim knew that it was just a front.  She felt guilty and she wanted to do something to help, the only she could think to ask herself was, what would Katy or Brandi do in this situation?  Blow something up?  Stab someone?

“Hey do you guys care if I borrow the car, I just feel like getting out of here for a bit.  You know to clear my head?” Kim finally asked.  Katy glanced up from the computer and tossed her the keys to her car.  Maybe Kim really did just need some fresh air; god knows it had done wonders for Katy the night before.

Down stairs Brandi let Chris pull her onto his lap and she rested against him for a minute.  She could feel the others looking at her but she didn’t care.

“You know even if JC goes to the police, we’ll just deny it.  It will be our word against his.” Justin said.  It wasn’t that he cared so much about her and Chris relationship but it was his own romance that he wasn’t ready to give up on.  Katy hadn’t been down to see him since it had happened, he had heard that she was upstairs working on the video, but it just sounded like a lame excuse.

“I want to believe you guys, but we have done some very bad things, maybe we deserve to be punished for it.” Brandi offered.  Chris just held on to her hand and stared at her lovingly while Justin smiled, god only knows what that boy was thinking about.  “Justin, you dirty little pervert.” Brandi joked.

“What?  I didn’t say anything.” Justin said.

“But you were thinking it.  But who were you think about little man?” Brandi questioned.  Justin hadn’t shown a real interest in any one since they arrived, of course Katy hung all over him but that wasn’t unusual and they didn’t seem romantic.  Mandy was pretty and could defiantly turn heads.  Kim was a sweet heart; it could be easy for someone to fall for her innocence.

“Maybe, it’s you.  Wouldn’t be the first time Chris and I have fallen for the same chick.  But honestly I would bend any one of you girls over my knee and teach you a lesson.” Justin said, sounding more than just a little cocky. 

“Hey now, back off.  If anyone is laying a hand on her it will be me.  You can have at the other three though if you think you could even catch them.” Chris interrupted.  He wrapped his arms around Brandi as if to protect her, truth was it didn’t think he could ever hit a woman, even playfully.  He knew what the girls had done was wrong, and he remembered the anger he had felt when he woke up in the back of that car.  But now it was just a fading memory. 

“You want to put money on that?” Justin asked, flashing them both his million dollar smile.  Chris and Brandi exchanged glances, Justin was up to something. 

“Fine, I’ll bite.  $100 bucks says that you can’t catch and spank Katy.” Chris said, he even pulled his wallet out and pulled out a $100 bill.  He had picked Katy for more reasons that any one realized, but mostly because Katy would be the hardest to catch.  If Justin could pull that off then he would have earned the money.  “But you can’t tell her what you are doing, because she is freaky like that and it wouldn’t be far.  You just have to pounce on her.” Chris added.

“Awesome.  Now we need and impartial third party.” Justin said looking around.  Brandi held out her hand to him.  “I said impartial third party.” Justin added.  After all she was sitting on top of his competitor that hardly made her impartial.  Brandi just wanted him to give her $100 bucks which she knew he would never see again.  It wasn’t like Justin would catch Katy off guard any way.  She would tear him apart.

“I’ll do it, now pay up you two.” Lance offered.  Chris handed Lance the money and waited for Justin to dig his money out.

“How will we know if you succeed?” Chris asked.

“Oh trust me, you’ll know.” Brandi sighed, the whole house would know.  Justin held out his hand to Brandi.  “What?” She asked.

“Well I can’t do it chained down here.  You have to unchain me so I can go stalk my prey.” Justin teased.  Brandi thought about it, with JC gone did it really matter if one of them was let lose for a few hours?  After all this was going to be entertaining, someone was about to get their ass handed to them.

“Fine but if anyone asked, I had not part in this.” Brandi said and then released Justin.  Chris made a pouty face at her.  “Why do you need unchained, where do you think you are going handsome?” Brandi asked.  She leaned down and kissed him on the lips causing him to groan slightly.  Brandi had every intention of spending the whole day doing just that, loving on her Chris.  Unfortunately for Lance and Joey they were just going to have to suffer through it.

Justin snuck up the stairs while Chris and Brandi were distracted.  Little did the others know, it didn’t matter to Justin whether he won or lose the bet, he just wanted an excuse to see Katy.  It was clear that she had no intentions of coming down stairs.  Maybe Justin had done some something wrong, why didn’t she want to see him the way that Brandi wanted to see Chris?

He stood there is the doorway watching her for awhile, she looked focused, but he couldn’t see what was on her screen.  But she was really into whatever she was doing.  He almost didn’t want to interrupt her.  With her so focused though he knew this was his only chance to possibly win the bet.  He snuck up behind her.

“If this is an escape attempt the door is that way.” Katy joked, not taking her eyes off the screen but pointing him into the right direction.  He didn’t know it but she would see him in the reflection of the monitor. 

Mandy was nowhere to be seen so Justin wrapped his arms around Katy and kissed her lightly on the cheek.  He looked at the screen but he couldn’t make any sense out of it.

“I am not trying to get away; you know that I wouldn’t do that to you.” He whispered.  Katy felt a shiver run down her spine as he spoke.  His ability to render her useless was still impressive.  She turned to him and before she could speak he kissed her.  “Why are you avoiding me?” He asked.

“I am not avoiding you.  I just… want to finish this before it’s too late.” Katy explained.   The truth was she was kind of avoiding him.  He could read her better than anyone, he might figure out her secret.  The others would never forgive her for letting JC get away.  “Is Brandi down there trying to start trouble?” Katy asked trying to change the topic.

“You have no idea, how much trouble they are starting down there.  But you are about to find out.” Justin said sneaking that last part in there.  Then before Katy could question him he pulled her up off the chair and tossed her over his shoulder.  She was screaming bloody murder and yelling obscenities at him.  Smacking him on the ass every chance she got.  After all his face was still sore from the night before so she couldn’t very well hit him there.  Justin had to admit that holding on to her was harder than he thought, for as tiny as she was, she sure was strong. 

But Justin wasn’t heading down stairs with her; instead he turned and went upstairs with her.  He really didn’t care about winning the stupid bet; he had something else in mind.  If this was his last day with her wanted to spend it alone with her doing what he does best.

“Which room is your?” Justin asked as he cleared the stairs. 

“I am in the one on the right, why?” Katy asked.

“Oh you know why baby.  Come on I need to be with you right now and I think you need to be with me too.” Justin explained.  Once inside the room it was easy to tell which on was her bed and which was Brandi’s, so he carefully set her down on her bed.  She crossed her arms and sat Indian style on the bed as if it was the safest position that she would think of.

“Justin I don’t have time for this, I have things to do.” Katy argued.  Truth was she was just upset, more with herself than anyone else but she didn’t need to be messing around with Justin right now, she had things to fix.

“Come on baby, I never thought I would hear myself say this but I just need to be with you, I don’t care what we do.  Just forget about the video for a half an hour.  I think you owe me at least that much of your time.  He crawled on to the air bed and wrapped his arms around her.  He held her like that for awhile and Katy couldn’t help but think that he was acting weird.  This was nice but this wasn’t the Justin she had envisioned. 

“You know, I didn’t get much sleep last night, maybe we could just take a nap.” Katy offered, after all she was already here and it seemed like a good idea now that she thought about it.  “Can you actually lay in bed with me and behave?” She asked.  Justin propped himself up on one arm and pulled her covers over to them.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Justin said smiling at her.  It was like learning experience for him, he wanted to do whatever she wanted to do at this point and if that meant taking a nap then so be it. She laid back bed and he pulled her close to him, for some one that had been living in a basement for a week he sure smelled great and he was so warm, like having her own personal heater.  She kissed him lightly on the nose; she wanted to make him feel better. 

“I think I might have another boo boo that you can kiss and make better for me.” Justin teased.  Katy playing smacked him and got comfortable.  Within a matter of seconds she was out, she must be a heavy sleeper.  Justin laid there for awhile running his hand over her arms and her hair; she only stirred slightly.  What on earth was this woman doing to him?

             Kim had no clue where she was going so she just let the car guide her.  It wasn’t long before she reached the small town.  She had been there before with Mandy, it was just a tiny town.  But it dawned on Kim that they did have a hotel.  If JC had made it out of the forest, he would have likely headed there, Kim reasoned and found herself heading there as well.  She knew if he saw her she would be busted, wasn’t this kind of like stalking?  But for some reason Kim no longer cared the guilt was killed her as it was.

The hotel wasn’t fancy, if JC had been there it’s not like any one would have noticed him, it wasn’t like a celebrity would visit there willingly.  When she walked in Kim noticed right away the lack of personnel.  The front desk was vacant and she approached it slowly.  As she got closer she could see the teenaged clerk in the back room with their ear buds jammed in their ear, rocking out to something.

What Kim did next surprised even her.  She made her way around the desk and moved the mouse to wake up the computer.  Using her computer knowledge Kim was able to bring the guest list.  Big shocker, JC name wasn’t on there, but he could have checked in under another name and paid cash.  She search through the few entries that were there, finding only person that had checked in alone.  The clerk was still oblivious so Kim to the liberty of making herself a room key before heading to the second floor.

She was either about to scare the hell out of some random person or really piss off JC.   Kim paused at the door before placing the key into the reader, secretly hoping that is wouldn’t turn green, but it flash green and she hears it unlock.  She opened the door slowly surprised to see that he hadn’t secured it better, then again this probably wasn’t a high crime area.  The bathroom door was shut and the shower was running so Kim ventured further into the room.  The lack of luggage led her to believe that she did in fact have the right room.  There was a shopping bag and new cloth lay on the bed. 

Kim waited to see if he would come out soon; her heart was in her throat.  She thought about running but that’s when the water shut off.  As she thought about it more she froze in fear unable to move.  Before she could compose herself, the bathroom door opened and JC stepped out, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.  Shocked to see her he almost lost his towel.  Kim was quick to throw her hands over her eyes in case he didn’t catch it in time. 

When she was sure it was safe to look she put her hands down by her side, JC just stared at her for a minute.  He felt like he was dreaming, how on earth did she find him and how did she get into his room.  Kim was staring back at him, the water from the shower still clinging to his body and dripping from his wet hair.  The two of them said nothing but neither of them took their eyes off the other.  Kim finally blushed, this was kind of embarrassing.  He was better looking than even she had imagined.  His toned upper arms and wash board abs.  This suddenly felt like a mistake why would a guy, that looked like that, ever want her?

JC noted the way she was looking at him; it was like she had never seen him before.  He thought maybe it was because he was nearly nude but there seemed to be more to it.  He finally got up the nerve to talk; the awkward silence was getting to him.  JC cleared his throat as if to direct her attention back to his face.

“What are you doing here and how did you even get in here?” JC asked trying to sound a little angry.  On the inside he was just happy to see her.  Kim just held up the key card and kind of smiled.  She was after all very proud of herself for thinking of it.  It was the little victories that mattered most to her.

“I had to find you.” Kim said softly.  JC felt his heart thaw a little as she spoke; she was being so sweet and shy for some one that had just broken into his hotel room.  “I shouldn’t have sprung all that crap on you when I did.  I am sorry.  I just needed to tell you how I felt and that I was really nervous.  I think the others are upset with me, I mean they haven’t come right out and said it but I can feel it.  I screwed up; I am guessing that you have talked to the police.”

JC looked away for the first time and softly said no under his breath, he hadn’t gone to the cops, he hadn’t made up his mind about it yet, but if he did he knew at least Chris would kill him for sure, maybe a few others.  And the girls weren’t that dangerous. 

“Why not, I thought that I what you wanted all along to get away and get us arrested.” Kim asked.

“It was, but things change I guess.  I don’t know what I want any more, accept…” JC trailed off at the end and stepped closer to Kim.  Her breath caught in her throat.  He secretly wanted to know just how serious this crush of hers was, so he played into it a little, getting close enough to her to make her uncomfortable and nervous then he reached down and got his clothes off of the bed.  “I would like to get dressed now if that is okay with you?” He asked, still close to her, his blue eyes pricing into her.  Kim didn’t want to admit it but his current attire was a little distracting for her.  She finally managed a nod.  JC headed back for the bathroom but paused before entering.  “You’re not going to taze are you?” He asked.

Kim just shook her head; come to think of it she couldn’t remember if she had even grabbed a weapon before leaving the house, she had just wanted to get away.  JC smiled at her again, she was like a star stuck fan now and it was cute as hell.

“You will still be here when I come back out, right?” He asked, pointing into the bathroom.   It’s not that he was shy but Kim didn’t look like she could handle the full show just yet.

“Of course.” Kim squeaked.  JC didn’t know if she really meant it, he half expected her to be gone by the time he came back out.  By much to surprise she was seated on the bed nervously looking around when he emerged from the bathroom again, this time fully clothed.  He took a seat next to her on the bed and gently placed his hand on her knee.  He felt bad for storming out on her like he had.

“JC, we need to talk about this.” Kim sighed.

“Define, this?”  JC asked.   He was just toying with her at this point.  He knew what she wanted to talk about. 

 “This, you know the video, the kidnapping, us?” Kim explained. 

“What about us, I am sorry I freaked out on you yesterday.  I didn’t realize that there was a ‘us’ until you brought it up yesterday.  I mean you barely know me.” JC said.  He knew women all over the world fantasized about him, but it wasn’t love.  That was just them being crazy fans.

“I know enough to know that I like you.  You’re a great guy and very good looking to boot.  Your life is so stressful, but you keep at it any way.  That says a lot about you.” Kim explained.  He had never thought about it that way.  He could have just tried to get away as soon as they had taken him but once he realized that they were just girls, he did try to work with them.  “I suck when it comes to dealing with guys and I am sure I said something yesterday to make you run, but I am not like Brandi and Katy.”

“And thank god for that.” JC huffed.  If she were like them then he wouldn’t like her near as much as he did.  It was her innocence that was just so darn cute.  He ran his finger in circles on his pant leg.  “The thing is, I kind of like you too.”  JC said softly.  Kim wasn’t sure she had heard that right.  He looked up at him and she looked confused.  There was no way that could be true.  “But this is all very weird for me.  It’s not like a normal situation and I just didn’t know how to handle it.” JC added.

“I understand.  I didn’t go into this expecting anything.  That is kind of why I was a bitch to you.  I didn’t want to feel the way that I did, because this couldn’t possibly end well.  You know expect the worst and pray for the best.” Kim explained.  Kim took JC’s hand and held it in hers for a minute; she just wanted to feel his touch.  He didn’t’ try to stop her.  JC wouldn’t have let her touch him before, something had changed between them.  “We have to think of something, I don’t want my friends to be mad at me, because in the end they are all I have.” Kim begged.

There were tears in her eyes and it broke JC’s heart, but he didn’t know what to do for her.  What was done could never be undone.  He whipped away a few stray tears from her cheek with his thumb and then rested his hand against the side of her face; he waited to see if any more tears would escape.  Before he knew what he was doing he pulled her in for a kiss.  It was a sweet kiss and just as innocent as she was.  He pulled away from her to find her eyes still closed, she had to think that she was dreaming.

“We’ll think of something.  This is just as much my fault as it is yours and I don’t want the guys to be mad at me either.  We have been through so much together, we’re like brothers.” JC explained.  Kim finally opened her eyes and blinked a few time.  JC could have told her that she was a princess at this point and she would have believed him.

“I need to head back soon; the others will be worried about me.  But I won’t make you go with me.” Kim sighed turning away from him; she couldn’t take his rejection that she knew was coming.  JC smiled, he had heard that before from Katy.  But it wasn’t clear if Kim knew what had really happened last night but he wasn’t going to tell her that was between her and Katy as far as he was concerned.  The silence seemed to go on forever.  Kim finally got up and headed for the door.

“Wait.  I want to go back with you.  I really do but I just need a little time to myself.  I need to clear my head.  See if you can stall your friends before they do anything rash.” JC begged.  That is when Kim noticed out of the corner of her eye, laying on the counter by the kitchenette, was a small compass.  Kim shook the thought from her head.

“I will try but I can’t stall them forever.  If you aren’t back by sun down, then don’t bother going back to the house.” Kim warned.  JC watched Kim pick up the compass; he had hoped she wouldn’t see it.  She might think he was a jerk or that Katy was a fraud. 

“Why what happens at sun down?” JC asked.

“Nothing that will concern you if you aren’t there, we just have to proceed as if you went to the cops.  We’ll have to run away.” Kim explained.  It made sense to JC; they had to assume the worst from him, he had given them no real reason to trust him.  Kim was still looking the compass over, she knew what it was and where it had come from, but she wasn’t sure how JC come into procession of it.  Had he stolen it from her or had she given it to him?  But she didn’t want to ask him, she had taken up enough of his time.  “Can I have this?” She asked.

“Of course, you can have whatever you want.” JC offered, still waiting for her to ask him where he had gotten it, but she just stuck it in her pocket.  Kim laughed; she most certainly couldn’t have whatever she wanted because she wanted him.  But it’s like they say if you love something you have to let it go.  Whoever said that clearly had never fallen in love with JC Chasez.   Kim paused at the door.

“Good luck, JC.” She said softly.

“With what?” He asked.

“With your thinking.  I hope you find whatever it is that you are looking for, I really do.” Kim explained and then blew him a kiss as she slipped out the door.  JC sat there for a minute wonder why she hadn’t brought the compass up and still reeling from the kiss.  As short as it was it still said so much about the kind of woman Kim was.  He fell back onto the bed and drifted off to sleep, it had been a long night after all.

             Mandy was outside gathering fire wood, she figured with all that had taken place, maybe they could have a fire tonight and just spend some time outside enjoying each other company for once.  It wasn’t until she went back inside that things seemed too quiet.  She found Brandi still in the basement with Chris and the others.

            “Where is Justin?” Mandy asked.

            “He wasn’t upstairs?” Brandi questioned, a million things running through her mind.  Mandy just shook her head no.  “We heard screaming awhile back; maybe Katy really did kill him.  Did you check the back yard that is probably where she would bury the body?” Brandi joked.

              “I was in the backyard, they weren’t out there.  You don’t think they ran off do you?” Mandy asked.

            “Together?  No, but I think Katy was up all night she may be taking a nap.  Justin might have gone for a walk or to find JC.  I mean I really don’t know.  Not my day to watch him.” Brandi explained.

            “But I take it you’re the one that unchained him.  So that kind of makes it your responsibility.” Mandy said.  Brandi just shrugged, it wasn’t like Justin could do anything that JC hadn’t already done and if he was really gone then Lance just made $200 bucks.  Brandi slowly got up off Chris’s lap; he had fallen asleep so she was trying not to wake him.  He stirred a little feeling the cold air hit him but she toss a blanket over him and he settled back down.

            He looked so sweet when he was sleeping.  Brandi could totally wake up next to him on a daily basis if fate would let her.  She didn’t want to leave him but Mandy was kind of right, she had let Justin go and probably should go look for him.  Heaven forbid the pop star get lost in the woods and break the hearts of millions.

            “I’ll go find Katy.  I need to talk to her any way.  And while I am up I look for Justin as well.” Brandi explained and headed upstairs.  She had a pretty good idea where Katy was.  She headed up to their bed room without giving the miss boy band member a second thought until she opened their bedroom door.

            What she saw was one of the last things she ever expected.  There was Justin in Katy’s bed with her.  At first she thought the worst but a second glace revealed that they were both still fully clothed.  Justin’s eyes were fixed on the sleeping girl beside him; they were both on their sides, her back pressed up against his chest as he held her close.  He didn’t want to let her go and she seemed to be attracted to his body heat.

            Brandi wasn’t sure what to say, Justin clearly wasn’t asleep and it was only a matter of time before he realized that she was standing there staring at them.  It wasn’t something Brandi thought she would never see.  Someone had finally fallen for Katy and it was some one that Katy actually deserved.  Justin wasn’t a jerk or a work in progress or any of the other hopeless cases than had fallen for and failed miserably to control the energetic young woman.  Justin soothed her and calmed her even now that she was a sleep she wasn’t tossing and turning like she usually did, she was relaxed.

            “Now that takes talent.” Brandi finally whispered, catching Justin’s attention.  Justin looked up at her a little unsure as to what she was talking about.  “You have a way with her.” Brandi added.  Justin brushed a stay curl away from Katy’s face and just smiled.  All the thoughts he had earlier of doing very bad things to her were replaced with a fiery passion, a true romance.

“I think she has a way with me.  I’ve never felt like this before and it scares the crap out of me.” Justin admitted.  He wasn’t sure why but he felt like he could share anything with Brandi and know that she would keep it in confidence. 

“It’s okay to be scared; if you weren’t then I would be worried and then I might have to kick your ass.  Katy may lead you believe that she doesn’t get scared or hurt, but she does and if you hurt her, I promise you this… they’ll never find your body.” Brandi joked but there was some seriousness to what she was saying.  Would she kill him? No.  But she might be tempted to remove his favorite appendage. 

“I take if you didn’t come up here looking for me?” Justin asked.

“That would be correct, but I hate to wake her.  She was out all night looking for JC.  Plus the two of you actually look pretty good together.” Brandi commented.  Justin blushed a little.  He kind of thought that they made a pretty good pair as well.

“Can I keep her?” Justin whispered then lightly kissed her cheek.

“Hell, I think you are the only one that wants her.  Why is that?  I mean you are Justin Timberlake.  You can have any girl that you want and as her friend, I can tell you that she is more than a little broken.” Brandi joked.  She knew Katy better than probably any one so she when she said something about her it was the truth

"She isn’t broken.  She’s special.” Justin corrected.  He wasn’t sure there was anything about her that he would change.  Well maybe the flirting thing, but sometimes her cluelessness was kind of cute.  “You want me to wake her for you?” Justin asked.

“Knock yourself out.  Last time I tried to wake her up she kicked me.  She has some pretty messed up dreams.   Just tell her that I want to talk to her when she becomes a little more coherent.” Brandi said and then stepped out of the room.  She wanted to give them their space and she knew for a fact that you couldn’t talk to Katy right after she wakes up; it’s like talking to a zombie. 

Justin kissed her on the forehead and pulled her close to him.  He whispered something sweet into her ear and she smiled.  The sound of his voice was like music to her but it wasn’t very affective in waking her up.  He shook her lightly and called her name.  She finally turned over in his arm to face him.

“Why aren’t you naked?” Katy finally asked softly, somewhat coming back to earth, her face dangerously close to his.  Katy saw him flash that sexy smile of his and she felt her heart flutter.  Without missing a beat he pulled her in for a kiss.  She tugged and the hem of his shirt but he stopped her.

“Brandi is waiting outside; she wants to talk to you.”  Justin explained, after all it wasn’t that he didn’t want to do anything with her, but with her friend so close and waiting on them it was a little awkward.  Katy whimpered and pouted at him, she knew Brandi would understand if they needed a minute.  “You can come back to L.A. with me and we can spend days in bed together.” He offered running his hand along the side of her face.  After all at least at his place they would have an actual bed and no one around to bother them.

“Hum… I’ll have to think about that.  I am not exactly domesticated.” Katy moaned.  It made him smile as he rested his forehead against hers, he just wanted to get inside her mind and see what she was really thinking.  If she was just teasing him then it was cruel.  He knew she wasn’t domesticated and probably couldn’t be tamed.  She snuggled in closer to him and she could feel him start to stiffen from her body heat.  Katy wrapped her arms around him and got as close as she could.  “You are warm, I don’t wanna get up.”

Justin sighed and kissed her again on the forehead, he didn’t want to get up either but he knew they had to soon or he wasn’t going to be able to help what happened next.  She pulled him in for a kiss and growled playfully at him.

“I don’t want this to be the only thing we do together.” He said kissing her back passionately he started to crawl on top of her when he realized that Brandi was still waiting on them.  “Wait, Brandi is outside waiting on us to get up.” Justin said trying to pull away from her, but Katy clung to him.  She stroked him a few time through his jeans causing him to groan.  It was clear that he was trying to be a good boy but failing horribly no thanks to Katy.  “You are a bad influence on me.” He whined.

“Hey Brandi, give us like 15 minutes.” Katy yelled.  Brandi rolled her eyes, but she didn’t blame her Justin had the body of a Greek god and who knows when and if they will have another chance to be together.

“Fine, take your time.  I’ll be down stairs.  But you better stay on your bed.” Brandi said and then walked off, it wasn’t like she wanted to stay and listen to whatever they were doing.  Brandi had no more than cleared the steps when Mandy appeared out of nowhere.

“Did you find her?” Mandy asked.  Brandi thought about her answer.  It was unclear how Mandy would handle the truth and it really wasn’t her place to gossip.  She truthfully didn’t know what exactly was going on upstairs and honestly didn’t care.

“Yeah, I was right she was taking a nap.  I woke her up but you know how Katy is it takes her a minute to get really awake.” Brandi explained.“And Justin?” Mandy questioned.

“Oh, I forgot he asked me earlier if he could take a nap on my bed.  You know how tight the sleeping arrangements are down stairs and Justin is a big boy, he needs to spread out I guess.” Brandi lied, but it sounded pretty good.  Mandy looked at her as if she didn’t really believe that but she went along with it for now.  She really didn’t want to know what Katy was up to half the time.

“Hey I was thinking that we could have a fire tonight and get all the guys out.  I mean it doesn’t really matter anymore if they run off, right?  I gathered up some wood and everything.” Mandy beamed. 

“That sounds great; I’ll let the others know.  I think we have some hot dogs too.  Maybe you can find us some roasting sticks?” Brandi asked and then sent Mandy back outside.  Heaven forbid she go looking for Katy right now.  Brandi headed back down stairs, to tell the guys and to kind of let Chris know that he might have lost his money provided Justin actually remembers that they even had a bet.

             Kim returned to the house and was sitting in the car, flipping the compass between her fingers.  She was thinking about what she had said to JC but mostly she was thinking about the stupid compass.  How did he get it?  There was a part of her that wanted to go inside and confront Katy about it but in doing so she would either confirm to Katy that she had gone looking for JC or that someone had stolen it.

            It was killing her though, if Katy had found JC last night why would she lie about it?  With that thought Kim got out and slowly walking to the front door.  She could hear Mandy and Brandi talking as she walked it.

            “Where did you go?” Mandy asked.

            “Did you find what you were looking for?” Brandi asked ignoring Mandy’s question after all the where wasn’t that important.

            “I just went for a drive, and not really I just found more questions than answers.” Kim explained.  She held the item in question in her pocket so they couldn’t see it, not that they would know what it was.  She looked at her friends and did her best to fake a smile.  “I need to talk to Katy, is she around?” Kim asked.

            “Yeah, she is up stairs.” Mandy said.  Brandi was behind Mandy and just shook her head at Kim indicating that upstairs was not some place she wanted to go right now.  Kim questioned it but there must have been a reason that Brandi was not saying anything out loud so Kim went along with it.

              “I am not in a hurry; I’ll wait for her to come down.  So what have you guys been up to?” Kim asked, really just trying to change the subject.  Mandy explained her idea about having a camp fire tonight with the guys and Kim did her best to act interested but if JC wasn’t going to be there then she really didn’t care.  “That sounds great, how can I help?” Kim asked.  Anything to get her mind off JC right now would be great. 

           Mandy took her by the hand and lead her out the back door.  She wanted Kim to help her look for some roasting sticks.  Brandi stood there for a minute after they left the room, debating on what Kim would want to talk to Katy about and wondering why Katy was suddenly so popular.  Tonight was going to be interesting that much was certain. 

             Brandi lost her train of thought when she heard Katy scream and curse at Justin.  Katy came down the steps moments later, rubbing her butt and glaring at Justin who was right behind her.  Clearly Justin wasn’t too concerned about letting the whole house know where he had been. 

             “Tell your man that he just lost $100 bucks.” Justin beamed.

            “Do I even want to know?” Katy questioned.

             “Boys will be boys, why don’t you go tell him.  I still need to talk to my friend.  That is if you two love birds are done upstairs.” Brandi joked, giving Katy a playful wink.  Justin just smiled and stole a kiss from Katy before running off to talk to Chris.  Katy didn’t even try to hide the fact that she was checking out Justin ass as he left the room.  It was like she was trying to commit every part of him to memory. 

             Katy took a seat on the bottom step and tried to make herself look a little more presentable, brushing her hand through her curls and adjusting her clothes.  Brandi smiled and took a seat next to Katy; of course she had to have picked the most uncomfortable place to sit in the whole room.  Brandi was concerned a little that Katy seemed so calm.

            “So…” Brandi started out, nudging her friend a little.  It made Katy smile and laugh a little which was reassuring to Brandi.  Katy knew that Brandi wouldn’t judge her for what she just did; god knows she had done worst.  “I take it that wasn’t a first for you and him.” Brandi added.  Katy shook her head, thinking about to a few days ago.  At the time she had thought that would just be a onetime thing, but now Justin seemed to really like her.

              “I think he really likes me.  What do I do?” Katy asked.

              “What do you mean what do you do?  I think you may have skipped a few steps, but you could start with letting him take you out for dinner or to a club.” Brandi suggested.

            “But he likes me.  Nobody every likes me, hell you guys don’t even like me all the time.” Katy joked, trying to hide the seriousness of her question.  “He wasn’t supposed to be a good guy; you know what I do to good guys.” Katy stated.  The bad boys Katy could handle, they were already broken so she didn’t have to worry about ruining them.  In the studio earlier in the week Justin was behaving badly and acting like Katy had expecting a rock star to act, but upstairs he was being a freaking gentleman and it kind of freaked her out.  What had changed? 

           “Katy, just do what you do best and don’t think about it.  Just let things happen.  Justin has to know by now what he is getting himself into.  But I am the last person to give out relationship advice.” Brandi said.  Katy nodded, her friend was right she just needed to let it be for now. 

           “So, what did you want before my love life got you side tracked?” Katy asked. 

             “I was just caught off guard that you even had a love life.  I thought you told me everything.  What else are you keeping from me?  But any way, I wanted to talk about last night.  I am sorry I yelled at you.  I feel awful about it.” Brandi explained.  Katy looked Brandi in the eye, she could see the hurt that was there and it made her want to tell her everything.  But the truth might hurt more.

            “It wasn’t that I was hiding it, it just never came up.  And don’t worry about last night we all did some pretty stupid stuff.  This will all be over soon and we can get back to normal.” Katy said. 

           “There will be no ‘normal’ after this.” Brandi reminded her.  How do you move on after abducting guys and forcing them to record music for you?  Anything they do after this is just going to be boring.  “By the way, Kim came back.  She is looking for you as well.  But Mandy took her outside to do something.  Do you have any clue what she might want?” Brandi asked. 

           “Well my physic powers haven’t come in yet.  But I am glad that she came back.  I would have been pissed if she stole my car.”  Katy joked, still trying to lighten the mood; she wasn’t good with this serious stuff.  Brandi laughed but gave her a serious look.  “What? I really don’t know.   It could be regarding any number of stupid things that I have done in the past few days.  If you want me to list them all off we could be here awhile.” Katy replied truthfully.  It wasn’t like Katy to keep secrets but Brandi let it slide this time and got up.    Brandi started to walk away when she paused.

            “Hey do you think…” Brandi started but then stopped like she wasn’t sure what she wanted to say.

              “The bedroom is available if you want it and I can keep those two busy for days.  Like you said, don’t think about it, just let things happen.” Katy said with a sly grin, if Brandi wanted some alone time with Chris that was up to her, even if it was just to talk or snuggle.  Katy closed her eyes and thought about Justin, god he was so comforting and warm.  But Chris was a pretty attractive guy; she wouldn’t blame Brandi at all for having a little fun. 

           Before Brandi could protest or explain, Katy got up and headed for the backyard.  It wasn’t any of her business what Brandi did or didn’t do just as Brandi hadn’t questioned her earlier about Justin.

            “Hey you wanted to see me?” Katy asked walking up to Kim.  Kim looked at her and then hung her head.  Her throat became dry and her mind was racing.  So Kim did what she usually did when she wasn’t sure about something, she choked.

            “I just wanted to thank you, for going to look for JC and to say that I am sorry.” Kim lied.  Katy just looked at her confused that had to be the dumbest line she had heard Kim come up with in awhile.  But Katy did what she always did, She smiled and told her that is was fine, knowing that at some point Kim would work up the courage to return and actually say what was on her mind.

            Katy watched Kim take off back into the house before going to see what Mandy was doing.  As Kim passed the bar, she took the compass out of her pocket and set it on the bar.  Maybe if Katy found it there then she would be forced to say something about it and Kim wouldn’t have to start the conversation herself.  She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

            “I am sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” Chris apologized.  Kim just pressed her hand to her chest and worked to regain a regular heart beat.  “Are you okay?” He asked. 

           “Yeah, I am fine you just caught me off guard.” Kim explained.  Chris just shook his head, that wasn’t what he had meant.  She had seemed to be deep in thought when he approached her and he was concerned that she might still be thinking about JC or what had happened.  “Oh…I am fine there too.” Kim lied.

            “No guy is worth your tears.  In fact I don’t know why girls even talk to guys.  We never listen or learn anything.” Chris added with a smile.  “Speaking of that though, I need to find Brandi before she realizes that and never wants to talk to me again.”

            “I am pretty sure Brandi already knows that, so you should just run for it too.” Kim joked.

            “Yeah well, as long as she still talks to me I’ll hang around.  I am not smart enough to run.” Chris explained.  “But all joking aside, if you need someone to talk to… I hear Lance is great at that stuff.”

              “Lance huh?  Well he does date guys so I might have to seek him out for a little advice.” Kim joked.  It was good to see her smile again and Chris knew that he was the last person that should ever give out relationship advice.  “I don’t know where Brandi is, but I just came in from the back yard and she wasn’t out there.”  Kim added.  Chris thanked her and then left to search Brandi out.

            Kim smiled to herself and then headed down stairs, maybe Lance was the one that she needed to talk to.  She just needed someone to talk to, if nothing else to distract her from her current thoughts.

            Chris leaned up against the house and watched Brandi work feverishly with the shovel.    She had released the guys awhile ago and then just disappeared on him.  He didn’t get the feeling that she was mad at him or anything; she just seemed distracted or something.  There was no doubt that she has a lot on her mind right now.  Chris just wanted to hold her and tell her that everything would be okay, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it.

              “What are you doing?” He finally asked.  She looked up at him a little shocked to see him there.  She had been so focused on what she was doing she hadn’t noticed him.  She smiled despite herself, he looked so handsome.

            “What does it look like I am doing?” Brandi joked pointing at the ground.

            “Well you don’t strike me as much of a gardener.” Chris responded, still unsure why she was digging in the old flower box.  She laughed; he really had her figured out.  She was a horrible gardener and she had no business there.  Nothing could have saved that garden any way, it was over grown with weeds and the box itself was falling apart just like everything else around there.  Brandi moved a few more shovel fulls of dirt out of the way before sighing.  Chris laughed at her, she had dirt smeared across her face and she was breathing heavy, clearly whatever she was doing was turning out to be more work than she thought it would be.

            He walked over to her and took the shovel out of her hand before she could protest.  Chris paused briefly to wipe the dirt from her cheek before leaning in to kiss her.  Her blue eyes flashed a mixture of love and stress, the love he knew that was for him but he hoped the stress wasn’t related.  He gently moved her over so that he could stand where she had been and he took over shoveling for her.

            “So what exactly are we doing?” He asked.  Brandi smiled; he was so sweet he just dove in to help her even though he still didn’t know what they were doing.  Her eyes watered a little but she tried to play it off as allergies. 

           “We are looking for buried treasure.” Brandi beamed.

              “And why would there be buried treasure in the flower box?” Chris asked.

            “Because I put it there, I just can’t remember exactly where I put it though.” Brandi explained.

              “Why would you bury something?” Chris questioned, making eye contact with her as he spoke.  The ground was harder than he thought it would be, no wonder Brandi had been worn out.

            “So Katy wouldn’t find it, Duh.” Brandi explained.

              “So why are we digging it up now?” Chris asked.“Well, Katy has been acting really weird since she got back this morning so I thought I could knock her out of her funk by giving her the Katana back.” Brandi explained.  She knew for a fact though that it was somewhere in the flower box.

              “You buried her Katana? How could she get any weirder?” Chris questioned.  There was some seriousness to his question, but he was trying to be considerate, this after all she was her friend.  The thought of giving her back her weapon scared him a little but he hoped Brandi would protect him from the insane samurai warrior.  Brandi put her hand on her hip and acted a little hurt by what he said.  “You know what I mean.” He corrected.

              “I know I am just playing, but I am concerned about her.  She is actually acting normal which is completely abnormal for her.  You know taking other peoples feeling into consideration, thinking about stuff … before she acts.  She actually gave me advice that was helpful.  It’s just not who she is.”  Brandi explained as she watched the pop star perform manual labor.  It was kind of a cute to see him trying so hard to make her happy.

            “So you think giving her a deadly weapon will make her careless and fun again?” Chris asked just as his shovel made light contact with something.  “Why did you bury it?” he added again as he used his hand to brush the dirt aside so that he could verify that he had found what he was looking for.

            “Well she tore the whole house apart looking for it and I didn’t think she would look out here or notice that the ground had been disturbed in that mess of weeds.  I wrapped it in bags so it’s not like anything could hurt it.  But just so you know if it is damaged on it, I am going to blame you.” Brandi joked.  Chris smirked at her as he continued to clear the item so that he could pull it out of the ground.  Once he had a good grip on it he tugged until it came lose, nearly falling over in the process.

            He took his buried treasure over to his lady.  Brandi reached for it but Chris pulled it back, gesturing to her that he wanted something in return for his hard work. She rolled her eyes and then leaned toward him.  He was careful not to make too much contact with her and his now dirt covered hands.  But he kissed her sweetly then handed her the trash bag and its contents.  Brandi unwrapped the Katana; she wanted to make sure it was okay before returning it.  Katy would kill her if she returned it damaged.

              “You know, it’s not like…” Chris said, taking a minute to think about what he was about to say. “It’s not that easy to fix a friendship.  Emotions aren’t like colds; you can’t just give someone something and hope that they get better.”   Brandi nodded, she knew Chris was right but she didn’t know what else to do and it wasn’t like this would hurt anyone.  The Katana technically belonged to Katy, so Brandi had no real right to keep it from her.  Chris wasn’t even sure why he suddenly cared; it would only make his life easier if Brandi and Katy weren’t friends any more.  Even after everything that they had been through Katy still scared the crap out of him.

              Brandi looked at the Katana in her hand; she fought back the urge to hit him with it.  It wasn’t that she was mad at him but he was right, damn it why did he have to be right?  She just wanted everything to go back to the way it was.  Chris took a chance and wrapped his arms around her pulling her in for a hug.

              “Is that why ‘N Sync broke up?” Brandi asked.  Her breath was hot against his neck and it caused him to moan slightly.  He pulled away a little and just shook his head.

            “No, well kind of.  I mean people change, things change.  Sometimes you just have to grow up and move on.  Maybe that is what Katy is going through right now.  You just have to be supportive and they’ll call if they need you.” Chris explained.  He knew that ‘N Sync as it was had just run its course, it didn’t mean that it was over forever, they just need to break and to try other things.  “Maybe this is just the start of your ‘Hiatus’ from each other.” 

           Brandi fell against him and let a few tears out.  She knew what he was saying was true but that didn’t make it feel any better, she didn’t want a hiatus.  Maybe it was time for the girls to grow up but that didn’t mean they had to grow apart. 

             “I don’t want to grow up.” Brandi sighed.

            “I didn’t either.  Come stay with me and let’s just not grow up together.” Chris joked.  He was pleased to see her smile.  She became lost his is sexy eyes as she studied his features.  He had to have some good genes, because damn he was getting cuter with age.

              “You know, the bedroom is available.” Brandi moaned, running her finger along his bottom lip.  Chris closed his eyes and tried to suppress the urge to take her up on her offer.  Every fiber of his body wanted nothing more than to have some kind of contact with her.

            “I thought we were going to get to know each other a little better first?” He asked.

            “And that sounds like a very grown up thing to do.” Brandi teased.  Chris opened his eyes and ran his hand through her hair, not longer caring about the dirt.  He just needed to touch her.  A playful smile dance across her lips and she seemed happy again.  It wasn’t that she had forgotten about Katy or the others but maybe Chris was right and it was just time to expand her horizon.  And she couldn’t think of a better new friend than the one she had in her arms right now.  Chris could be a lot of fun to be around.

             “Damn it you’re right!” He said with a sexy grin.  Chris scooped Brandi up into his arms and took off with her into the house.  They nearly ran over Mandy on their way through the house.

            “What the hell?” Mandy asked.  Katy just laughed and set the sticks they had gathered down on the bar so they could clean and sharpen them a little. 

           “You don’t even want to know.” Katy laughed.  Mandy just brushed it off and headed into the kitchen to get a drink of water.  Katy noticed the compass on the bar and picked it up right away.  She thought for a minute and looked around nervously.   She knew that he had given it to JC the night before but there was no sign of him in the house, and surely someone would have said something if they had seen him. 

           “What’s that?” Mandy asked taking a sip from her glass. 

           “A compass.  You know I would be careful if I was you.  I think there might be something in the water.” Katy joked nodding toward the stairs; romance was defiantly in the air around the house.  Everyone seemed to be feeling it.  “Have you kissed Joey yet?” Katy blurted out, no longer able to filter herself.  Mandy nearly choked on the water.

            “No, why?” Mandy asked in shock.  Katy had been good all day was she finally getting back into the swing of things? 

             “You know you are going to kick yourself if you leave here not knowing how his lips feel pressed against yours. “ Katy said with the evil grin of hers spread across her lips.

            “So have you kissed Justin yet?” Mandy fired back.  Katy spun around and got up to look for a knife so she could work on the sticks.

            “Of course, I am not a chicken shit like you.” Katy joked.  As she passed Mandy she paused and whispered in her ear.  “And it was amazing, like gummy bears… by the way do we have any gummy bears?”

             Mandy was sitting there with her arms folded across her chest glaring at Katy from across the fire.  Ever since the stupid comment that she had made earlier Mandy hasn’t been able to even look at Joey without thinking about kissing him.  It was driving her nuts that she couldn’t kiss him and she totally wanted to know what it felt like.

            “Is Mandy okay?” Lance asked taking a seat beside Katy at the fire.  He had notice the two of them exchanging glances, but given the fight that the girls had the night before it wouldn’t be unheard of for there to still be some tension between them.

            “She’s fine.  I might have said something earlier that got her thinking about something naughty.” Katy explained taking a bite of her hot dog.  Justin was watching Katy as well but for a much different reason, why did they have to be having hot dogs for dinner.  His thoughts were all over the place as he watched her eat, for some reason he found that to be so hot. 

           “Naughty huh?” Lance questioned.

              “Well naughty for her, tame if it was me.” Katy said with a smile as she shifted to look at Justin.  The sun was just starting to set, but the air was already starting to get cool as they huddled around the fire.  The guys seemed pretty comfortable around the girls, no one had taken off yet which surprised the girls.  Chris took a seat next to Justin on one of the logs, shifting his attention slightly.

            “So, a little bird told me that you and Katy recently spent some quality time together.” Chris said, raising his eye brow toward his young friend.            “Maybe, I got your money though didn’t I?” Justin joked. 

           “Yeah well, that was rigged.” Chris responded. 

           “Yeah, you rigged it, just so you could get rid of me and spend time with your woman.” Justin explained.  Chris just nodded, he was guilty as charged.  That is when he felt Brandi take a seat beside him on the small section that was left on the log.  She politely waved at Justin. 

           “Hello, little bird.” Justin said taking a drink of his beer.  Brandi just looked at him dumb founded, she wasn’t following him but Chris just motioned to her to just ignore Justin.  “Why do you care what I was doing, the two of you disappeared there for a little bit as well.” Justin added.

            Chris just hung his head, Justin had a point, and he really wasn’t behaving much better.  But Katy had her Katana back now and that should concern Justin a little, Chris wouldn’t put it past her to use it on any one of them if they pissed her off right now.

            Katy watched the three of them talking for a minute when she had an idea.  She handed her plate to Lance and darted off into the house to get the video camera.  She knew the video was kind of a wash at this point but she didn’t have any good footage of Chris or Justin and she could always finish the video after the fact.  When she came back out the others were just happy to see her excited about something again so no one questioned her when she started barking orders at everyone.

            They hadn’t really talked about a shot for Chris but the campfire was pretty romantic so Katy shoed the others off the log and started filming him alone by the fire.  Brandi darted back into the frame to clear a little ketchup from his face; after all she wanted him to look good for this video.

              There were sounds coming from the woods around them and every once and awhile Chris was break from character to look behind him.  They were in the middle of nowhere and Chris had seen just about every horror movie ever made.  This totally had the makings of a massacre.

            “Are we done, yet?” Chris asked.  He was getting sick of filming, he was ready to have a beer and be with Brandi. 

           “You got some place else to be tonight, Kirkpatrick?” Katy joked.

              “No, but I have someone else I would rather be talking to.  Go film Justin or something.” Chris snapped in a mock angry tone, then got up and headed over to the cooler.  He didn’t care that she wasn’t done with him; this was getting to be tiresome.  Now he remembered why he had always hated video shoots all those years ago.  Those things took all day to do and were so draining. 

           “Fine, you little diva.” Katy joked then moved over to sit between Justin and Lance.  She flipped the camera off and set it aside.  She wasn’t sure how she wanted to do Justin’s shot yet.  She looked around and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, even Kim was putting her best face forward.  Katy snapped out of it when she felt Joey put his hand on her shoulder. He got down low to whisper in her ear. 

           “What did you tell Mandy?” He asked.  Katy glanced at Lance; they must have talked while she was fliming Chris.  How else could he have known that she was the reason for Mandy’s odd behavior tonight?  Katy thought for a minute and then whispered something into his ear.  Joey just smiled and then walked away.

            “Do I even want to know?” Justin asked.  Katy just shook her head no, of course she was starting trouble, hello it might be their last night there.  Mandy was watching her as she interacted with Joey and knew that it couldn’t be good.  That’s when Mandy heard something pelt the side of the cooler that was near her.

            “Oh my god, what was that?” She snapped and without even thinking she jumping into Joey’s awaiting arms.  Joey just smiled at her, but he hadn’t heard anything.  He had still been processing what Katy had just told him and was on his way to ask Mandy something.

            “It was probably just a chipmunk.” Joey offered as she clung to his forearm.

            “Do they have those up here?” Mandy asked before looking up and realizing that Joey was so close to her.  She stared at his lips for a minute, cursing Katy in her head.  Joey just shrugged in response to her question.  Brandi was laughing at her paranoid friend, and that is was when a second rock bounced off the tree behind her, which caused her to jump onto Chris lap.  Chris tried to play it off, but in truth the noise had startled him too.  He embarrassed her as if to protect her from whatever it was. 

           A third rock bounced off the ground and struck Katy in the calf; she jumped up and was cursing to everyone. She picked up the rock and examined it.  There wasn’t really anything special about it .

           “What the hell?  Who is throwing shit?” Katy snapped.   She glanced around the circle but no one was confessing to it.  They heard a familiar laugh coming from around the side of the house and then JC stepped into the light.  The others stared at him mystified.  No one had expected him to return.  “You hit me, you jerk!” Katy snapped and then tossed the rock back at him, breaking the silence of the rest of the group.  JC flinched as the tiny pebble stuck his arm.

            “Sorry I was trying not to hit anyone.  It’s nice to see that you guys missed me so much.  Maybe I shouldn’t have come back.” JC joked.  But the thought had been on the back of his mind since he had climbed out of the cab at the end of the drive way.  It had been a long walk back up the lane to the house and the whole time what Kim had said him earlier was haunting him.  He wasn’t sure they would even still be there.

            He heard them around back and had been using the increasing darkness to watch them. His mind was telling him to turn around and run but his legs weren’t responding.  It was like his body had a mind of its own and for some reason it wanted to be here.  That’s when he had seen her; she looked beautiful in the flicker of the camp fire.  Kim had been right she wasn’t like the girls he had dated, but maybe that was a good thing.  She wasn’t a tooth pick but she still had all the right curves.  JC closed his eyes moaning a little and laughed to himself.  He had totally been stalking her, how creepy was that?

          Lance quickly got up and gave him a hug.  At least now they knew that he wasn’t just lost in the woods somewhere, he was safe.  The next hug that he got was from a person he was expecting.  It was Kim, who had managed to make it from the other side of the fire in a record time.  Lance had no more than stepped aside and Kim was in his arms.  He pulled her close and willingly embraced her, pulling her tightly against him.  Katy was so shock by what she was seeing that she tripped on the log that she had been sitting on and fell to the ground.  But she never turned away from the couple.

            JC lifted Kim’s chin slightly so that she had to look at him, there were tears building up in her eyes about to break free, but before they could escape JC captured her lips with his.  His heart was in his throat and his palms were sweaty, he felt like a nervous high school kid.  This was so worth coming back for.  Justin looked at his beer and then at Katy, who was still on the ground.

            “This stuff must be stronger than it taste.” Justin joked, but maintained a straight face.  He got up and helped pull Katy back on to her feet, but kept an arm around her waist in case she went down again from shock.  But Katy never looked away from the couple that was now practically making out.

              “I am confused; I thought they hated each other?” Katy finally asked.

              “Don’t even try to understand it, just go with it. That’s what you are good at, right baby?” Justin sighed.  Katy thought back to the compass that she had found on the counter and searched for it in her pocket.  JC finally broke the kiss and glanced at the others.

              “Is there room around the fire for me?” He asked.

            “Always!” Brandi answered.  Katy approached JC, who still had an arm around Kim, and flashed him the compass.

            “How long have you been here?” Katy asked.  JC looked at her and then at Kim, who just hung her head, maybe leaving the compass on the counter hadn’t been such a good idea.  Kim’s body langue suddenly made him uncomfortable.  He let his arm fall away from her and he clasp his hands together.  It was clear to him that the two of them had not talked about it.

            “Awkward.” JC simply stated.  Katy glance between the two of them, none of this was making any sense to her and though confusion was normal for her lately she didn’t like it. 

           “I found this on the counter earlier, if you didn’t put it there then who did?” Katy asked, rising her voice a little more that she had intended.  JC was about to say something when Kim interrupted.

            “I did.” Kim said softly. 

             “When were you going to tell us that you had talked to JC?” Katy asked.  She sounded a little hurt; it wasn’t like Kim to keep secrets.

            “How did he even get your compass?  I gave it to you, it was a gift.” Kim asked.  Katy realized that she shouldn’t have said anything; she couldn’t call Kim out on it without confessing that she had talked to JC as well.

            “I stole it.” JC confessed.  He hated to lie but he didn’t want to see the two of them fight. 

             “You stole it?  Why would you do that? Were you planning on running away?” Kim asked her eyes begging him for answers.  JC put his hand on his forehead; this is what he got for trying to help.  Now he just looked like an ass.

            “He didn’t steal it; I gave it to him last night.” Katy confessed, she appreciated what JC was trying to do for her but it went against her no lying rule.  And she could handle Kim’s wrath far better than he could. 

           “Wait a minute you gave it to him?  Is that why you have been acting so weird?  You said you didn’t find him last night.” Brandi yelled coming into the conversation.  Katy turned and faced the other, letting her eyes roll a few times as the other began to chatter among themselves. 

           “No, I said that I couldn’t get him back.  I didn’t say that I didn’t see him.  And I gave him the compass so that he would get lost.  I wasn’t about to drug him and drag him back here.  He is probably heavier than he looks.” Katy explained.  Kim smirked, he was heavier than he looked, she remember how much trouble her and Brandi had getting him into the SUV.  There was no way that Katy, as strong as she was, could have gotten him through the forest by herself.

            “Why would you lie?” Kim asked turning to JC.  He could see the hurt on her face, he hadn’t wanted to lie to her and it was stupid any way, it was just a compass. 

           “I didn’t want you to fight; Katy told me last night that she was worried about you guys.  I guess you had a fight or something and she was pretty upset about it.” JC answered.  He realized that Katy would probably be mad at him for his confession but she was all about being truthful.  The girls all hung their heads; the fight had been pretty upsetting for all of them.  “And it was my fault; I shouldn’t have left like I did.” JC added.

            There was silence as they all thought about it, but it was broken when they heard Katy start to laugh.  Katy knew it was inappropriate but it was just too funny.  Everyone was looking at her but she just waved them off, made her way to the cooler and then fished a beer.  After a long swig she turned back to the others.  She had a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

            “Why are you laughing?” Mandy finally asked, but everyone else was thinking it. 

           “You guys think I am nuts but ya’ll as just as crazy as me.” Katy laughed and took another drink before explaining further.  “JC coming back to the just proves it.  If you want to know what JC and I talking about during our little therapy session in the woods, then I’ll tell you because apparently you all need a little help.  Now I am thinking that the two of you are more than ready to film the love scene.  We should do it before you change your minds and start fighting again.” 

           JC wrapped his arm around Kim and pulled her close again, he hoped that she wasn’t mad at him.  No one wanted to admit it but Katy was right, they had all lost whatever common sense they had.  Kim couldn’t be mad at Katy any more than she could be angry with herself; she had done the same thing more or less.  She had found JC but returned to the house empty handed. 

           “If we are all being honest, what the hell did you tell Joey?” Mandy chimed in.  Katy smiled and met with Joey’s stare.  He was a little concerned now that Katy may have lied to him. 

           “I told the truth, I told him that you were thinking about kissing him.” Katy explained.  Mandy made a series of random noises before giving up on speaking all together.  She took a defensive stance and just pouted.  “Is that not what you have been thinking about all night?” Katy questioned.  Now Joey turned to Mandy for her answer. 

           “Yes, but… it’s your fault.  If you hadn’t said anything earlier I wouldn’t be.” Mandy explained. 

             “Fine, blame it on me, what do I care.” Katy said with a smile, they could all blame it on her.  But the main thing was, they were all smiling again and things were back on track.

After awhile they head inside to get the house set up for the love scene, it would be the last thing they did tonight before heading to bed.  Brandi worked to set the mood in the room; she went around and lit a few candles before turning off the lights.

“Katy, can you see alright through the camera?” Brandi asked.  The room was now filled with a warm glow and the scent of the candles.  Kim sat down nervously on the sofa, playing with the hem of the skirt that Katy had insisted she put on and trying not to look at JC.  He just smiled and took a seat next to her, never taking his eyes off of her.  JC placed his arm along the back of the sofa almost as if to embrace her. 

“I can kind of see; you should turn that lamp on and put it out of frame just to make sure we have enough light.” Katy explained looking around the room through the camera.  She spotted the rest of the guys talking in the corner but chose not to pay attention them for now.

“Now, Kim do something like you guys did earlier, when JC came back.” Katy explained flipping the camera on, she knew she could edit out what they didn’t need.  Kim sighed and looked up at JC, his blue eyes reflecting the flickering light of candles.  It made her heart flutter. JC smiled, this was what he had come back for, to be with her, so what if it was just an act right now for the camera.

JC ran his hand through her long brown hair and then lowered his head to kiss her.  At first the kiss was innocent.  His lips were incredibly soft against hers.  His smell filled her air ways with delight.  She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in closer, a sign that JC had been waiting for so he could deepen the kiss.  His hands started to move down her arms, causing her bare skin to tingle with his gentle touch.

His kiss became more forceful, as the passion inside of him ignited.  He just wanted to touch her, to kiss her, a thought that had been in the back of his mind all day.  The video camera that was pointed at them was now a faded memory, so unimportant to them both.  He ran his tongue along her bottom lip, begging her to let him in, moaning and whimpering like if she didn’t let him, he would just die.  So she had to comply. 

JC slowly laid her back onto the sofa and pulled himself on top of her. She could feel his hand now running down the length of her thigh, causing her to moan his name, his face now buried against her neck, delivering soft kisses along her collar bone. 

Katy removed her eye from the camera, to insure that she wasn’t just seeing things.  She was frozen in her spot, not wanting to interrupt them or get in their way. 

Mandy looked over at Joey, they were both thinking the same thing; it was time for them to leave before they got more of a show than they bargained for.  Joey pulled Mandy in for a friendly hug, he knew she wanted more but it was the most that he could offer her right now.   With a kiss to her fore head he told her good night and he and Lance disappeared into the basement.  Mandy didn’t stop to inform the other, she figure they too would start to get the hint soon enough. 

Katy looked at Brandi and they shared a smile between them.  Brandi could feel the coins in her pocket, though she didn’t think Kim would complain about being tricked this time, Kim appeared to be enjoying herself.

The two on the sofa stopped their make out session for a minute and just looked at each other.  The feelings that he suddenly felt for her scared JC, he had never felt this way about any one before.  Kim smiled and it was the most beautiful thing JC had seen in a long time.  Kim reached down and took hold of his shirt then quickly pulled it over his head.  She wasn’t sure what she was doing any more, this wasn’t her.  She didn’t make out with guys, let alone rock stars.  She didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve.  But god this felt good. 

His newly exposed skin, reminded her of earlier in the day when she had seen him.  She had wanted to run her hands down his chest then, but she couldn’t at that time.  Now she made herself familiar with his abs, his chest.  The man apparently loved to work out.  The guilt of calling him fat when he first arrived returned, but only for a second.  His lips and hands were everywhere on her.  Every touch had a purpose and got a response from her.

“My god you are talented.” Kim finally huffed, causing JC to laugh lightly.  He pressed himself against her and composed himself, thinking back to all the times she had yelled at him and called him names.  Suddenly he had a burning desire to show her just how talented he really was.  JC slowly slipped his hands under her top and then he kissed her again passionately.   

Katy shut the camera off, she wasn’t stupid she could see where this was going and it wasn’t something that she actually wanted to see, let alone record.  She jumped slightly when she felt Justin’s hand on her shoulder leading her away.  Brandi and Katy paused on the stairs as Justin and Chris continued to follow them.

“And where do you two think you are going?’ Brandi asked. 

“We discussed it with the others; we’re going with you two.  It’s the only way that we can insure that you guys won’t skip out on us in the middle of the night.” Justin explained, recalling the guys’ conversation just before the shoot.  The girls just looked at each other, they hadn’t planned on this but what could it hurt at least for tonight.  They turned and continued up the stairs so that Kim and JC could be alone.

Once in their room the girls were amazed with how comfortable the guys were with sharing a room, it must have been from all their years together on the road, they probably had to share hotel room in the early years.  Justin didn’t waste any time stripping down to his underwear and crawling into Katy’s bed.  He waited patiently for her to join him.  Once they were all in bed Brandi and Katy laid there facing each other, with their respective guys nestled lovingly beside them.  They had never imagined this.

Some time pasted before JC noticed that they were alone in the living room.  He wasn’t sure when everyone had left or if they had even said anything before they left; he was too engrossed in Kim to care.  He moved to pull her top off but Kim stopped him and nervously looked around.

“Relax, everyone left.” JC whispered. 

“What if they come back?” Kim asked.

“They won’t come back.” JC assured her.  After all he knew that the guys knew him well enough not to come back and he was pretty sure that the girls weren’t that dumb either. “Please.” He begged, his voice changing slightly with lust.  She finally caved in and let him take her top off; he smiled and began to attack the newly exposed skin.  As he pressed himself against her forcefully, they both suddenly became aware of his own needs.  Kim’s mind froze for a minute as he continued to kiss and paw at her.  She swallowed hard and became nervous. 

“Baby, what’s wrong?” JC asked, turning very serious.  He propped himself up with his arms so as not to crush her under his weight.  He stared at her, trying to read her mind, trying to figure out what had suddenly changed and all the while trying to ignore his own burning desire to just have his way with her.

She studied him; he was being so sweet and so patent with her.  And god was he hot.  Her head was spinning, all these thoughts and feelings that she had never felt before.  But she couldn’t hide the curious grin on her face.  Her hand slowly found their way to his jeans and as she worked to undo the button he stopped her.

“Wait, what is wrong?” He asked.  She paused, she loved him, she really did and she hoped what she was about to say would be okay.  She didn’t want to freak him out.

“I have never done this before.” She confessed softly almost as if ashamed.  Their eyes were fixed on each other.  JC felt his heart sink and he fell against her, burying his face in her hair and breathing in the scent of her shampoo.

“You’re a virgin?” he sighed.  She just nodded and sighed, she wasn’t sure if being a virgin was a good thing or a bad thing at this point.  His mind was racing, why did she have to be a virgin?  He would be her first, and you only get one of those.  It didn’t help that his body was already aching for her, and it didn’t understand why he had stopped.  “I need to go take a cold shower.” JC said, and she started to climb off of her. 

“JC, wait please.” Kim begged.  He sat there on his knees still between her legs on the sofa.  He had hiked up her skirt so far that he could see her underwear, thin pink material calling to him, begging to be removed.  He put his hand on his forehead and shut his eye tightly trying to shake the thought.  He had almost succeeded when he felt Kim’s hands on his jeans again, this time she got them undone before he could stop her.

He took her hands in and slowly brought them up to his lips, where he gently kissed them.  She looked up at him, playfully biting down on her bottom lip, her brown eyes twinkling in the candle light, JC mentally cruse the damn candles and their stupid romantic glow.  He could see it in her eyes though, she wanted him.  He cursed himself again for not knowing, Not thinking about it.  She was so shy of course she hadn’t been with a guy before; he should have thought this through, like before he started pushing all of her buttons, making her want him so badly.

“JC, please.  I want to.” Kim begged.  He leaned in closer to her and kissed her on the forehead.  He lovingly brushed her hair out of her face, taking in her natural beauty. 

“I don’t want to hurt you.” JC explained.  She giggled and kissed him on the nose.

“I know it will hurt, but it is okay.  I want you to be my first.” Kim sighed. She wrapped one of her legs around him and pulled him closer to her.  He eyes snapped shut and he tried to maintain his position.  But god she was strong.  He thought for a second, he really didn’t want to hurt her, but she wasn’t about to let him leave her in this desperate state of lust. 

He slowly slid his hand down between her legs and began to message her.  She tossed her head back and arched her back, moaning with pleasure.  The sounds she was making were driving JC batty.  Then she used her foot to push his jeans off of his hips.

“Stop that.” He snapped, still maintaining his rhythm.  He continued to pleasure her with his hand, changing things up from time to time causing her to moan.  I one swift motion he removed her underwear and kicked his jeans off as well in the process since they were already half way there, thanks to her.  He then kissed his way down her tummy causing her to blush.  Then before she could object he began to work his magic on her. 

He had every intention taking care of her and then running to the nearest shower to handle his own problem.  But with each moan and movement of her hips, he felt himself get a little weaker.  She tugged at his hair and moaned his name.  Finally her whole body shook with delight and JC climbed back up her to give her a kiss.

They kissed passionately, JC’s whole plan slowly going out the window as she clung to him.  As he tried to pull away again she quickly and forcefully grabbed him through his boxer briefs.  This action made JC groan and hiss, completely draining whatever will power he had left in him.  She massaged him; her tiny hand was torture to him. 

“God damn it, I hate you.” JC groaned, and Kim just giggled.  She knew he didn’t actually hate her, it anything he loved her.  Who knew listening to all of Brandi and Katy’s ‘adventures’ in romance would ever pay off for her?  She freed him and seeing him in the flesh for the first time scared the crap out of Kim.  She tried not to let it show.

She worked him for a minute.  His eye were still shut as if he was still trying to hold back, but the male body just wasn’t designed to with stand this kind of torture.  When his eyes finally opened he looked at her.  There was love in her eyes as she licked her lips, just staring back up at him as if nothing was wrong and her hands weren’t effortlessly pleasing him.

“Okay, if this is going to happen you have to promise me that you won’t get pissed off at me.” JC begged.

“If this is going to happen?  Oh you know it’s going to happen.” Kim corrected.

“Yeah, well after this happens then.  Just promise me.” JC begged. 

“Okay, fine.  I take full responsibility for anything that happens tonight.  Your protest and concern has been dually noted.” Kim explained, not taking her eyes off of him.

“You make it sound like I am a big pansy.  Just for the record, it’s not that I don’t want to but I just don’t want to hurt or upset you.” JC commented.  Kim released him and pulled him in for a loving kiss, she loved that he cared so much about her.  She didn’t even notice him shifting himself into position.  “I am going to go slow okay?” He said sweetly, pressing her body against his.

And slow is what she got, painfully slow.  He didn’t stop until he felt himself pressed firmly against her.  He held it there for a while, kissing her passionately to reassure her of his feelings for her.  Then he put his head on her shoulder so that he didn’t have to see the look on her face, the pain that was probably in her eyes.  Also so she couldn’t see the pain on his face from the pressure he was feeling because of her. 

“I need to move now.” JC said softly, his breathe hot against her skin.  She just nodded unable to speak at this point; she couldn’t describe the feelings she was having.  He started to move slowly, still unable to look at her.  Finally he had to move faster, his body demanded it. So he propped himself up and started a faster succession of movements.  His eyes closed and hands on her hips, he didn’t want to see what he was doing to her, but god it felt good.

He could feel her quiver beneath him.  She called his name over and over again and that was all it took, he suddenly with drew and released onto her stomach.  He leaned back on his legs and looked at her; he really wanted to pass out now.  But he made himself look.  She looked completely satisfied, her eyes were closed and she was breathing heavy. 

 JC picked his shirt up off the floor and used it to clean up his mess.  Then he pulled her into his arms and fell back on to the sofa, so that she could lie on top of him.  Those last few actions were all he had left in him as he passed out into a sex induced sleep.  She laid there, her head against his bare chest, listening to his heart beat.  Inside her head she was 16 all over again, screaming at the top of her lungs, ‘OMG I just had sex with JC Chasez.’  How many people can say that about their first time?

JC wrestled around on the sofa, his body trying to fight the sleep it so badly needed.  It wasn’t until he realized that he felt cold and alone, that he shot up and looked around.  The candles from the night before had all been blown out.  But his eye didn’t stop wondering until he saw Kim in the kitchen.  She must have been up for a little while because she had changed into her night shirt, something that JC knew she hadn’t had last night.  She looked beautiful and more importantly she looked happy.

He smiled to himself and watched her for a minute before getting up.  He quickly found his jeans and slipped them on, suddenly remembering what had happened last night as he zipped them up.  It wasn’t the first time he had slept with a virgin, so he kind of expected some discomfort.

Kim was busy washing the dishes from the night before when she felt JC wrap his arms around her waist.  He nuzzled his face into her neck and kissed her softly.  He waited to see if she would turn around, complain about last night or the side effects thereof.  Maybe lay into him like she sometimes did.

“Good morning.” She said with a slight giggle.  God she couldn’t look at him, what had she been thinking last night?  She fucking slept with JC Chasez; he is a pop start who had probably been with tons of women.  Had she said something or done something stupid last night? 

“How are you feeling?” He asked sweetly.

“As to be expected, I guess.  How are you?” She answered, still not having the courage to look at him.

“Sore, but I’ll survive.” JC joked, in reality be felt like he had sex with a vice grip.  He really just wanted her to look at him and confirm that everything was okay.  Kim blushed and quickly spun around, burring her face against his chest, and then apologized to him for his condition.  “It’s not your fault; I am the one that put myself where I probably shouldn’t have.  Please look at me.” He begged.

“I can’t, I am embarrassed.” Kim said muffling her word against his bare skin. 

“What are you embarrassed about?   Is it me?  Are you embarrassed about me?” JC asked.

“Are you kidding?  You’re JC Chasez!  Why would I be embarrassed by you?”  Kim sapped pulling away from him, she finally looked at him, he looked confused and maybe a little stressed.  He’s hair was a mess, probably from her pulling on it the night before, he hadn’t shaved yet, he actually kind of looked like a complete mess. But it was kind of hot.

"Okay, so then what are you embarrassed about?  Come on, I think we are past the point in this relationship where you can’t tell me everything.” JC begged.

“Relationship?” Kim questioned, it was like she had never heard that word before, and she certainly didn’t expect to hear it especially from JC.  He was in all the tabloids talking about how he didn’t have a girlfriend and he couldn’t find the right woman or whatever.

“Yeah, relationship, we just had amazing sex last night, what else would you call this?  I am not saying that you are officially my girlfriend… yet, but you have to admit there is a connection here.”  He answered, though she still hadn’t answered his first question. 

“Yeah, I get that there is something between us.  I just…  I mean… your JC Chasez! You can have any girl that you want, so why would you want me?  I don’t know anything about relationships and I certainly don’t know anything about sex.” Kim explained looking down in shame, until she heard JC laugh.  She looked back up at him; she wasn’t sure what was so funny.

“Look baby, I get it.  I really do.  You’re nervous about me because of my reputation.”  JC said, still laughing a little under his breath.  “Yeah that and like all the lyrics on ‘Schizophrenic’” Kim added.  “Oh god, you are not going to write a song about this are you?”

            “Well I am feeling pretty inspired, to tell you the truth.” JC said with a smile and she playfully punched him in the arm.  “Seriously baby, so what I have had a little more experience in the love department, not that it’s a good thing mind you.  But it could be fun, just think of all the things I could show you.”  He added with a wink.  Kim thought back to the night before, he had done some pretty amazing things to her.  She felt her knees get weak just thinking about it.  He pulled her closer and kissed on the lips.  “Really don’t be embarrassed.  You broke me down like a pro and then you totally rocked my world.  I can see you being a very dangerous woman.” 

           “Thanks, I had to draw on some information I had gotten from…” Kim just pointed up to indicate who she was talking about.

            “You did great, just please tell me you didn’t get any advice from the chick that wanted to shock the shit out of …” JC said in the middle of saying when he realized someone was standing on the steps watching them.

            “Your nut sack?” Katy questioned, maintaining a straight face.  JC just froze; Katy still scared him even after their chat in the woods.  Katy just grinned; the two of them looked so cute standing there in the kitchen.

            “Morning, how long have you been there?” Kim asked nervous about what all her friend might have over heard.  Through it didn’t matter Katy was pretty sure that she knew what had happened last night and she was happy for Kim.

              “I swear I just came down, we were talking about it I got nominated to check and see if it was safe for the rest of them to come down.  But can I just say this… God damn JC you have a fine upper body!” Katy yelled, slowly walking over to them as she spoke.  JC blushed and hung his head. “

Hey now, back off girly.” Kim joked and embraced JC lovingly, to which Katy made a gagging gesture and yelled up the stairs to the others, informing them that it was safe, everyone was dressed and descent.  JC was shocked when Justin and Chris suddenly appeared. 

“And what were you two doing up there?” JC questioned. 

“Not what you were doing down here that’s for sure.  We were babysitting.” Chris explained.  He couldn’t hide the grin on his face, for some reason he was happy for JC and Kim.

“Hey now, I don’t need a babysitter.” Katy said a little offended.

“Um… yeah you do actually.” Brandi joked, recalling all the trouble Katy had been in the night before. 

“Hey you guys, what’s up?” Mandy asked as she joined them.  “On second thought I don’t want to know.” She teased eyeing Kim and JC.

“You know what you guys are just mean.” JC whined.

“Oh come on JC, you know that you love us.” Brandi said.  JC laughed and stole a kiss from Kim.

“Well, I love at least one of you.” He sighed and then went to search the cabinets for something to eat.  Kim froze and nearly dropped the plate in her hand, had he really just said that?  Katy could feel the tension in the room following JC’s statement so she did what she does best and diverted attention to something else.

“Everyone loves me.” Katy blurted out.  Justin laughed.  “What’s so funny?” She questioned, trying to play dumb, given what she had done in the past week they all had to love her, or someone would have killed her by now.

“Nothing sweetie.” Justin sighed.  That is when Joey and Lance come up from the basement, they must have heard them talking.

“Joey and Lance love me.” Katy said pointing at them.  The two of them froze, not really sure what they had just walked into. 

“As a friend.” Joey cautiously offered.  Katy was about to say something else but Justin quieted her and told her to give up. 

“So we’re all here again.  Am I wrong to think that means we are going to finish video?” Lance asked.  Katy nodded, after all Lance was right they were all there so why not?  They could wrap up filming today and thought it wouldn’t be perfect Katy was pretty sure that she would have enough time to finish editing it, at least to give everyone an idea of what she was thinking.

“I don’t suppose you have any ideas for Justin’s shot do you?” Katy questioned, looking at Lance, her idea guy.  Lance smiled, recalling the video they had done for ‘This I Promise you’.

“We could just take him out into the woods and shoot him.” Lance laughed.  Justin groaned at his wording and glared at the two of them.  Katy just laughed.

“Why don’t you go get all handsome and I’ll get the camera ready and we’ll run on out film you.  JC and I know of a great place in the woods north of here.” Katy teased.  She watched as the girls gave her a warning look, she knew it was still a touchy subject but it was true, the place she and JC had met up was perfect for this.

The guys fanned out to get cleaned up and ready to face the day, but Katy motioned for the girls to hang back for a minute.  There was something that they needed to discuss. 

Katy sat there for a minute tapping her fingers on the bar, making sure that the guys were really gone from the room.  What she was about to say might surprise the others but then again it might not.  It was after all Katy, the person that could say or do anything and any given time.

“I am leaving tonight.” Katy simply stated, there was a no remorse in her voice as if she had given this much consideration, which she had.  No one knew it but Katy had been up most of the night, wrapped in Justin warm embrace but thinking about making her great escape. The tone of her voice lead to girls to believe that Justin wasn’t a part of her plans.  Something about all of this just felt wrong.  “I just can’t help but feel that this all seems too good to be true.” Katy continued.  She had a feeling that this could all just be a clever trap that the guys cooked up, like Chris had tried to do with Brandi before.  She wasn’t about to force the others to leave with her but her car was heading out of there tonight with or without them.

Her plan was simple, there was no plan.  Because in her mind when you plan something, there is always something that going wrong, so she just kept it simple, she was leaving.  The details she would sort out along the way.

“I’ll go with you.” Mandy sighed, after all Joey had someone else; there was no reason for her to stay, nothing worth risking jail time for any way.  Joey was a great new friend but he wasn’t that great.  She would just get in the way of him and his family.  Mandy didn’t want that.  She wanted him to be happy.  She could say with confidence that she was in on the plan that Katy was half heartedly laying out for them.

Kim questioned in her mind once again why JC was even with her.  The girls had a plan when they started this but somehow got off track, maybe it was time to get back to it for their own safety.  If JC really loved her then he would understand her disappearance and know why she had to leave.  He himself had just run off for no apparent reason but he came back so she could too.  They could get back together later, when everything was safe, and they could do it right this time.  Just the way JC had imagined love should be, with a few romantic dinners and walks on the beach, or something like that.  Kim wasn’t even sure what real couples did, all her boyfriend in the past hadn’t been very romantic. Her breath caught in her throat.  What if JC had already gone to the police and was just stalling for time?  What if the FBI were in the woods right now watching them?  She had to shake the thoughts from her head as panic started to build inside of her.

“It does feel a little too good to be true, doesn’t it?” Brandi questioned.  She kept one eye out for the guys to return, they were all keeping their voices down trying not to be over heard.  If the guys found out it wasn’t clear how they would react.

“It’s like a fairy tale that is for sure.” Kim sighed, finally pushing past her feeling of fear and trying to sort out the facts from fiction.  JC had come back to her; he made love to her so that had to mean that he loved her, right?

“But why would the guys have stayed?  I mean they could have all left last night and we wouldn’t have known.” Mandy pointed out.  Two of them had even forced the girls to stay in the same room with them.  What were the guys really up to?  After all Mandy didn’t want all of the girls to throw away their chance at happiness just because she couldn’t have her man.  She was shocked that Katy had even brought it up; she could have Justin if she wanted him.

“Maybe it’s the video.  They seem pretty set on finishing it.  They were always good at finishing what they started.  Maybe they want us to finish it, and then they can sell the song or something.” Katy explained.  She didn’t want to say what she had been thinking at that moment but like so many times before her brain and her mouth refused to work together.  It was after all their song.  The girls had no real rights to it.  The song was pretty awesome and as a group they hadn’t released anything in years, it would be a huge seller for them not that they needed the money.

“If they finished what they started they would still be a group.” Mandy snapped.  Katy just glared at her, who were they to judge the guys decision to take a break.  It had upset all of them when they got the news, but Justin was a great solo artist.  You couldn’t hate them for wanting to try new things.  Katy could tell you for a fact that was exactly why they were there, to try something new.  But it was clear as kidnapper’s the girls sucked, their victims weren’t even afraid of them anymore and they had let one of them escape; this wasn’t defiantly not their calling in life.  Criminal master minds they are not. 

There was silence as the girls listened for the guys.  They knew if they were going to do this, the guys couldn’t know.  It had to be just like they originally planned it.  They would just leave, without warning.  JC had already proven that the guys could find their own way back to civilization.  Brandi and Kim hadn’t given an answer on where they stood on the issue, but they had time to think about it.

“If you are serious about going with me, you have to be ready at a moment’s notice.  Only take the important stuff with you, you can put it in the car though out the day so nobody notices.” Katy explained looking at Mandy as she spoke.  Mandy nodded and tried to quickly asses what she would need to pack.  The house was in Katy’s name so it wasn’t like they could return later when it was safe and get the rest of the stuff.  Unless of course it did become a crime scene, at which point everything, including the house, would be lost.

“What if we leave and the guys don’t go to the cops?” Brandi asked.

“Then I guess you could track them down again, I mean it’s not like the guys could keep a kidnapping out of the press, unless they don’t go to the police.” Mandy offered, trying to give the others an option. 

Brandi thought about it, every logical part of her knew that leaving was the smart thing to do, but her heart was telling her that the love she felt for Chris was real and to stay.  Brandi hung her head and pulled at her hair, why was this so tough?  If she left would Chris ever forgive her? There were so many stupid questions running through her mind.  Why did Chris have to be so freaking cute?  Somehow this was all his fault, Brandi justified.

“Leave tonight with the option of coming back later or stay with the possibility of being taken away.” Katy stated. As dumb as that statement sounded, even to her, it pretty much summed it all up.  She could tell the other two we fighting with the idea and their safety was important to her but she wouldn’t force them to leave.  “You have some time to think about, I still have to film Justin and then finish editing the video.  It will be dark before I leave.” She added and then walked away from the bar.  “And I think it goes without saying, you can’t tell the guys that I am leaving.”

The others nodded; after all they couldn’t rat on Katy without setting off some alarms that they might be leaving too.  Which was another thing that Brandi and Kim had to take into consideration, if they stayed they would have to answer to the guys as to what had happened to the other two, but the beauty of their plan was that they honestly wouldn’t know.

Katy went over and sat down at the computer, Justin should be ready any time now but she thought she might get a little more done on the video while she waited.  The other girls peeled off one by one and fanned out.  They had a lot to think about today and they couldn’t let it show.    There was a smile on Katy’s face as she worked; her special smile.  She couldn’t help but laugh as she thought about it.  The others really shouldn’t ignore her as much as they do, if they had paid attention they would know what she was really up to.

 Justin laughed to himself as he followed Katy into the woods; her choice of attire for this outing was somewhat unique to her.  He watched as the folder of her skirt danced in the wind as she stepped over debris on the forest floor and those stupid boots of hers couldn’t be comfortable on this rough terrain.  

“Baby do you want me to carry you?” Justin asked.  Katy looked back at him confused, and then in dawned on her why he wanted to help her.

“Thank you but no, it’s not that much further.” Katy explained.

“Are you sure it was out this far?” JC questioned.  He wasn’t sure why he and Kim had decided to go along with them on this little outing but there they were in the middle or no where trying to find a spot to film Justin for the video.  Kim had just wanted some more time with JC before she made up her mind about what they had talked about earlier. 

It was a learning experience; Kim could already tell that hiking was not in their future together.  She was tired and a little out of breath.  JC was too busy swatting bugs to assist her.  The bugs seemed to be attracted to him; it must have been the scent of his collage or shampoo. 

“Are you sure that we are going to be able to find our way back?” Kim asked.  She couldn’t see the house anymore and that made her nervous.  Katy just smiled and held up her hand, she still had that damn compass of hers.  They finally came to a clearing.  “Please tell me that this is it.” Kim begged.

“Yeah, I think so.  If it’s not it doesn’t matter, this will work.” Katy explained.  Justin wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her on the uneven ground.  He leaned in and nipped at her neck.

“You know I think I liked it better when your relationship was a secret.” JC stated watching the two of them closely, his arm neatly found across his chest.  Kim was watching him; she wasn’t even sure what he had just said.  He looked so handsome standing there in the light that peaked out from between the leaves.  “You okay babe?” JC asked, suddenly aware of her eyes on him.

“Yeah, I am fine just enjoying the scenery.” Kim said, shaking off her own thoughts.  JC just smiled back at her before walking over to her and pulling her into his arms.  She fit perfectly against his frame.  Katy watched them for a minute, not saying anything as Justin continued to nip at her neck.  This wasn’t going to be as easy as she had thought it would.

“Come on sexy, let’s get to work.” She finally said pointing to the fallen tree.  Justin stole a kiss from her before taking his place.  He couldn’t help but notice that she seemed distant, but maybe it was his fault somehow, since they had taken their little nap together she seems to have pulled away from him.  Was he smothering her with his affection?

Justin shook the thought from his head and got serious.  If there was one thing Justin Timberlake was good at it was, knowing when it was time to get to work.  He took a seat on the log and began acting.  Katy started filming, he really was a natural.  He knew how to act and he was doing a great job, Katy was wondering just how good of an actress she might be.  I guess they were about to find out.

They were too busy to notice that JC had pulled Kim aside.  He forcefully pressed her up against a nearby tree, keeping one eye on the others so that they didn’t get left behind.  They kissed passionately for a minute; JC let his hands roam over her.  For whatever reason since last night he just couldn’t get enough of her and he could only hope that she felt that same way about him.  He knew it had been her first time and she probably had a million things on her mind right now.  But he wanted her to know how he felt about her.

She was shorter than him so when she instinctively hooked one of her legs around him, he took the opportunity to slide her further up the tree, allowing him to straighten his posture.  He smiled at her when they took a break from kissing, he couldn’t help it she just made him so happy.  His fingers ran through her hair and she gazed into his bright blue eyes.

“You seem distracted.” JC sighed. 

“Yeah we’ll you can be a little distracting, how is a girl to think straight around you?” Kim moaned.  She brushed his hair back and smiled at him.  This was not going to be an easy choice to make.    “You are going to have to go back to L.A. soon.  What are you going to do with yourself after all this excitement?” Kim asked.  

“Well for one install a new security system.  Apparently the one I have has some bugs in it.” JC joked.  “And next time I might not be so lucky.  My next abductor could be a dude instead of a hot chick.”

Kim laughed and then kissed him again.  His lips were so soft leaving him would have to be like ripping off a band-aid.  If she left she would have to do it quickly and without thinking about it.  JC kissed his way down her neck.

“I have all the luck.” Kim sighed softly.  JC snapped to attention and asked her what she had said, it had been so soft he couldn’t make out the words, but he knew she had said something.  “I said I am so lucky.” Kim lied and hugged him.

            “How long do you think it will take them to notice that we are done?” Katy asked, taking a seat next to Justin on the log.  He looked over at the other two and just laughed, it would be awhile.

            “I am not smothering you am I?” Justin asked looking down at it hands.  He nervously awaited her response.  Katy glanced over at him; she could tell something was eating away at him.  She wanted more than anything to tell him the truth; it was after all in her nature to do so.  But he would have to settle for half of the truth.

            “No, you’re not.  It’s just… once upon a time we had a plan and it was a good one, a realistic one.  But this was never a part of that plan.  You weren’t supposed to be a good guy.  I expected you to be a jerk or a stuck up pain in the ass.” Katy explained.  She nodded toward the other two as well, since that sure as hell wasn’t part of the plan either.

            “Gee thanks.” Justin teased.  But he understood what she was saying; the girls hadn’t planned for this.  “You know plans change.” He added.  He placed his hand on her knee to comfort her.

            “I know but I am scared.  I have always been a realistic person.  Despite my fearless nature and willingness to drop in to things head first, I always expect the worst; it keeps me from being disappointed.  Let’s say I did go back with you to L.A.  Do you really think we will live happily ever after?  I mean most relationships don’t last and what happens if this one doesn’t?  Will you turn me in?” Katy asked.  Justin frowned at her lack of faith in them.

            “Okay first of all normal people don’t go into a relationship expecting it to fail.  But if this one did fall apart it’s not like I could turn you in a week, or a month or even a year later.  No one would take my allegations seriously.  They would think that I was just a bitter ex-boyfriend.” Justin explained.

            “Well you should know by now that I am not a normal person nor will I never be.  And I have seen the video for ‘Cry me a River’, you aren’t very nice to your ex-girlfriends.” Katy teased.  Truth be told this would make one hell of a music video some day or a maybe a made for TV movie.  Justin rolled his eyes and turned to her.  Katy let him pull her in for a kiss, for some reason he just couldn’t tell him no, leaving him was not going to be an easy task.  But no threat that he could make was going to change her mind on the matter.

            “So really you have no choice but to come back to L.A. with me and date me.” Justin stated with a smile.  Even if it was black mail, he just needed time to show her that he really cared about her and that this could work.

            “What about your famous girlfriend?  You should know that I don’t play well with others.” Katy teased. 

            “I thought I told you that really wasn’t working out with her.  We are always apart from one another.  I think I need someone that can be there for me.” Justin explained.  He knew he had told someone in the house, but now he couldn’t remember who he had been talking to at the time.   The look on Katy’s face led him to believe that it hadn’t been her. 

“Justin I can’t work with you hovering.” Katy snapped.  His blue eye baring down on her from all sides it seemed.  Followed by a million questions about when she was going to be done.  “I will be done when I am done, can’t you go hang out with the guys or something, and you haven’t seen them in awhile.  You could catch up or something.” She added.

Justin hung his head, she was right he hadn’t seen them in awhile and he should leave her alone, as his pestering probably wasn’t making her work any faster.  The sooner she was done the sooner they could spend time together.

“Okay babe you win, I will leave you alone, for now.  But come get me as soon as you are done.  I can’t wait to see it.” Justin said and then slowly walked off.  Katy smiled, he had no idea what was going on and his cluelessness was so cute.  She hated being untruthful to him but in reality she was so scared, of everything, her relationship with him, losing her friends, going to jail, the list went on.  She watched him walk away from her, it sound cliché but she really did enjoy watching him walk away from her, that man had a fine ass.

Justin had no more than cleared the back door when Brandi started to pulled him into her conversation with Chris.  Chris looked a little concerned but welcomed a third opinion on the matter. Justin froze on the step trying to process the situation first.

“Tell Chris that he should braid his hair again.” Brandi demanded.  Justin laughed and thought back to the early days of their career.  For whatever reason Chris had decided to braid his hair and even added white yarn to the hair style he was now famous for, even though he had sported the same, normal looking, hair style for years now. 

“You were a fan of the ‘pineapple’ look?” Justin questioned.  He raised and eye brow at her but all the fans seemed to enjoy that look for whatever reason.

“Yes, it was fun and crazy.  I loved it.  So let me braid your hair.” Brandi ordered.  Chris pulled on his hair as if to show her that it wasn’t even long enough to braid any more.  But at this point in his life he was just thankful that it wasn’t getting any thinner.  “And like you should talk you used to have a fro.” She added returning Justin’s earlier gesture to him.  Justin blushed a little, okay so maybe they all had made some bad hair choices back in the day.

“Yeah well, some mistakes don’t need to be repeated.” Justin explained not even trying to defend his actions from way back then.  They all had experimented with different looks at some point.  His current solution seemed to work best for him, just shave most of it off. 

“Thank you Justin.  See even he thinks that it is a bad idea.” Chris said smiling at her.  Brandi pouted, but wasn’t about to give up the fight.  He could grow his hair out again and then she could braid it.

“But if you loved me you would do it anyway.” She teased.  Her smile spread and Chris thought about.  He did love her but at his age doing something like that would just make is seem like he was trying too hard to be young again. 

“I’ll think about it.” Chris finally said hoping that you pacify her for now.  “So how is Katy coming on the video?” He asked turning his attention back to Justin. 

“I don’t know she ran me off, but I think she might be getting close to something.”  Justin said.  Brandi could see the sun getting closer to the trees and thought about what Katy had said about leave once it was dark.  She laid her hand on top of Chris’s a held it tightly, why did this have to be such a tough decision for her to make.  She had always said that she would never risk anything for a guy and here she was about to risk it all for him.  Why was Chris so special to her?

Chris felt her squeeze his hand but didn’t say anything she seemed really distracted as of late and he had a feeling it had nothing to do with his hair style choice.  But he was too old to play these games, if there was something bothering her, he hoped that she would just tell him.  She knew how bad he was and saying what was on his mind and he put his foot in his mouth more often than most people.  So if there was something that she wanted to know then she should just ask him point blank and he would give her an honest answer.

“Where is everyone?” Justin asked, noticing that it was just the 3 of them out in the back yard. 

“I think Joey, Lance and Mandy went for a walk, or a hike or whatever you want to call it.  And I don’t even want to know where Kim and JC are or what they are doing, but you are welcome to go look for them.” Brandi teased.  Justin shook his head, he had seen enough when they were in the woods, and the two of them had probably headed to bed, even though it was a little early for bed. 

“Mandy doesn’t strike me as much of a hiker.” Justin said.

“She isn’t but it’s not like its hard, you just put one foot in front of the other and you make your way through the trees.” Brandi explained.  But Brandi knew that is wasn’t the hiking that had interest Mandy, it was spending time with Joey and using Lance as a buffer to make herself behave. 

“Come on slow pokes!” Mandy teased climbing further up the mill while Joey stopped to catch his breath.  Lance paused with his friend chuckling at Mandy’s comments. 

“Are we a little out of shape there Joey?” Lance added as he watched Joey bent over and breathing heavy.  Lance was boasting about the great shape that he was in, he had made a commitment to stay fit  when he turned 30 and had hoped Joey would follow suit, but being a father of two had to take up most of his time.  Joey playfully punched Lance in the arm before straightening up.  His eyes were fixed on Mandy, who was some distance from them.  Her lean legs showing as she stretched them out on a nearby rock. 

“Are you coming?” Mandy asked, wondering why they were both just staring at her.  Joey nodded and started up the hill again as Mandy waited for them to catch up. 

“Could those shorts be any shorter?” Joey huffed under his breath as then walked toward her.  Lance just laughed; it was like Mandy was trying to drive Joey mad.  Her shorts were a normal length; she just has really long legs and her t shirt wasn’t small, she had had a little more to offer than some of the other girls.  “You can just roll me back down the hill on the way back.” Joey joked as they reached Mandy.  She smiled at him as the image of him going down the hill flooded her mind. 

“We can turn back now if you don’t think you can make it to the top.” Mandy offered, after all she didn’t want Joey to hurt himself on her behalf. 

“No, I can make it.” Joey defended.  Lance and Mandy just glared at him questioning his ability to make it that far.  “What, I can!” He added and started further up the hill just to prove them both wrong.  His lungs were burning and his knees were killing him but Joey made it to the top.  Now he just hoped that the other two were willing to hang out there for a minute before head back.  He took a seat on a big bolder and looked out across the valley.  He was shocked when Mandy took a seat next to him.  Neither of them said anything they just took in the pretty scenery.  And Joey took in a little more than he probably should have.

Mandy was young and pretty, what would he ever want with a washed up boy band member?  Joey wondered what he could really offer her besides his undying love and affection.  He knew that if he got divorced, Kelly would get a pretty good chunk of his fortune, which she was entitled to after all if nothing else for the care and keeping of their two girls.  Mandy didn’t seem to care about money though, so maybe that would be okay.

Lance stood back and watched the two of them, afraid to say or do anything to draw attention to himself.  He didn’t want to admit it but in that moment Lance kind of felt alone, everyone in the house had someone but him.  But he really liked the girls and wanted to see them all happy.  Lance laughed to himself as he thought about the old saying, always a bridesmaid never a bride.

            “Come on Kim let’s go to bed.” JC moaned as he kissed his way down her neck.  For someone who had been so against everything from the start he was really coming around fast.

            “But it’s too early for bed.” Kim whined but the twinkle in his eyes told her that he hadn’t planned on doing much sleeping.  He just wanted to be with her and to feel her skin against his.  He propped himself up and just looked down at her, her soft brown hair spread across the grass.  He ran his hand along the side of her face forcing her to look at him.  There was so much going on inside her head; he could see it in her eyes, maybe right now wasn’t the best time to be trying to get her in bed with him.  JC rolled off of her and fell back against the grass; he just stared up at the sky for a minute, watching a few clouds pass by.  Kim knew that he was confused by her, maybe even frustrated.  But outwardly he appeared calm. 

            “You would tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you?” JC finally questioned, not moving his eyes from their upward gaze.  Kim felt her heart sink, he had so much trust in her and she wanted to tell him the truth but she couldn’t betray the others.

            “Nothing is wrong, we’re all just a little scared and confused right now.  This isn’t exactly the way we planned this.  You’ve even admitted that the whole situation is nuts.” Kim confessed, but that was all she could give him right now.  She turned to him this time, meeting his eyes as the moved from the sky to her.  “Can I ask you something?” She wondered out loud.  JC just nodded, he hoped she knew that she would ask him anything.  “If you had met me on the street, would you have even noticed me or given me a second thought?”

            JC thought for a minute but was trying not to take too long to answer her, afraid of making it seem as if he was lying.  As a celebrity he meets a lot of people every day, most he didn’t bother to commit to memory.  But she was different, of course the first time he had seem her had been when she tackled him to the ground, not exactly a great first impression.

            “I don’t know, maybe.  I mean I can’t know for sure because that’s not how we meet.  I kind of got to know you first and I saw who you really were.  But I do meet a lot of people in my line of work and I can’t recall all of them.”  JC answered honestly.  Kim nodded, looking as if it hadn’t been the answer that she was looking for.  JC sat up suddenly and looked over at her.  “Come on baby let’s not talk about what could have happened and just focus on what did happen.  I like you and I assume you like me too.” JC said, adding a smile at the end.  He knew deep down Kim couldn’t resist his charm.

            Kim smiled back at him, cursing him in her head for being so damn irresistible.  He had to know what he was doing to her and how hard he was making all of this for her.  The day light was slipping away from them and Kim knew that she was going to have to make a choice very soon as to whether or not she was staying.

            “So are you still up for that ‘nap’?” Kim teased.  If she was going to hell, she figured that she might as well enjoy the ride.  JC just smiled and got to his feet, pulling her up along with him.  He embraced her lovingly trying not to make her feel rushed.  JC wanted her to be okay with what she was doing and the choices that she was making.  They just held each other for awhile; she could hear his heart beating inside his chest which she was pressed so firmly against.  Those wash board abs of his were hidden by the thin layer of fabric but Kim could still feel them.  This time she took the lead pushing herself away from him and leading him back toward the house.  Her mind was made up she wanted to be with him while she could.  After tonight whether she stayed of left, he wouldn’t be happy with her.

            They entered the house witnessed by the only person left inside at this point, Katy, who didn’t even try to stop them.  They had the right to privacy and she was never one to judge.  That seemed to be happening a lot lately.  Katy got back to work on finishing the video.  It was nearly completion now, she was just tweaking it.  Katy wanted it to be perfect, she paused briefly to slipped some of the camera equipment back into its bag., trying to make is seem as if she was just trying to keep things together instead of packing, just in case someone was watching her.

            Some time passed before Mandy came in the back door.  The guys must have stopped outside to talk to the others because they weren’t with her any more.  Mandy started to head for the stairs when Katy stopped her.

            “I wouldn’t go up there right now.” Katy said softly.  Mandy paused and looked at her confused.  “Kim and JC went up there a little bit ago.” Katy added.  Mandy nodded, biting down on her bottom lip before heading toward Katy.  The girls sleeping with the guys made Mandy nervous but she wasn’t going to try to stop them, and it wasn’t like they would listen to her any way.

            “Are you about done?” Mandy asked, noticing that Katy minimized the window that she was working in as soon as Mandy got close enough to see anything.  The look on Mandy’s face let Katy know that she had been caught.

            “I don’t want anyone to see it until I am done, I was thinking maybe we could have a viewing party tonight with the guys and everyone one could see it for the first time together.” Katy tried to explain but Mandy wasn’t completely buying in to it.  “Hey why don’t you run to town and get us some adult beverages?” Katy suggested, trying to change the subject.

            “Why, do you think the video will look better if we are all drunk?” Mandy joked.  Katy smiled and laughed a little under her breath.  It couldn’t make it look any worse that was for sure.  But with all the stress in the air the girls could use a break and a chance to let go and unwind.

            “Of course it will!  But you are right there is more to it than that.  We need to slip out of here tonight without any issues.  I am not a huge fan of confrontation.” Katy explained, but she knew that none of the guys would be able to keep her here.  She might be small but she was determined and stealthy.  

            “So you think if they are drunk they won’t realized we’re gone?” Mandy asked.  Katy just nodded, it was something like that but she would see to it that the guys were in no position to try to stop them.  “I’ll go back out to fill the guys in on the party plans and see what they like to drink.” Mandy offered and headed back outside before Katy said anything else.  Katy waited for her to clear the doorway before bringing the window back up.  Her evil grin danced across her face, this was so going to be worth it.

            Outside Brandi was seated on the ground now, using the log behind her for support and leaning her head against Chris.  Mandy was grateful that Chris couldn’t see the look on Brandi’s face, her eyes seemed cold and distant as they stared at the ground in front of them.  Surely the other guys had noticed it as well, and might say something to him about it later but for now, no one said anything.  They just chatted among themselves about what they had been up to lately.

            “Katy wants to have a viewing party tonight for the video; I am off to buy some beer or whatever.  I just need to know what you guys like to drink.”  Mandy interrupted.  She hated to be rude but she was in a hurry to run her errand and they guys could always pick up where they left off after she was gone.

            “Is Katy done with the video yet?” Justin asked fishing something out of his pocket.

            “Almost but she won’t let anyone see it until tonight, like an unveiling or whatever.  If you ask me she is up to something.” Mandy explained.

            “Katy? Up to something?  That is highly unlikely.” Brandi joked joining the conversation.  There was no doubt in her mind that her dear friend had at least one more trick up her sleeve.  Mandy just chuckled as the guys exchanged glances.  They were still learning to understand the girls’ sense of humor.  Justin got up and slipped the hundred dollar bill that he had won from Chris the day before into Mandy’s hand.

            “What’s this for?” Mandy asked.

            “For the drinks, come on you girls shouldn’t have to pay for everything around here, at least not any more.  It’s not like I am hard up for cash or anything.  Just get whatever you want, I can drink anything.”  Justin explained.

            “Are you feeling well?  Justin Timberlake never hands out money.” Lance asked.

            “Maybe he hit his head when he fell into the pool.” Brandi blurted out before she could stop herself, realizing that the damage was already done, Brandi just tried to play it cool.  After all it was like she had tossed him into the pool on purpose. 

            “What pool?” Justin snapped.

            “Um… yeah.  What pool?” Mandy chimed in.  This was the first she had heard about the indecent with the pool.

            “It was your pool.  But don’t worry; I am pretty sure that you didn’t hit your head.  You just fell in when I shot you.  Don’t you remember walking out of your house to check on your stupid dogs?”  Brandi asked.  Her anger flared slightly as she recalled the wound on her leg that was just now starting to heal.

            “I remember that but I don’t remember going into the pool.  Are you nuts you could have killed me?” Justin fired back stepping closer to her.  It explained why Justin had smelled like chlorine when he came to, but he still wasn’t happy about it.  Without missing a beat he quickly went over to Brandi and snatched her up by her shirt.  Expression on her face turned cold and angry as the pop star laid into her about what she had done, but she tried to remain calm. 

            Chris got up but wasn’t sure what to do, he understood that Justin was angry but no one had gotten hurt in the incident.  It was a wonder how anyone of the guys had made it out unharmed so far.  Brandi glared at Justin but said nothing; instead she slipped her hand into her pocket and carefully pulled out the tiny can of mace. 

            In hind sight she shouldn’t have been so quick to act, it wasn’t like Justin was hurting her.  He was just upset and if she had taken the time to think things through she might have noticed that the sprayer was pointed the wrong way.  As soon as the mist hit her face her eyes snapped shut and she cried out as the liquid burned her eyes and throat.  Justin quickly dropped her and jumped back to avoid coming into contact with the spray. 

            Once safely away he laughed as Brandi struggled on the ground to compose herself.  She hurt too much to feel like an idiot at the moment.  Chris tried to comfort her and stifle his own laughter.  The noise must have caught Katy attention; Justin looked over when he heard her chuckle softly while propping herself against the house.  She watched Brandi for a minute before speaking up.

            “I told you to be careful with that stuff; it’s easier than you think to spray yourself.”  Katy explained, speaking as if she knew from experience.  Mandy just smiled, it sounded like something that Katy would have done.

            “Yeah well it was funnier when you were the one rolling on the ground.” Brandi whined.  Katy reached back in the kitchen and got a dry towel before heading toward Brandi.  She placed the towel over her eyes but instructed her not to rub or to use water.

            “Why were you still carrying mace?  Don’t you trust us?” Chris asked, his voice suddenly turning serious.  Why did Brandi still feel the need to arm herself around them, hadn’t they moved past this?

            “I trust you.  But there are wild animals around here.  I have already been attacked by Justin’s dogs; I don’t need any more animal bites.” Brandi explained, trying to put Chris at ease.  Chris nodded as Brandi pulled the towel away and looked up at him, at least she thought it was him, everything was kind of blurry.  But she was trying to drive her point him to him, letting her lips pout slightly.  Without thinking about it Chris found himself placing an innocent kiss on her lips, which instantly cause his lips to start burning as well from the fiery liquid.  Katy just laughed as he tried to rub it off, which just made it worse; wetting them with his tongue was also a bad idea.  Within minutes he was just as about as miserable as she was.

            “I am starting to think that you two were made for each other.” Katy teased, but for once it was nice not to be on the receiving end of the pain.  Justin watched in awe as Katy mothered Brandi just the way Brandi had tended to her so carefully when she had screwed up.

Mandy stood there while Katy helped Brandi into the house and Chris took a seat back on the log.  He was already feeling better, having not gotten the full force of the mace.  It looked as if Mandy would be heading to the store by herself, it wasn’t like she could take one of the guys with her, it was still a sticky situation and they had been lucky that no one had noticed JC while he was in town.  She sighed and turned back to the guys for a minute, the hundred dollar bill still clutched in her hand.  Mandy wasn’t used to taking money from people, it wasn’t like Justin really needed it.

“So you guys really don’t care what I get you to drink?” Mandy questioned out loud.  They guys shrugged but still tossed out a few suggestions for her any way.  Then they watched Mandy disappear around the side of the house.  Lance waited until he heard the car door shut before turning to the other guys again.  There was a sober mood between the 4 of them now that the excitement had died down.

“So Joey what are you going to tell Kelly?” Lance asked.  Joey looked up at him a little confused; the question seemed to come from nowhere.  He hadn’t really thought about it, he didn’t really want to admit it but he hadn’t really thought about her.

“Kelly and I are…” Joey paused and took a deep breath.  Joey diverted his eyes to the ground for a minute; he hadn’t wanted to say anything earlier because it kind of gave him a reason not to pursue Mandy, not to put his heart out there again.  It was the real reason why Joey had been at the club with Chris the night they had been abducted, instead of home with Kelly and the girls, where he should have been.  “We are having issues.  I’ve been staying with Chris for a while.  So she probably doesn’t even know that I am missing.”

The guys were silent, Chris felt guilty since he had known all along.  But it was Joey’s choice on whether or not he told the others.  He kind of thought Joey’s actions in the club that night would have tipped off Mandy but she was a sweet girl and she only thought the best of Joey despite his drunken actions that night.  The saddest part of all of this was that he may have been missing out on his chance to be with Mandy and to get to know her a little better.

“How long is a while?” Justin asked.  It rolled off his tongue a little harsher than he intended since he was still trying to calm himself down after going off on Brandi.  

“I am sorry Joe and that’s none of our business Justin.” Lance sighed, eyeing his other friend as if to put the pop star back into his place.  Lance felt like a clueless jerk right now.  Justin just folded his arms and sank back onto the grass.  Lance was right as usual but Justin didn’t like being treated the he was still the child of the group. 

“It’s alright, I should have told you guys sooner, you are all like my brothers but no one knew, accept Chris of course.  We were kind of keeping it out of the media until we were sure it was over.  I haven’t completely given up.” Joey explained.  The other guys hung their heads; they felt just as guilty for not asking Joey sooner about his family.  They had just assumed that everything was fine.

“We do need to think about what we are going to tell our families.  I know that I have had appearances that I have missed.” Justin admitted thinking back to the packed schedule he usually kept.  His PR guy was going to kill him when they got back.  He couldn’t just say that he had forgotten since that wasn’t in Justin nature to be so careless.

“We’ll think of something.  Worst case we can just lie and say we needed a vacation or a break.  I mean we may not be a group any more but we have all been doing other things and we have been at this for a long time, you know it wouldn’t be that unheard of.” Lance offered.  He had thought about using the song as an excuse but it was the product of the girls’ hard work, selling it kind of felt wrong.

“Not to change the subject or anything, but do you think tonight is really about the video?  I can’t help but think that they might be up to something.  Maybe I am just being paranoid.” Chris said, looking down at his hands as he spoke, he didn’t want to believe that Brandi and the girls were up to no good, but they always seemed to have something up their sleeves. 

“Come on there are 5 of us and only 4 of them, if we all keep our eyes open what can they possibly do to us?  There is no way they can trick all of us at once, can they?” Lance questioned but even he had to admit that the girls were pretty smart.

Back inside the house, Brandi stood there for a minute with the rag still pressed to her face..  Katy watched her for a while from her place on the other side of the kitchen.  It wasn’t like Brandi to be so careless.  Brandi was always the level headed one in the group; the one Katy relied on the most to help direct her.  This act was not at all like the Brandi that she knew.

“What is going on B, you don’t seem quite like yourself lately.” Katy stated.  Brandi lowered her towel and glared at Katy for a minute, her eye were red and irritated but it didn’t faze Katy.  It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen that look before.  She knew in her heart the Brandi wasn’t mad at her, she hadn’t done anything to her, at least not that she knew of.  Katy watched as the hateful glare faded and Brandi’s head fell back into her towel as she wept slightly.  Katy wanted to warn her about crying, it would only irritate the burning and make it hurt more, but maybe Brandi was already in a lot of pain.

Katy started to approach her friend but paused when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.  For a minute she had almost forgotten that there were other people still in the house.  She remained where she was as Kim and JC rounded the corner.  Her eyes fixed on the floor so as not to give anything away.  Kim stopped when she saw Brandi crying and then shot JC a look that said it all.  Without saying a word JC kissed Kim on the forehead and then headed out the back door, Kim flashed him a grateful smile as he closed the door behind him.  He knew the girls would need a minute alone and it really wasn’t any of his business but he did wonder if Chris knew why Brandi was crying.

They all stood in silence for a few seconds; just the sound of Brandi’s sobs could be heard as the other two thought about how to proceed.  When it was apparent that JC wasn’t returning Katy finally spoke up. 

“If something it bothering you, you know you can talk about it to us.  Sometimes just hearing yourself say something out loud is enough to make you feel better.” Katy offered.  Brandi lowered the towel again and took a deep breath.  For once Katy’s stupid idea maybe just what she needed.

“I am afraid Chris may have Stockholm syndrome.” Brandi sighed.  Blurting it out like that didn’t make her feel as good as she had hoped it would. 

“Chris is sick?” Kim asked out loud.  Brandi shook her head; at least Chris wasn’t sick in the way that Kim was thinking.  It wasn’t like he was dying or anything.

“Stockholm syndrome is a psychology term; it’s used to describe people that develop unexplained feelings for their captures.  But Brandi I don’t think Chris has that.  He has a perfectly good explanation for the way he feels, your freaking hot!” Katy explained.  She smiled but Brandi didn’t seem amused.

“Doesn’t he have a psychology degree or something; wouldn’t he know if he had that?” Kim asked. 

            Brandi glared at them again, this time she just looked more annoyed than anything, did Kim really think Chris would know if he had it.  That just wouldn’t make any sense.  Brandi ran her hands through her hair.  There was no way she could know for sure if he had it or not so now her mind was made up.

            “I am going with you tonight.” Brandi firmly stated.  Kim looked shocked but Katy just shook her head.  “I will never know if his feelings for me are true.  I have to go, I can’t stand not knowing.”

            “So wait a minute this Stockholm stuff in serious.  It’s like a real thing?” Kim questioned.  Her mind was racing now, what if JC had it too.  Was what they had just did real, did he really love her?  Kim’s eyes began to water a little and her bottom lip quivered.  Katy groaned, secretly cursing Brandi in her head, but on the plus side at least it was all out in the open now.  For now it looked liked the girls were once again a united front. 

            First Katy grabbed Kim by the arms and forced Kim to look at her.  It broke her heart to see Kim so torn up.  But sleeping with JC hadn’t been a mistake, it was a wonderful experience that Kim would have with her the rest of her life and that was just the way Kim was going to have to look at it.  Katy voiced her opinion and Kim seemed to take it in stride.  Katy knew that they would probably have to have another talk with Kim about JC, when it came to guys Kim was kind of unsure of some things but for now Kim seemed at peace.  Then Katy turned to Brandi.

            “I have a plan for later, as you probably all ready know the party is just a cover.  I am not going to tell you what it is but you’ll know it when you see it.  When that happens we make our move and we get the hell out of dodge before anything else can go wrong.” Katy stated.  The two girls just nodded, it was best that they didn’t know what Katy’s plan was.  They just hoped that no one would get hurt, at least not physically any way.  Emotionally they would all be scared for sure.

            Mandy walked in with her arms full if stuff, since the guys hadn’t been very specific she just got a little of everything.  Katy was quick to run to her aide.  She took the heavy cartons from Mandy and headed into the kitchen with them.  It was kind of a welcome distraction, since Brandi and Kim had left her standing in the kitchen she was just alone with her own thoughts, which is a scary place for anyone to be.  Mandy smiled gratefully at Katy before heading back out to the car to get the rest of the stuff.

            “Were you expecting company or something?” Katy asked eyeing a massive pile of food and alcohol on the kitchen floor once they were done carrying everything in.  It was enough to feed an army.  Mandy just shrugged and started putting things away.  She may have been a fan of the guys but that didn’t mean she remembered every little thing that they liked to eat and they were going to need snacks later.  Katy leaned up against the counter and watching Mandy work.  “I need a favor.” Katy simply stated.

            Mandy stopped in her tracks glaring at Katy trying to get a read on her before agreeing to anything.  A favor for Katy couldn’t possible end well for anyone involved.  Katy just smiled back at her; it wasn’t like she was asking for a kidney or something.  It was a minor thing.

            “Sure, I’ll bite.  What kind of favor?” Mandy sighed before going back to putting things away.  Katy looked around to make sure that no one was nearby, especially the guys.

            “Remember what I told you that night at the club, when we abducted Chris and Joey?” Katy asked.  Mandy just nodded.  “Well I need to do some more magic tonight if we plan to get out of here without any issues.  So I am going to need another distraction, but something bigger this time possibly more than one.  It has to get the attention of all the guys not just two of them.  If you don’t think you can then I can ask Brandi.” Katy explained.

            Katy could see the gears turning inside Mandy’s head; she hoped that was a good sign.  Katy didn’t want to have to ask Brandi to do anything right now, that girl had enough on her mind.  Mandy smiled, this was her time to be the bad girl to do something wild, but what?  Then it hit her, the perfect thing to do to get all the guys wondering.

            “I have an idea I think, when do I need to do this?” Mandy asked.

            “I will give you a signal, I don’t need to know what it is your planning, I just need to know when you are about to do it.  It won’t be too early in the night but just be ready.” Katy explained. 

            “Yeah well I don’t want to distract you from your mission.” Mandy said, concerned that something would go wrong tonight.

            “Nothing fazes me.” Katy said with another smile.  Mandy just laughed and then questioned Katy further about the plans for tonight, both with the guys and the plans for their great escape.  Tonight was going to be the longest night ever.   Katy excused herself and headed back into the living room where her computer was, there were a few things that she needed to get ready for tonight.  Everyone was expecting a video and Katy had to make sure that she had one that she could show them.

            After putting everything away Mandy head outside, she wanted to spend some time with the guys and to work on her own plan for tonight.  Everyone was in the back yard now except Brandi.  She had headed up to her room most likely to recover from her little accident. 

            Once the party got started everyone seemed to calm down.  It was nice to just let loose with the guys and really get to know them.  The girls had spent so much time being afraid of the guys and what they might do, but now everything seemed fine.  But it was becoming very obvious that the guys were watching the girls very carefully tonight.  Justin was seated on the sofa with a beer in one hand and the other draped over Katy’s shoulders.  She lay against him lovingly all the while trying to nurse her own drink as slowly as she could.  It was important to Katy that she not get out of control.

            Across from them Katy could see Kim and JC seated on the love seat.  Kim hadn’t come out and said it but Katy could tell from her body langue that what Brandi had said, was weighing heavily on her mind.  Kim looked up at JC as he took sips from his drink, almost like she was trying to read his mind.

            “So when are we going to get to see this video of yours?” Justin asked, snapping Katy back from her own thoughts.  She looked at him confused for just a minute.  It was still early yet and Katy needed to draw this out a little longer.

            “Are you in a hurry or something?  It’s not like you’re going anywhere, are you?” Katy teased.  Justin just smiled but he was kind of curious about this video that she had been working so hard on. 

            “I think you just want me to get drunk first?  Are you nervous about it?” Justin questioned.  He interlaced his finger with hers and waited for her response. 

            “Of course, everything looks better when you are drunk.  I am not Steven Spielberg or anything, so you might need to lower your expectations.” Katy teased, then searched the room for Mandy, now would be a really good time for a distraction.  But when she couldn’t find her at least she had a reason not to show the video, they weren’t all present.

            Joey rolled his eyes and then offered to go look for Mandy.  He was kind of felling out of place as in the living room with all the happy couples showing their affections for one another.  He resisted the urge to vomit as he stepped out into the cool night air.  Joey had seen Mandy slip out the back door a little bit ago from some fresh air, even though it was kind of starting to rain.  He found her seated on the step letting the light rain wet her hair and face.  Mandy jumped a little when he sat down beside her, she was expecting any one to follow her out into the cold.

            “It’s raining you know?” Joey asked, pointing up to the night sky.  Mandy just smiled and nodded, her eyes locked on her shoes.

            “I know but it feels good, it was getting stuffy in there.” She explained.  Joey agreed and continued to sip on his beer. 

            “What?  You were enjoying the show either?” Joey chuckled.  Even Brandi and Chris were back at it, with the kissing and cuddling.  She must have gotten over her little fear, for the most part.  “By the way Katy was looking for you, Justin wants to watch the video.” He added.

            Mandy’s eyes got wider; she knew why Katy was really looking for her.  It must be show time.  It was interesting tough that it appeared as if Katy didn’t want to play the video.  What was that girl hiding now?  Wasn’t that the whole reason that they were even there?  Mandy went over her little plan in her head one last time, glancing at Joey over her shoulder.  She couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to think about what she was about to do.

            “I guess we should go back in.” Mandy smirked.  Joey got up first and then offered her his hand, as he pulled her to her feet the two of them rested for a minute so close to each other that they were almost touching.  God he wanted to tell Mandy the truth but the words just wouldn’t come out.  He cursed himself as Mandy turned and headed inside.  Any chance of romance between them was slipping away.

            Katy greeted Mandy in the kitchen.  She had been her way to get Justin a fresh beer, the look on her face and the playful wink confirmed Mandy’s suspicions.  Katy pulled Mandy close to her and whispered that she should try to draw it out as long as she could; Katy needed a little more time to get everything done that she needed to.   Mandy agreed and made her way back into the living room with the others.

            She sat stopped next to Lance who was leaning up against one of the wall just people watching.  Mandy kind of felt bad for him, he was a great guy and he deserved to be in love as well, maybe he would find some guy some day to share his life with, but for now Mandy was about to use him to her own advantage.

            “You look lonely Lance; you can cuddle with me if you want.” Mandy playfully offered.  The shy man just smiled and shook his head.

            “I think I have been over this with Katy a few times, I appreciate the offer but you’re just not my type.” Lance joked. 

            “Yeah I know, but I also know that she is never going to stop bugging you about it unless you can prove to her that you really are gay.” Mandy explained.  Katy just smiled back at both of them from her standing position behind the couch.  She handed Justin his beer but remained standing.

            “And how would I do that?” Lance asked but he could already see where this was going.  But he wasn’t without a plan as well.  He could see Joey standing behind Mandy, why couldn’t Joey see what the others already did.  Maybe the big guy just needed a push.  Mandy just smiled in response.  Without missing a beat Lance wrapped his arms around Mandy’s waist and pulled her closer to him.  Mandy ran her hand through his hair and let him pulled her in for a kiss, which much to Lance’s surprise she turned into a make out session.

            Lance kept his eyes fixed on Joey, over Mandy’s shoulder.  He could swear that Joey’s eyes turned red for a minute in a jealous rage.  But Joey didn’t say anything only took a few long drinks from his bottle and refused to take his eyes off of them.  When Lance tried to pull away but Mandy pulled him back, trying to buy Katy as much time as she could, since all eye were on her now.  Mandy had no idea that for the most part people were more interested in what Joey was thinking at this point.  She finally released Lance, who just pulled back and looked at her puzzled before stepping back again.  He playfully glanced down at his crotch and smirked.

            “See, I got nothing.  I am defiantly gay because you are way to fine for a straight guy to not get excited about.” Lance explained raising an eye brow at Joey, who was no longer paying attention.  Mandy blushed a little then searched the room for Katy.  Katy just smiled back at her; Mandy had more than completed her task.

            “Hey Joey, you look a little low over there, you want me to get you another one?” Katy asked, nodding toward Joey.  Joey looked at the bottle in his hand; it was nearly empty now so he just shook his head.  She might as well fetch him one since she was already up and closest to the kitchen. “Does anyone else need anything while I am going?” She asked pausing to see if there were any takers.

            “Sure if you are going.” JC said, holding out both he and Kim’s empty glasses.  Katy looked at the glass and them Kim as she headed into the other room.  It wasn’t like Kim to drink, clearly the girl was confused but that could make for an interesting night.  Not that is mattered; Katy would carry Kim to the car later if she had to but at least for now Kim was enjoying herself. 

            “So there was nothing, really?” Mandy questioned still standing by Lance.  She made a pouty face at him and just batted her eyes.  Lance just shrugged what had she really expected from him.  It wasn’t like he hadn’t kissed a girl before. 

            “I thought you had a plan?  When the hell are you going of put this plan of your into action?” Brandi snapped, after cornering Katy in the kitchen sometime later.  Katy eyed her for a little bit before responding.

            “What are you talking about I never have a plan, just a general idea and who said that I haven’t already started something?  Now just go snuggle with your rock star while you can and don’t worry about it.  It will all be over soon but just for the record, I think you are wrong about Chris.” Katy explained, fixing Joey yet another drink.  Since Mandy’s little show the confused singer had been throwing them back pretty hard, at this rate he wasn’t going to last much longer.

            Brandi flashed a series of emotions across her face before settling on one, anger.  She grabbed her drink and stormed out of the kitchen back toward Chris.  Katy just smirked, Brandi wasn’t mad at her, she was just stressed.  They all were under a lot of stress, what had they been thinking when they planned this whole thing.  There was no way that it could end well.  But the conversation had gotten her thinking more about her plan.  Katy watched Justin carefully from the kitchen and he was joking with Lance waiting for her to return. 

            After handing Joey his drink and offering Justin a fresh drink as well, Katy watched Joey out of the corner of her eye.  She ignored the glare from Justin when she didn’t take a seat by him; instead she slipped away to the bathroom.  Katy waited for the sound of the toilet flushing to subside then just as the door was about to open Katy pushed her way inside taking Mandy with her.

            “Jesus Christ! Katy what the hell are you doing?” Mandy snapped.  She continued to glare at her friend as waited for an answer.  Katy was only slightly concerned about all the glares she was getting as of late.  She could feel her popularity among the house gusts faded and didn’t expect it to pick up again anytime soon. 

            “I am doing you a favor this time.  I think you need to talk to Joey and you need to do it soon rather than later, or you’ll never get the chance.” Katy quickly explained.  There was sternness to her voice that Mandy wasn’t used to.

            “Why? What do you mean never get the chance?” Mandy questioned as if Joey was dying or something.

            “I drugged them and judging by how much he has had to drink he will probably pass out soon.  Plus if you could kind of get him away from the others before he passes out that would be a bonus.”  Katy said pressed herself firmly against the bathroom door so that no one else could join them.  Mandy looked at her like she was retarded.  “What it wasn’t like I could drug them all at once, it took time.  Some are going to pass out before others.  I just don’t want any of them to catch on to what is happening and freak out.  Plus Joey was hurt by what you did, we all saw that.  Don’t leave here with any regrets.  You have to tell Joey how you really feel about him.”

            Mandy made a series of strange noises and she sorted out all of the information that she had just been given.  She knew she needed to separate Joey from the others, but did it really matter what she said, he was probably too drunk to remember anything she was about to tell him.  She giggled a little as she thought about that, she could easily make something up to tell Joey, something stupid or crazy, which is exactly what she knew Katy would have done.  But she felt Joey should know the truth even if he wouldn’t remember it.

“I thought you didn’t believe in regret?” Mandy asked.

“I don’t but you do.” Katy simply stated. Her arms neatly folded across her body.  Katy wasn’t dumb she knew they girls were going to have regrets about leaving here like this, but if some of that suffering could be taken away then she should at least try.

            “Why can’t you pull Joey away from them?  If the lush passes out they will just blame it on the booze until a pattern starts to form.” Mandy asked.

            “Because, I think I am going to have to get Justin out of there.  He is already showing signs too and I just can’t get both of them without setting off alarms.  Why on earth would I want to have a conversation with Joey?” Katy teased.  Mandy groaned again and then nodded, allowing Katy to slip back out of the bathroom giving her a minute to compose herself again.

            Mandy glared at herself in the mirror, why had she agreed to do this in the first place?  What made her think that going along with anything Katy and Brandi had planned was a good idea.  She thought back to that day, it had been awhile since they had all seen each other; the absence of the bond they shared had left Mandy felling a little empty.  She quickly smacked herself in the fore head, a little harder than she had intended, but it had just hit her.  She would do anything for those girls and they would do anything for her.  Their friendship was special but also dangerous.  The final part of this plan may be the hardest for them to pull off but probably the best thing for all of them.

            The living room was fairly quiet and Katy slipped back into her place beside Justin.  She wanted to make sure Mandy came for Joey before pulling Justin aside.  But she had no more sat down than JC started in on wanting to see the video again.  Katy groaned inside her head, why were the guys so eager to see a video that they hadn’t even wanted to make until half way through filming it.  She was in the process of formulating the reason she was about to give him when Justin spoke up.

            “Before we watch it can I talk to you for a minute?” Justin asked. He blinked a few times, trying to wrap his foggy brain around what he had originally wanted to say to her.  He glanced at the drink in his hand, maybe he should have taken it easy, at least until after they had talked.  Katy had a deer in headlight look on her face and she wasn’t even trying to hide it.  There was no way that this was happening; something was actually going in her favor?

 “Please baby can we go downstairs there is something I need to tell you.” Justin begged trying to act as serious as he could.  Katy quickly nodded; she had the feeling all night that Justin was dying to talk to her about something.  Katy was torn, she wanted to make sure Mandy took care of Joey but this opportunity was too good to pass up and stalling might look suspicious. 

            “If Justin is stealing Katy then I need to borrow Joey.  Then we can watch her award winning music video.” Mandy chimed in.  Joey looked up at her, a little shocked that she was asking to speak to him.  Mandy smiled and took Joey by the hand.  She playfully led him back outside to the place they had been sitting earlier. 

            The rain had stopped now and the step was only slightly damp as Mandy sat down on it.  There was a thud as Joey fell down on the step beside her, it wasn’t clear if he had just lost his balance in the process of taking a seat or he simple didn’t care about injuring himself.  She took a deep breath before turning to Joey. 

            His eyes were dark and heavy with the excessive booze that he had consumed.  There was just a hint of sadness to them as well.  Mandy felt her heart sink, god she wanted to tell him how she really felt about him but he was too far gone.

            “Joey, I thought we had talked about this.  We are just friend, right?” Mandy questioned, the words seemed to just flow from her mouth without even thinking about it.  Joey let his eyes fall from her face to his hands, which were resting in his lap. 

            “We are friends; at least I think we are.  It’s just…” Joey ran one hand through his hair and struggled to find the right word or words to complete his sentence, but his mind was cloudy, He questioned himself about how much he had to drink that night, it hadn’t seemed like a lot but he had lost count.  “I think I like you as more than a friend.  But I know that I shouldn’t and there are things that I need to take care of back home first.  Please don’t think less of me…” Joey begged.  He watched her shiver slightly in the cool air and then he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him so that his body heat could warm her.  She leaned against him and sighed heavily. 

            She turned to say something to him but without giving her a chance to protest or move away from him, Joey pressed his lips against hers, pressing her firmly against him so that she couldn’t pull away from him.  He needed this; he just couldn’t leave here without knowing what it felt like to kiss her.  Mandy gasped into his mouth in shock, she hadn’t expected the drunk to move so quickly. 

            Mandy couldn’t stop herself from kissing him back.  She knew in her heart it was wrong but maybe Katy was right, she couldn’t leave here not knowing what it felt like to kiss Joey Fatone, the man on the posters that used to adorn her walls.  Truth be told it was everything she had thought it would be, accept of course the part where he tasted like beer and was minutes away from passing out.  If she was going to hell then she might as well enjoy the ride, she ran her tongue along his bottom lip, moaning softly to him.  He had to comply with her demands he was too drunk to think logically any more.

            They made out for a few minutes before Mandy felt his grip on her loosen.   She knew that it was the drugs Katy had slipped him; they were taking their full affect any minute.  She pulled back and looked him in the eye.  He look so innocent, his big down eye begging her for forgiveness or acceptance, she couldn’t be sure which.  She put one hand on his cheek and he placed his hand on top of it.  Her skin was cool against his flushed face but it felt good.  Joey closed his eyes for a minute and just moaned softly.

            “Joey… I love you.  Always have and always will.”Mandy said softly.  Joey snapped to attention as if he had heard her wrong.  His heart rate increased at the realization that he hadn’t.  But the increased blood only pushed the drugs and alcohol further into his system.  He started to say something but it just came out as a jumbled mess and then his eyes rolled a few times before closing completely. 

            Mandy watching in horror as the man of her dreams passed out and fell backwards into a nearby bush.  She scratched her head and thought for a minute.  There was no way she could pull him out on her own and she couldn’t go for help without tipping off the others so for now Joey would just have to stay where he was.  There wasn’t anything wrong with him, if anything she felt sorry for the poor shrub that was crumbling under his weight.  The thought made her laugh as she set there on the step.  She didn’t want to return too soon, and she was still processing what had just happened to her.  Mandy was sure that some day she would look back on all this and laugh about it, but that wasn’t today.  Today it hurt and made her feel sad and confused.

Katy playfully pushed Justin into the sofa that was in the basement.  He sat there smiling up at her with his legs spread open; getting him alone had been the easy part, entertaining him long enough for the drugs to kick in was going to be tricky.  No doubt he would want to talk about his feels and their plans for the future.  Katy rolled her eyes just thinking about it. 

“What was that for?” Justin asked.

“What was what for?” Katy questioned, playfully straddling his lap.

“You just rolled your eyes at me.” Justin pointed out.  Katy groaned to herself, of course he had seen that.  He latched on to her hand and held them in place.  It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to touch him, but he couldn’t let her distract him from the reason he had asked her down there. 

“Never mind, you got me all to yourself now, so what did you want?”  Katy asked lowering herself onto his lap.  She playfully tossed her hair aside and grinned at him which caused Justin to groan in frustration, this wasn’t going to be easy for him.

“Baby, stop that.  I just wanted to have a serious conversation with you before you got distracted by the video and the others.

“What’s wrong?” Katy asked trying to free her hands.  His blue eyes glared at her for the first time and she leaned away from him a bit.  “What did I do this time?” She questioned.

“We need to talk about us and our plans.  I assume that we will be leaving here soon.” Justin explained.

“You’re drunk.  Are you sure you want to have this conversation right now? I just think we should have some fun and save the serious stuff for a time when we are both in the right frame of mind.” Katy explained.  Justin let his head fall back against the sofa, the room did feel like it was spinning and he was really tired right now for some reason.  “Just relax my love. 

Tomorrow morning when you wake up everything will be clearer to you and everything will fall back into place.  We can get out of here and move on with our lives.” Katy added.  She was impressed with how the even the truth could sound like fiction. 

“Okay, your right babe.  I am sorry I guess I had more to drink than I thought.  But promise me that we will talk tomorrow?” Justin begged, forcing her to look him in the eyes.  Katy just nodded; he could talk about anything that he wanted to tomorrow; it just wasn’t going to be with her.  He let his head fall back again and gently rubbed the bridge of his nose, hoping to wake himself up a little bit.  “So if we aren’t talking then what are we doing?” He asked, flashing her that million dollar smile of his.

Katy just returned the smiled and moved around on his lap a little.  She moved around just enough to make him moan though his eyes were still shut.  She knew it wouldn’t be long until he passed out so she was just teasing him to buy time and not to raise suspicions.  Katy slowly crawled down his body lowering herself to the floor.  His hand found its way to the back of her head where he held it her hair in place so that it was out of her face.  But Katy had no more than undone the zipper on his jeans when his hand fell limp at his side.

She rested her arm on his knee and just looked up at her the sleeping pop star, waiting to see if he was really out or if it was just a false alarm.  But several minute passed and the man didn’t stir from his sleep.  Katy didn’t move either, she was looking up at the guys of her dreams, and he had it all, money, fame and good looks.   And for whatever reason he wanted to share all that with her.  Either he was stupid or she was, and for the first time in her life Katy was leaning more toward the latter. 

After doing some quick math in her head, trying to figure out when the last 3 guys would be going down for the count base on the time she had given them the drug and the amount each of them had to drink.  She sat by Justin on the sofa and ran her fingers through his hair.  She couldn’t return too soon or they would wonder what had happened and where Justin was.

Chris suddenly felt very tired as he sat there on the sofa with Brand, the pair had moved into the spot vacated by Justin and Katy.  He was hoping that they would be back soon so they could watch the video and them go to bed, snuggling up to Brandi in their beds was very appealing to him right now.  Chris was starting to feel more than a little buzzed, the drinks Katy had been making for him hadn’t tasted that strong, but maybe they were.  Chris glanced across the room at Kim and JC.

JC was lying with his head in Kim’s lap and the rest of his lean body spread down the length of the Love seat and spilling over the side a little.  He was just looking up at her with a smile on his face as she brushed his hair back.  He was so amazing at how beautiful she was.  But there was something sad about the expression on her face.

“What is wrong, honey?  You have been awfully quiet tonight.” JC finally asked.  His eyes appeared heavy as he spoke to her.  Kim just smiled, it wasn’t odd for her to be quiet, maybe she had been a little more talkative around him at least she was, until Brandi’s comments earlier regarding the guy being in some psychological trace or something like that. 

“I am just nervous; you guys will be going home soon and things could get complicated for awhile.  But I am sure we’ll sort it out, it will just take some time to get used to.” Kim explained, adding that last part so JC wouldn’t get too worried.  JC closed his eyes and nodded.

Chris wasn’t trying to ease drop on their conversation but there was something about the way JC was acting that didn’t seem quite right.  It wasn’t unheard of for JC to be tired.  JC was usually a ball of energy or out like a light, he had no middle ground.  But JC was never one to slur his words like that.

“Hey JC, are you feeling okay?” Chris asked.  JC looked over at him a little puzzled by the question.

“I am just tired, too much excitement today I guess.” JC explained trying to down play his sudden lack of energy; he didn’t see any reason to be alarmed by it.  They had been drinking and that always made him tired.  Chris still wasn’t convinced though that everything was fine.

He looked over at Lance and then at Brandi.  He had this feeling before, it wasn’t something that was new to him, his mind instantly went back to the club that night Katy and Mandy had abducted him.  They had slipped him something but how could they have gotten that past his twice?  Brandi had only left his side a hand full of times since their little party had started there was no way she could have done anything to him.  That is when it hit him; Brandi hadn’t done anything to him.  I had to have been Katy.  She had made several drinks for all the guys during the night, why hadn’t he thought of that before.  They should have insisted on making their own drinks or at least supervising them.  Now Chris was wondering if Brandi even knew what was going on since he had just figured it out for himself.  But there was no time to ask her about it, Chris didn’t even excuse himself before he got up and ran to the bathroom.

Chris wasted no time; he fell to his knees in front of the toilet and jammed his finger down his throat as far as it would go.  He wasn’t about to let Katy drug him a second time.  The fast that she had tried to drug him had to mean that she was up to something and it was something that she didn’t want him to know about.  As his body heaved forward violently a few times, he could hear Brandi behind him.  The concern in her voice was so genuine there was no way she could have been faking it.  Whatever was happening to him, she had no part in it.  He repeated his actions a few times trying to purge himself of whatever Katy had slipped him, he had no way of knowing that it was already too late and his actions were only making him feel worse.

Then the tone of Brandi’s voice suddenly changed, now she was angry.  Chris struggled to make out what she was saying but it didn’t take him long to figure out that she wasn’t talking to him anymore.  His anger boiled too now, he just wanted to get up and punch Katy for what she had done to him but his legs wouldn’t respond any more.  He couldn’t tell if it was the drugs of the vomiting but his whole body was killing him.

“What in the hell did you do to him?” Brandi snapped directing her attention to Katy, who was standing beside her in the door way watching Chris’ sad attempt to regain control.  Somehow Katy knew she should have stayed down stairs just a little longer now she was going to have to deal with this situation.  The awful sounds that Chris was making were causing Katy to gag; this was not really something she had planned for.

“20 minutes ago you were yelling at me for not doing anything.  Would you please make up your mind?” Katy fired back, not that she wanted to fight with Brandi but anything to take her mind off what Chris was doing.

“I didn’t know you were going to make him sick.” Brandi explained.

“I didn’t make him sick, he made himself sick.” Katy protested pointed to Chris and gesturing to her what he had done to make himself sick, nearly causing herself to puke in the process.  Chris just glared back at her from his place on the floor; he was too weak to get up but stared her down and promised himself that she was going to pay for this.  Katy had a pretty good feeling what was going through his mind right now, he wanted her dead, if not at least in a great deal of pain.

Brandi flashed him a sympathetic look and mouthed to him that she was sorry.  He wanted to respond to her, to let her know that he didn’t blame her but that was when his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the floor with such a thud that it even made Katy flinch.

“Okay, now that part may have been my fault.” Katy groaned, flashing Brandi a concerned look.  She knew that was going to leave a bump or a bruise on the musician’s head.  Brandi was about to say something when someone else chimed in.

“Is everything all right in there?” Lance asked.  By this time JC was gone too but appeared to be resting peacefully on the lap of the woman he loved, so there was much to concern Lance just yet.  Katy approached Lance and took a seat beside him on the sofa. 

“What did you do?” Kim simply asked, once she realized that JC sleeping a little more sound that usual.  It was somewhat comforting to know that she wouldn’t have to face him when she walked out the door, but at the same time she wouldn’t get to say good bye.

“You’re leaving aren’t you?” Lance added as Katy took his hand in hers.  She left bad that Lance had to be last, that he would pass out knowing that she had drugged him and they had run off.  But she couldn’t lie to him so she just nodded.  “But why?”  Lance begged, he wanted something, anything that he could tell the others when they woke up.

“Because this is the way it was always supposed to be.  We can’t stay; it’s not that we don’t want to… we just can’t.” Katy explained.  She glanced over her shoulder as Mandy entered the room.  Mandy didn’t say anything; she just stood there leaning up against the wall near the kitchen for support.  The guilt wasn’t more than Katy could bear but there was only one thing that she wanted Lance to know.  “If the guys ask, I did it.  I was the one that drugged them.”

It wasn’t that she was proud of it, but there was always a chance that the girls would come back and if the guys needed someone to blame then they might as well blame the right person.  Katy had acted alone, for the most part.  This was her master plan.  Lance felt the effects of the drugs start to kick in and he was trying to fight it.

“So what happens now?” Lance asked with a yawn.  Katy got up and had just started to walk away from him.  She paused to smile at him.

“Good night, Lance.” Katy said sweetly then headed for Mandy.  She watched Lance out of the corner of her eye as he made himself comfortable on the sofa; at least if he was going to pass out it wouldn’t be on the floor.  He closed his eyes but tried to stay awake, hoping that if the girl thought he was out they would say something and give him some kind of clue as to where they were going. “Um… where is Joey exactly?”  Katy added.

“Oh he’s in the bushes.” Mandy answered with a smiled, it was after all kind of funny.  Katy put her hand on her forehead and thought for a minute, giggling a little under her breath as well.  This wasn’t exactly going as planned. 

“I don’t suppose he would be alright there?” Katy teased. 

“Katy…” Brandi warned, she wasn’t about to let the two of them leave poor Joey outside passed out in the shrubs. 

“Alright!  We’ll go get Joey and drag him back inside.  Though I really wish you had said something before Lance passed out.” Katy snapped pointing at Mandy.

“Why so we could have had two pop stars passed out in the bushes?” Mandy questioned. Mandy could see Lance already out cold, or so she thought, on the sofa there was no way he could have helped them. 

“Hey, before you guys run off… a little people please?” Kim asked trying to get out from under JC.  She was trying to be careful about it, not that she could have woken him up if she wanted too, but she didn’t want him to get hurt in the process. 

“Naw, you stay right there.  We can handle the big guy.” Katy offered but when Kim shot her a dirty look Katy came running to her aide.  Brandi and Katy each took an arm and pulled JC into a sitting position so that Kim could slide out.

“Damn Kim, this boy has some guns.” Katy stated as she held tight to JC’s fore arm.  

“Don’t remind me please.” Kim sighed, the last thing she wanted to hear right now was how great a shape, the guy that she is just about to walk out on, is in.  When Katy let go to soon JC went crashing back down on the love seat taking Brandi along with him.  Brandi groaned and glared up at Katy who just laughed, she just couldn’t please any one tonight so it really wasn’t worth trying to any more.  Brandi pulled herself off of JC just in time to be drug outside to help with Joey.

The car was packed and very piece of evidence either destroyed or taken.  The only thing left to do was to just get in the car and go.  The girls went around to each of the guys and said their final goodbyes.  Katy felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.  This wasn’t something that she had ever felt before, this was something new.  She sat there for a minute going through the contents of Justin’s wallet, for a famous person there wasn’t much cash in it and nothing out of the ordinary. 

“What are you doing? Are you ready to go?” Mandy asked, as she watched Katy from the basement stairs.

“Did you ever wonder what their driver licensees looked like?  You know, like if they had the same crappy photo that looks nothing like you, and which one of their many houses that they listed as their address?” Katy asked.  The question was odd but somehow it didn’t surprise Mandy coming from Katy.  Now really wasn’t the time to be going through Justin’s things.  “And did you know that Justin is not an organ donor?”

“Probably a good thing, everyone wants a piece of Justin Timberlake.  And what is the verdict on the picture.  Does he look super hot or just average?” Mandy said knowing that Katy was going to tell her the answer any way.  Katy shook her head and Mandy thought she saw her fight back a few tears.  In all the years they had known each other Mandy had only see Katy actually cry just a handful of times, and this wasn’t one of them.  Not a single tear was shed but that may have just been a clever facade.

“Nope, he still looks like a freaking god, even in his stupid driver’s licenses photo.” Katy said with a smile and then slipped his wallet back into his pocket.  “I think I have everything, I gave all the guys their phones back.” She added heading for Mandy.

“Are you sure they are going to be alright?” Mandy asked.

“Yeah of course, don’t worry I’ll take care of everything.  Nothing bad is going to happen to them, I just need you to trust me.”  Katy pleaded.  The hardest part of all of this was going to be getting away without any more issues but with the guy sleeping peacefully now there wasn’t much to stand in their way, other than themselves of course.

They gathered in the living room one last time, no one really knew why but the place just didn’t feel the same as it had when they first walked in the front door over a week ago and it had nothing to do with the guys passed out all over the house.  The tiny shack in the middle of nowhere had really become like a home to them.  They weren’t sure that they would ever be able to return there, it all kind of depended on what the guys did after they wake up and find the girls missing. 

“I am going to miss this crappie house.” Mandy sighed.  The other just nodded in agreement.  All the work the put into it and all the great memories they had here, that was something special all right.  “Hey wait we never got to see the finished video?” Mandy said.  Katy nodded and reached into her bag and pulled out three yellow envelopes with the girls’ names on them.  There was something odd about the fact that Katy seemed to have prepared for this.

“Wait a minute you didn’t just forget to show the video, you weren’t even planning to show it, were you?” Brandi asked. 

“There is a video, right?” Kim asked concerned, she didn’t want to leave here empty handed.  She clutched the envelope that Katy had just handed her, almost afraid to look inside, yet curious at the same time.

“Of course there is, it’s in there.  It’s just… I am scared to show it.  I don’t want to disappoint you guys.  I know how much this all means to you.  It’s something to remember this by.  I know we didn’t get to see it together and I am sorry about that, but I kind of had other things on my mind tonight.  I knew if we watched it the party it wouldn’t end well and we all knew how it really had to end.  I put everything in there for you, all the files and a DVD of the final video.  I would like to know what you think of the video when you get settled in to your new location.” Katy quickly explained.  The girls stashed them away in their carryon bags.

They had to resist the urge to watch the video now, there was no telling how long the guys would be out for and they had already wasted enough time, now they had to go.  It scared them to think that all this work that they had put into this and they were leaving there without knowing what the final product really looked like.  They had put their faith in Katy to make it worth their while and she just promised that she had done her very best to capture what the whole experience had really been about.

Kim and Mandy head out to the cars to put the last of the stuff in them.  Katy paused at the door when she realized that Brandi wasn’t moving toward the door yet.  She was just standing there staring toward the bathroom were Chris was still lying on the floor.

“You know, you can still come back.  Chris will blame me for this just like we planned all along.” Katy whispered in her ear.  The sudden sound startled Brandi as it broke the silence and drew her back from her thoughts. It took her a minute to recall what Katy was talking about.  It was their earlier plan, the one they had even before they kidnapped the guys.  Brandi had almost forgotten about it and certainly didn’t think it had still been in effect. 

“But I have failed you.  Justin doesn’t hate me anymore and he won’t blame me for this, especially after Chris tells him the truth.  You can’t come back…” Brandi said trailing off at the realization that Katy had never planned to come back at least not for herself.  Everything she had done insured that she would be the one to blame for almost everything.  Where ever Katy was headed she was planning to stay there. 

Brandi wasn’t sure if she should be pissed off or grateful at this point.  She felt lied to or betrayed in some way but after the fight they had when JC ran off, their friendship had been brought into question.  Apparently Katy had made up her mind that their bond had been broke and even though Brandi thought it could be fixed, Katy was out to make one last sacrifice on their behalf. 

“Katy don’t do this, Justin loves you.  Can’t you leave him a note or something at least telling him why?  He would understand.  He’s a smart guy.” Brandi begged.

“No, I am doing this for him too.  You know me probably better than anyone else.  I am not good for him.  He deserves someone better than me. ” Katy said softly.  Brandi could see it in her eyes, Katy’s mind was made up and there was nothing anyone could do to change it, even if she was making a huge mistake.  Brandi had to tell the others what Katy had really done but there was just no time and if she called Katy out on it in front of the group, she would just deny it and claim that she was too stupid to have planned something that clever. 

Once in the car and heading down the road, Brandi had her eyes fixed on the road in front of her, but she somehow knew that Kim was crying in the seat beside her.  She was maintaining her composure as best as she could but she couldn’t look at her friend.  She kept her eyes on the bumper of Katy’s car instead.  But the sad sounds were really getting to her.

“You know it’s not too late, you can jump out of the car right now and go back to him.” Brandi suggested.  She heard Kim chuckle in between sobs, the thought of her throwing herself out of a moving car was somewhat comical to her.  Kim knew that she wouldn’t be any good to JC broken into pieces and lying by the side of the road.

 “No, this is what I need to do.  I may never know if JC really loves me, but maybe someday he and I can try again.” Kim reasoned.  Brandi just nodded as they continued down the road. 

“Give it some time and we’ll see what happens.  You can always go back later; JC is not going to blame you for this.” Brandi explained.

“But no one made me leave, I left on my own.” Kim sighed. 

“You were scared and you needed some time to think.  JC will understand that.  That is just what you will have to tell him when you see him again.  Brandi debated on telling Kim about what Katy had done and her fears that Katy wouldn’t return, but Kim was already suffering from the loss of JC so maybe now wasn’t the best time to tell her that she was about to lose more than she thought she was tonight.

The ride to the airport seemed longer than it should have been but LAX was a great place to get lost in the crowd.  They unloaded the few items that they had packed away in the car and headed inside.  The girls gathered in the main lobby, one last time they gave each other hugs.  Brandi lingered a little longer making sure that she thanked each and every one of them.  She wasn’t about to let Katy be the only one to make a sacrifice.  If Katy wasn’t going to return then neither was Brandi.  The group just wasn’t the same without her.

Then just as they had planned it from the beginning they all walked away, all in different directions with different destinations’ in mind, none of them telling the others where they were headed and no one asking about the other plans for the future.  It made thing easier that way.

Katy felt her heart break for the second time that night as she walked away from her friends, never looking back to catch a glimpse of where they might have been heading.  It was better that she didn’t know.  She smiled as she clutched her carry on; there were a few more things that she needed to do before hopping on a plane herself and getting out of here.  It was her special smile, the others were so going to kill her, but it was worth it.  Everything had been worth it.  She made her way through the busy lobby in search of what she needed to finish what she had started.

The plane was packed for some reason but as soon as the plane reached cruising altitude, Brandi pulled her portable DVD player and placed it on the table in front of her.  She had a sneaky suspicion that there was more to this video than they had intended.  There was something else that Katy was hiding and Brandi wasn’t alone in thinking that.  On their own planes Kim and Mandy were doing the exact same thing.  They were all dying to see the video.

            The video started out just as expected, the sweet sounds of ‘N Sync’s voices in tune with the footage that Katy had shot.  Mandy smiled when she saw the cliff shot, recalling all the excitement they had that day, but then something changed, the video started to show images and clips that no one could recall Katy filming.

They watched in awe as footage of Mandy kissing Joey on the forehead that night that they had made dinner.  But Katy hadn’t been there, had she?  Mandy searched the mental images she had of that night, but Katy wasn’t there.  She had been so nervous maybe she could have over looked her but it didn’t seem likely.  The video played on, shots from Brandi’s date were on there and imagines from when JC returned.  Then there was footage from Katy and Justin by the mixing board in the sound stage, they others didn’t know it but that had been their first kiss and they certainly didn’t know what had happened next, clearly it had been edited for content.  Katy only wanted to show Justin in the best light possible.  She knew what they had done afterwards but there was no sign of that footage anywhere.  Not even on the computer.  Katy had wiped it clean, several times over. 

Brandi clinched her jaw as she replayed her part over a few times.  She was angry that Katy had filmed it even thought she had told her not to.  Seeing it again and again was making it harder for Brandi, but her plane was already in the air so there was no turning back now and staying away was going to be even harder than she thought with this to constantly remind her.

Kim looked away when JC came on the screen, their romance scene had been the only one that was staged, but it certainly didn’t go as planned in the end.  Kim was thankful that Katy hadn’t filmed that.  It wasn’t that she was ashamed but no one should have their first time caught on film.  But it appeared that Katy had been smart enough not to shoot when she knew if would cross a line.

Also mixed in from time to time were shoots of the guys just goofing around like the night they had the camp fire, Katy was even in some shots.  The thing that bugged them the most had been Katy’s ability to film these things, some were taken when she hadn’t even been present or was with someone else at the time.  Which lead the others to believe that she has set the camera to record things for her; there may have even been more than one camera?  But the only one that knew the truth was miles away by now.

Justin blinked a few times trying to adjust to the bright lights.  It didn’t take him long to realize that he wasn’t in the basement any more.  There were strange sounds all around him as he glanced around the room finally coming to rest on the last person he expected to see, his mother.

“Mom?  What are you doing here? Where am I?” Justin asked.  Lynn leaned over and ran her hand over her son’s arm, trying to comfort him.  She was so happy to see him, when his agent had told her that he was missing she became so worried, it wasn’t like Justin to keep things from her.  He wouldn’t have just run off without telling her where he was going.

“You are in the hospital.  Someone called the cops; they found you passed out in some strange house in the middle of nowhere.” Lynn explained.  Justin groaned and tried to sit up; His head was killing him, likely from the booze.  “You were missing for 9 days. Baby what on earth were you doing there?” She added.

Justin quickly did the math in his head and that number sounded about right, but he wasn’t sure what so say at this point.  He wanted to talk to the other guys first to see if they knew what had happened and to talk about what they were going to tell people.

“Where are the others?  Are they alright?” Justin asked. 

“They are here too. So are the police, they are going to want to talk to you before you see the guys.  Your record company reported you missing a few days ago; they said they couldn’t get a hold of you and got worried.  What were you doing out there with the guys?  I thought you said that part of your life was over?” Lynn explained.  Justin groaned again, he really didn’t want to talk to the cops right now; he just wanted to see the guys and go home, where he could start his search for the mysterious girl, whom he only knew by her first name.

“It is, but we are still friends.  I just missed them and I wanted to see them.  I just needed a little break.  I am sorry I should have told you where I was.” Justin half lied.  His mother wasn’t completely falling for it though but before she could push further a man in a suit entered his room.

“Mr. Timberlake, my name is detective Hopkins and I have a few questions for you if you don’t mind.  I have already talked to a few of your friends.  Would you like for your mother to step out?” The man stated, getting his pen and note pad ready. 

“No, she can stay if she wants to.  I have nothing to hide from her.”  Justin explained. 

“We found a drug commonly known as the date rape drug in your system do you have any clue how if got there?  Or how you ended up in the middle of nowhere?”  The man asked.

Imagines from the night before came back to him, but everything was a little fuzzy.  He knew he had wanted to say something to Katy but couldn’t recall if he had actually told her.  It hurt Justin a little because he knew he hadn’t been accidently drugged, someone had slipped him something and the fact that Katy was nowhere to be seen made him think it had been her.  But why would she drug him and run off, she had to have been scared.  He was trying to put himself in her place and consider what he would have done.

“Mr. Timberlake?” The man repeated.  Justin shook his head and stared at the guy, he really didn’t feel like answering questions right now.

“Sorry I was trying to remember what happened exactly and I have to tell you that it’s a little fuzzy right now.  Could that be a side effect of the drug?” Justin asked.  The man just nodded and then offered to come back a little later and try again, once Justin has had some time to rest.  His mother left with the detective to ask some questions of her own and to find Justin something to eat.

Justin laid there a minute letting his mind wonder back to the strange woman that he had just spent over a week with.  She was beautiful and fun.  Justin hadn’t lied to his mom when he said that he needed a break the only thing was that he hadn’t realized that until it had been forced upon him, getting away from his crazy life had really opened his eyes.  And seeing the guys again made him realize just how much he had missed them.  Maybe his life wasn’t really so perfect after all.

Chris forcefully cleared his throat; he had been standing there watching Justin for a little while after he saw the detective leave.  He was trying to be careful not to be seen by Justin’s mom or staff members, since they weren’t really supposed to talk to each other until after they talked to the police.  Justin looked up at him with sad eyes, he felt betrayed by Katy somehow.

“Are you okay?” Chris asked softly.

“I am fine, are you okay?  What happened?”  Justin asked pointing the bandage on Chris’s head.  Chris rubbed it and groaned after all it was still a little tender. 

“I fell.  I guess I hit my head when I passed out but I am fine, it’s not that bad but they tend to get carried away when it comes to head wounds.”  Chris explained.

“I thought everything was going well, I thought we had a plan.” Justin said.

“We did, but apparently the girls had their own plan and well theirs was better than ours I guess.” Chris paused to let it all sink in before continuing.  “I have talked to the others; we had to modify the story we had originally come up with so the police and our families won’t get too worried.  It will allow the girls to return, if they chose to down the road.  You never know Justin, she could come back.”  Justin thought about it, he still felt hurt by her.  She left him for crying out loud.  That was going to take some time to get over.

“Yeah, we’ll see.  I am going to need some time to think about everything that happened.  I can’t help but think that Katy planned the whole thing.  Did I do something wrong to make her not want to be with me?” Justin asked.  He certainly wasn’t used to rejection.  Chris wanted to confirm that Katy had done it but something just wouldn’t let him.  Justin was hurting and Chris could see that, so maybe now wasn’t the best time to spring it on him. 

“I think they were just scared, they didn’t know what we were going to do.  But if we show them that it’s cool maybe they will come back and then you can talk to her about it.  At least that way you can have closure.” Chris explained.

“Okay so what is our story?” Justin asked.  Chris smiled and then quickly went over the story.  They were just going to be short and not give a lot of details to avoid getting caught in their lie.  But basically they were going to say that they just needed a break and they ran off together to a cabin in the woods for a few days but they lost track of time.  They would add that they had invited a few girls to join them for a party but the girls must have slipped them something in an attempt to rob them, but they hadn’t had much cash or valuables on them so they really didn’t get away with much.  After all stealing is a lesser offence than kidnapping, not that the guys planned to press charges either way.

Justin agreed and then rolled over as Chris slipped back to his own room.  As much as he wanted to tell the truth and blame Katy for everything he couldn’t do that to Justin and it was still unclear how Justin really felt about Katy right now.  He did however promise himself that if he ever saw Katy again he was going to slap or taze her for what she had done to him.  They could have just talked about it; she didn’t have to drug him.  Chris knew that he didn’t want to let Brandi go but if they had just explained it to him, he would have under stood.

As the taxi pulled into the drive JC cursed under his breath, he was so tired and it had been a long couple of days.  Right now he just wanted to go crawl into his own bed and not come out for a few days. He was sifting through the mail that had built up in his mail box since he had disappeared, as he made his way inside.  The others had all gone home as well and JC suddenly felt very alone.  It was a feeling you would have thought he had gotten used to since they split up.  That was when a strange envelope caught his eye.  It was addressed to him, which was odd because he rarely got mail at his house that wasn’t a bill or from family.  This hand writing he didn’t recognize.

He opened it carefully and peeked inside.  There was a flash drive, copies of the lyrics and a DVD.  Since the return address on the outside appeared to be the cabin in the woods, JC wasn’t really sure who had sent it to him but he knew what it was.  He was excited and dying to see it but nervous at the same time, so he called Justin.

“Did you get a package?” JC asked, not even bothering to say hello.  Justin glanced at the caller ID again to make sure that he was talking to who he thought he was before answering.  He looked at the mail he had spread out over his dining room table.  He had been avoiding sorting it but now seemed like a good enough time.

“Can you be more exact?  I have a ton of mail to sort through.  What exactly am I looking for?” Justin asked.

“It’s a yellow envelope; it should be addressed to you personally.” JC explained.  Justin picked it up and held it in his hand for a minute.  He made his way back into the living room so that he could sit down and get comfortable.

“Yeah, I found one.  Why who is it from?”  Justin asked falling back onto his sofa. 

“I think it’s from the girls.  It’s the video.  You know the one that we didn’t get to see.” JC said.  The phone went silent as Justin just looked at the package in his hand.  He had started to think that there hadn’t really been a video.  That it was just something the girls had made up to keep them there longer.

“Did you watch it?” Justin asked after the long pause.  JC could hear the hesitation in his voice.

“Not yet.  I… I don’t really want to watch it alone.  Can you come over later?  So we could watch it together?” JC asked.  He wasn’t sure if he could watch his love scene with Kim and not lose it.  But if someone else was there then maybe he could make it through it. 

“Yeah man, of course.  Chris and Joey have left for Orlando already but I can call Lance too if you want?” Justin offered. 

“That sounds great I will order some pizza or something, we can make a night of it.” JC said.  They chatted awhile longer and then hung up.  That had to have been the longest conversation the two of them have had since shortly after ‘N Sync broke up.  Maybe if nothing else good came out of this at least it appeared that they had gotten their friendship back, later that night they gathered at JC’s house and even put Chris and Joey on the speaker phone so they could watch the video as a group.  They were shocked to see the video and what Katy had really done.

The video had captured more than any one thought.  It showed their new romances but it also showed their old friendship.  It was almost like it had been before they had become famous.  The video wasn’t about the money it was all about the music again.

“You know this is probably the best music video that we have ever made, it would kind of be a shame not to share it.” Lance sighed as the video wrapped up.  There were other chapters on the DVD that just contained random footage from the nine days they had spent together.  They sat there for awhile letting the DVD rotate through the videos and photos, while they processed all the stuff that had happened. 

“We could release it, find away to show the girls that we didn’t rat them out, we could claim that we were off recording and filming the video in private and the girls were just actresses, if we go public with that story maybe they will see that we aren’t going to tell the truth and then come back.”  Chris rambled out loud. 

“But the girls did all the work; it wouldn’t be fair for us to talk all the credit… and money.” Justin explained.  He knew that the guys had done the singing but it was at the demand of the girls, it was their idea.

“We could donate all the proceeds to charity, and then we wouldn’t be making a profit.” Lance suggested, after all the guys had been very supportive of Children’s charities during their career and a few of them even had their own charities to help troubled youths.  Chris nodded in agreement; he knew the other guys couldn’t see his head shake but he thought the girls would approve of them using the money for a good cause.

Justin put his head in his hands a groaned loudly before announcing that he was going to head home.  He couldn’t deal with this anymore; his heart was still hurting as he was sure the others were too.  He loved the guys but right now he just needed to be alone with his thoughts.

At his house he went straight upstairs and fell onto his bed.  When the phone rang again he didn’t even bother to look at the caller ID, he instinctively just answered it. He must have been half asleep because when a woman’s voice came from the other end he sat up and responded with an excited hello, only to realize seconds later that is was his girlfriend calling.  She began to lay into him about his whereabouts the past few days and why his phone hadn’t been on.  He rolled his eyes and fell back into the bed and just waited for her to take a breath.  In reality he wasn’t in the mood to talk to her and her biggest concern seemed to only be his lack of interest in her life and the drama there in.