“What’s he doing?” Chris asked, his voice strained. He didn’t speak much because Joey’s knee was digging into his kidney. Lance was also crouching on the ground and Justin was kneeling on Lance to see into the window.

“He’s talking to her,” Joey replied. “Judging by his face he’s freaking out about something.”

“He told her!” Chris shouted, standing up in excitement. He merely watched, pointed, and then laughed as Joey fell over and landed on the floor. “Anyway, that has to be why he’s freaking out.”

“No, that can’t be it,” Justin said as he shifted a bit so Lance was more comfortable. “JC’s a pussy when it comes to telling girls his feelings.”

“Unless that’s why he ran out before our show,” Lance commented from where he was positioned on his hands and knees. “Bobbie’s probably aware that he loves her and threatened to tell Mack herself. She doesn’t believe anything Bobbie tells her so she’d probably deny it. If JC told her after Bobbie did she’d laugh or something which would hurt him which would make Bobbie happy.”

“It’s like she can read JC,” Justin mumbled, shaking his head. “Guys,” he said slowly. “We aren’t going to win.”

“What’re you talking about, soldier?” Chris demanded. Although he took their ‘mission’ as a joke he was super serious about how Bobbie was ruining his ‘brother’s’ life. “The odds of her wining this battle may be in her favor, but she won’t win this war. We have more people on our side; she and Wade is her only army. She’s outnumbered six to two. She may have the brains but we have the pride.”

“Chris is right!” Joey agreed, slapping Chris on the back. “JC’s our friend and if we give up after this battle then we not only lost the war, but we lost JC as well and I’m not going down without a fight. So what if it takes weeks, maybe months to get JC to realize what she’s doing to him? God dammit, I’ll wait those weeks and those months because I am not leaving him behind.”

“We need a new plan of attack then,” Lance pointed out, slowly shaking his head at their motivational ‘speech’.

“And I think I have a good one, but it’s going to rest heavily on her part,” Justin replied, nodding his head in Mack’s direction. “I’m sure she’ll go along with it. If it’s anything she hates more than Bobbie, she hates anyone messing with us. The fact that it’s her makes it personal.” He dropped the serious look and adopted a slightly goofy smile and a new energized demeanor. “Now, what we’re going to do,” Justin started in an army-like shout, “is we’re going to have a good battle. So sayeth the Sheppard–“

“So sayeth the flock!” The rest of the boys shouted with him.

~*~*~

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        “Say something,” he begged. “Please.”

Mack’s mind went blank as she studied JC’s face and eyes for…something, but all she saw was sincerity. She sighed and lowered her head, scratching her hairline. JC instantly knew that she was having a hard time trying to find something to say. She only reacted that way in awkward situations, it was her nervous habit.

She finally lifted her head and looked him in the eye. “Jace…I…where is this coming from?” She finally asked.

“I’ve felt this way for a long time and I felt like I needed to tell you. I hate keeping things from you and it was slowly tearing me up inside.”He reached across the table and took her hand. “Just tell me…do you feel the same way about me?”

“I…Jace, I can’t…” she mumbled.

“You can’t what?” He demanded, never taking his eyes off of her.

She sighed again and pulled her hand away, placing it on her lap. “JC, you’re five years older than me–”

“So?” He interrupted her. “My Dad’s seven years older than my Mom and they’ve been together for a while.”

“I understand, but we’re on different, um, different maturity levels,” she replied.

“Bullshit.” JC shook his head, not believing a word she was saying.

“JC, you’re my boss!” She said as she threw her free arm into the air in exasperation. “I could get fired if I ever had a relationship with you–with any of you.”

JC leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. “So Justin’s the only exception?” He demanded.

“What the heck does Justin have anything to do with this?” She asked–trying to stay calm–even though she all ready knew the answer.

“It seems to me that you’ll say one thing but do the other when Justin is involved,” he continued as if he didn’t hear her. “You say you won’t have a relationship with your ‘boss’ yet with you and Justin being as close as you are it seems like he has a special treatment or something.”

“You know my relationship with Justin, Joshua,” she replied through clenched teeth. “We’re friends and that’s the beginning and end of it. I’m not sleeping him nor have I slept him in the past. I don’t know what the hell is going on with you lately, but I don’t appreciate you talking to me like I’m below you or something.” She paused and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, but…I just can’t deal with this right now. If the situation was different…” she stopped and shook her head. “I just can’t deal with this.”

“You can’t or you won’t?”

She stopped and stared hard at him and he held her gaze. “I can’t."

“Whatever.” JC rolled his eyes. “Just know this, you may think that there’s nothing between us, but I know there is. You’re going to come to your senses and know that there’s something there.” He paused. “I’m the one you want,” he said barely above a whisper. “I just wish you’d give me a chance.”

“Stop it! Just stop it!” She shouted, ignoring the fact that she grabbed the attention of the other customers in the restaurant. “Stop trying to make me feel guilty!”

“I’m not trying to make you feel anything!” He shot back standing at his full height and looking down at her. “I love you, which part of that don’t you understand?”

“You can’t love me!”

“Why not?”

“You just can’t, ok?”

“No, it’s not ok because I can’t just change the way I feel. I can’t just get over you because you want me to.” He slowly shook his head. “Why can’t you accept the fact that someone outside of your family thinks you’re wonderful, nice, pretty, sweet, smart, caring, and outgoing?”

She looked past him and out the window. “Your girlfriend’s waiting,” she hissed before moving past him, purposely hitting his arm with her shoulder. He watched her leave and then glared at Bobbie when she came up to him smiling.

“What did you do?” He demanded.

“I didn’t do anything,” she replied with a shrug.

“Don’t lie!” he snarled through clenched teeth.

“I’m being honest, Joshua. I haven’t said a thing to her. She reacted that way honestly. She hates you, Josh. Get over it. She’ll never love you.”

“You don’t know how she feels!” JC snarled.

“Yes, but I do know that she can hold a grudge for a long time and you, Joshua, are going to be left out in the rain like a pathetic little puppy.” She chuckled at the vision in her head. “Besides, she has other boys, sorry, men to worry about. I heard that Wade was planning on asking her out sometime today.” The corners of her mouth turned up in a smile as he clenched his hands into fists. “Forget about her, Joshua. She’s all ready forgotten about you.”