“You’re…you’re what?” JC gasped.

“I’m pregnant,” Bobbie repeated. “Three weeks. I took a few home pregnancy tests and I went to the doctor. The tests were positive, the blood test was positive. I’m pregnant, Joshua.”

JC slowly sat down in a nearby chair. He was looking right at Bobbie but the look in his eyes let her know that he was actually looking through her, not focusing on anything. Pregnant? There was no way that Bobbie could be pregnant…was there. JC wracked his brain, trying to remember the last time he was with her intimately in the past three weeks.  The only problem was that he couldn’t think of which time he was with her that made her pregnant. JC had declared their relationship over only five days prior so it wasn’t much of a shock to him that she kept it from him. He had made it painstakingly clear that he didn’t want to see or hear from her.

Then his life flashed in front of his eyes and it filled him with fear. This could easily ruin his career. He’d have to leave ‘N Sync and take care of a child. He’d have to stop singing and dancing. He wouldn’t be able to see his friends anymore. He’d spend his days running to the store getting diapers, baby food, and baby clothes. He’d have to wash many baby bottles, change a lot of diapers, and stay up late if the baby is up late. All the while he’d have to sit at home and watch his friends go off and achieve the dream that he’s always wanted to reach.

“JC? Are you ok? What’d she say? JC?” Chris waved his hand in front of JC’s face as Bobbie stood by quietly, arms crossed over her chest and one hand was up by her mouth so she could bite her thumb.

“A…are you sure?” JC finally choked out, looking past Chris to look at Bobbie. She nodded.

“Sure about what?” Chris demanded.

“I’ll understand if you still don’t want to talk to me,” Bobbie muttered, hanging her head. “I just wanted you to know.”

“Am I…?”

“I don’t know. The test results won’t be in for a few days.”

“Ok.” Bobbie took his silence as a time to leave. JC got up from the seat and went over to the table that they had chosen, Chris followed close behind. JC moved on autopilot until he sat down in his seat, leaned forward, and rested his forehead against his fists.

“What’s wrong with you? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost,’ Lance commented before biting into his sandwich.

“No, but Bobbie just said something to him and now he’s a zombie,” Chris said as he lightly poked JC in the side of the head.

“What’d she say?” Joey asked, lightly nudging JC’s foot with his shoe.

“She…she, uh…” he cleared his throat a couple of times and lightly shook his head. “She told me that she’s…pregnant.”

Lance, Chris, and Joey all dropped what they were eating. It landed on their plates with a loud clank, causing the other people in the area to look over at them. Their eyes were wide and their mouths were so wide flies could’ve flown in and out. Bobbie pregnant? There was just no way, was there?

“You…are you sure?” Joey asked. “I mean, are you sure it’s yours? She did sleep around quite a bit.”

“I know, but…” JC shook his head and squinted a bit. “I feel that it’s mine. I mean, I’ve been with her so many times that…” he let his voice trail off. Then he groaned and slammed his forehead on the table. “No. No no no no no no no! This can’t be happening to me. Not now!”

“Jace, I promise you that this won’t affect your career,” Lance spoke up. “I highly doubt that the baby is yours. And if the small chance that it is, we’ll make sure to be able to arrange things so you can be a good father and be with the band.”

“It’s not that,” JC said as he lifted his head. “It’s just…I’ve made great progress with Mack. If she finds out about this everything I’ve worked to build will come crashing down on me and I’ll lose the one girl that I really care about.”

“Well, either you tell her or let Bobbie do it. The way I see it you’re screwed either way,” Chris said as he picked up his wrap once more and took a large bite out of it. He chewed peacefully until he looked up to see all of them glaring at him. “What?” He asked innocently. “He is screwed either way. She’d probably think Bobbie told her just to rub it in her face or something that she’ll be connected to Jace through a kid. If JC told her she’d either be mad that he made such a stupid mistake or finally realize that she’s liked him the entire time and then hate herself for not giving him a chance and then want nothing to do with him. I.e., either way he’s screwed.”

“Joey, give me some real advice,” JC begged, looking over at the man who had stayed silent. Joey rubbed his chin, deep in thought. JC tried to force himself to eat some of his food but her had lost his appetite altogether. He pushed his plate away from himself and rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

“You’re going to have to fess up one way or another,” Joey finally replied. “I’d rather you tell her youself. I’m not going to force you because, ultimately, it is your decision. Technically, it’s not her business whether or not it’s yours, but in your situation, since you seem to really want to be with her, I’d be up front about it. Don’t wait, get it done as soon as possible.”

JC nodded and excused himself from the table. He made a beeline for the bathroom, looking around himself to see if Bobbie was still there. She wasn’t. It made him relax a little bit more but it also made him apprehensive of the phone call he was about to make. Once he was in the bathroom he pulled out his phone and sighed heavily before dialing. “Hey Mack? I need to talk to you about something.”

~*~*~

“No.” Justin shook his head. “No, I’m not wearing this for Space Cowboy. There is no way in hell.”

“Oh come on,” Mack said with a smile so large dimples were visible in her cheeks. “I think it’s a good look for you.”

“Yeah? Then why are you trying not to laugh?” He demanded as the stylist walked around him, writing down his measurements. They decided to bring a stylist in to get an idea of what they would wear for certain songs. Justin was currently wearing his grayish blue bandana to keep his curls down.  The stylist had given him a white cap sleeved shirt, the sleeves in black, with the word HERO on it in gray along with the number 01. It was paired with tight, red, pleather pants, and black shoes. “I’m not wearing it.”

“Oh, come on. You look…” her voice trailed off as she covered her mouth with her hand. “Nevermind. Just take it off. We have a few minutes before the boys get back. We can talk about clothing then.”

“Fine, Ms. Bossy Boots.” He sat down on the floor and didn’t move as he watched her fold some clothes and put it into a box. “Are you ever going to tell me what happened?”

Mack paused briefly to look at him before continuing with her work. “Nothing happened,” she replied. “I told you all ready, I was just having some period pain and his house was the closest, that’s why I stayed there.”

“It doesn’t make sense, though,” he pressed. “Why wouldn’t Wade drive you back? Why’d you walk?” His questions hung in the air as he let out a breath. “I know you’re hiding something from me. That’s what hurts the most about this, you feel as if you can’t trust me when I’ve proven time and time again that you can.”

“I know that, Scooby,” she replied. “I just…I can’t,” she whispered. “You’ll hate me or think of me different or do something stupid.”

“Hey,” he said gently, shuffling over to her on his knees. He lifted her chin and smiled at her. “I would never think differently about you, not over something really stupid. Now tell me what happened, you’re giving me worry lines.”

Mack closed her eyes briefly, asking the Lord for strength before she told her story again, word for word about what happened. As the story went on the look of fury in Justin’s eyes got more intense until he was shaking in anger. “That bastard put his hands on you? Where is he? I’m gonna–”

“Do nothing,” Mack interrupted him. He looked at her in confusion. “You promised, besides I can handle this. I have a plan and a backup plan if that one doesn’t work. He won’t get away with it.”

“You’re too calm about this,” he muttered.

She shrugged. “Would you rather me be a blubbering ball of emotions?”

“This had to have bothered you even in the slightest bit.”

“Oh, it does. I’m just keeping it all inside or else I’d be in a blind fury right now.” She nodded. “I always told myself that I wouldn’t be one of those girls, the ones that fell for a sweet word. But I believed this happened so I could get strength from the situation.”

“You’re one of the strongest girls I’ve ever met. You don’t need any more strength, you can all ready beat Lance and I at one of those Test Your Strength things at the fair.” He smiled a bit. “Seriously, though, I know you and I know when something is bothering you, you keep it bottled up until you explode. Don’t keep us out, let us help you.” The two looked up when they saw Wade approaching. He looked in their direction but didn’t look at them. Justin tightened his grip on Mack’s shoulders a little.

“I don’t want the rest of the crew brought into this, not even Johnny,” Mack whispered so he could hear her. “I’d get in trouble for what I did. If you really want to do something you can talk to him but don’t hurt him or else everyone would want to know why you beat him up. We only have a month left with him, after that everything will go away.”

“Ok, but if he lays one hand on your I swear I’ll rip off his testicles and serve them to him in the form of meatballs, pun intended.” The two started to giggle, much like they did when they were little kids. It was cut short when her phone started to ring. She looked at the screen and made a face. “What?” He asked.

“Jace is calling me,” she replied.

“Maybe he’s calling to say they’re stuck in traffic.”

“They walked.”

“Answer it anyway.”

“Ok, ok. Hello?” Justin leaned close to try and listen to the conversation but Mack held out her hand and stopped him. He watched intently as her eyebrows knitted together as she listened to whatever it was that JC was saying to her. Her lips parted into an O of surprise before a hurt look flashed across her face.

“What? What is it?” Justin whispered. Mack shook her head and jammed her finger in her other ear. Justin bit his lip as he studied her face which slowly started to crumble in front of his eyes. What was JC saying to her that would cause her to break down like that? Justin really wanted to just grab JC by the throat and strangle him for doing that to his friend, no his sister. “What? What did he say?” He demanded once she hung up the phone. “Mackenzie Danielle Charlotte Desrosiers, tell me right now.”

“Jace just called to tell me that Bobbie told him that she’s pregnant,” she replied.

“What!?” Justin yelled so loudly it caused the crew in the area to jump. “Sorry,” he apologized and flashed his trade mark Timberlake-Charm smile. They chuckled and went back to what they were doing. “Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack,” she replied.

“But…is it his? There’s no way it can be,” Justin said as he shook his head. “There’s just no way. She’s a whore; she’s probably been sleeping around with a bunch of diseased guys. It can’t be his.”

“There’s no way to tell without a paternity test,” Mack replied. “If she is pregnant.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is something that Bobbie would do. She’d probably lie about her pregnancy to get on my nerves. I hate to admit it but its working.” She sighed. “I don’t get it, Just. One day things between us are fine and the next I want to rip his hair out of his head and the next I want to claw Bobbie’s eyes out because she’s with him and not me.”

“There’s a simple answer to your problem,” Justin replied. “You. Love. JC. Accept it all ready. Everyone knows. Hell, JC even knows. You’re the only one who can’t accept it. My parents call everyday to see if you two have gotten together. The crew people are talking. Johnny is asking questions. You’re constantly linked to him in the tabloids. Just accept it and be happy, please? I know you have Philophobia and Monophobia but you can’t let it stop you from living your life and loving whoever comes into it. JC’s here to stay, I know that now. Once he’s dedicated to something he’s dedicated for life.”

She slowly shook her head. “What if the baby is his? What then? I sure as hell just can’t randomly go up to him and say ‘Congrats on your baby. Oh yeah, I love you, just so you know. Ok, be happy and move on’.”

“Who said anything about him helping that bitch?”

“It’s JC for God’s sake; he’s going to do the right that. That’s what he does. He wouldn’t be JC if he didn’t.” She sighed again. “I might as well just move on and forget about him.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I don’t want to but it looks like I’m going to have to.”

~*~*~

JC sighed heavily and sat up in bed. He couldn’t get to sleep. He hasn't gotten any sleep for weeks; the looming tour and Bobbie's revelation kept him awayke. Everytime he tried he heard Bobbie’s voice in his head reminding him that he could’ve gotten her pregnant. After that Mack’s voice came into his head telling him that she couldn’t talk to him anymore unless necessary. The hurt look in his eyes told him everything. That she had finally accepted how she felt about him but that she had to let him go because of his stupid mistake.

He had mentally kicked himself all day for telling her, but she did have a right to know. She needed to make sure they were focused when it came to their shows and this definitely took everyone’s focus away from their upcoming shows. Even Johnny could tell and her forced JC to tell him what was going on. Johnny was shocked but he wasn’t mad about it, JC was an adult after all and he had to work out his own problems.

He had decided that he would be there for his baby if it was his; if it wasn’t then he’d finally sever all ties with Bobbie. The hard part of all of it would be if the baby was his, he’d end up severing ties with Mack, which was the last thing he wanted. If it wasn’t it still would be hard for her to come to terms with the fact that he got her rival pregnant, he didn’t even need to ask to know about that. Either way he was in a lose-lose situation. To make matters worse he couldn’t get her out of his head (not that she was out of it before). He couldn’t get the hurt look out of his head, he couldn’t keep her voice from getting into his head. He was driving himself crazy all because of a situation he could’ve avoided if he had listened to the guys in the first place and hadn’t started dating her. But he was lonely and they had hooked up after their first ‘date’ and he was a guy. JC shoved the covers off of himself and moved swiftly to his hotel room door. He had to make things right.

He remembered to grab his key and walked down the hall as fast as he could. He knew he was risking being seen by the paparazzi that would inevitably find their way into the hotel, but love made him crazy. Once he reached the door he was looking for he pounded it repeatedly with his fist.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Mack snapped once she got the door open.

JC hesitated in his response as he looked her over. ‘Why does she have to wear that damn tank top and shorts that hug every part of her body? Why?’ He shook his head and looked up at her. “We need to talk.”

“We don’t need to talk about anything,” she said as she tried to close the door but he stuck out his foot and stopped it. “Move, JC!” She ordered.

“Not until you talk to me,” he begged. “Why are you mad?”

“Why am I mad?” She repeated somewhat sarcastically. “JC, you got Bobbie pregnant. You’re losing your focus on the band and in turn you’re making everyone else lose focus so your dancing sucks and I’m the one who gets blamed for it.”

“Are you sure that’s the only reason?” He asked, forcing his way into the room and closing the door behind himself.

“Yes,” she replied, turning. “Now leave so I can sleep.”

“Mack.” He grabbed her arm and turned her back to him. “I all ready know, but tell me the real reason you’re mad. I have to hear it.”

She shook her head and groaned, which slowly escalated until she was growling, which was a signal that she was about to explode. “Because you’re always with her!” She practically shouted. “Bobbie always finds a way to be with you and now she somehow found a way to be with you when you’ve broken up!”

“So you’re jealous of the fact that I dated her?”

“No! I don’t give a fuck who you date, I care when they don’t give you time to be with the guys, be with me. I hate it. I like being with you, JC, I really do, but I…I just…” She closed her eyes.

“Say it,” JC whispered, his mouth by her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I…I want you for myself,” she mumbled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Finally!” He gently but firmly pushed her against the wall and kissed her hard, savoring her taste. She wrapped her arms around his neck tighter and kissed him back with equal passion. He slipped his hands under her tank top and ran them over her smooth, flat stomach. She pulled away slightly and groaned against his lips. He pressed his body against hers, rubbing the bulge in his pajama pants against her side. “God, I want you so bad,” he muttered, kissing her neck.

“So take me,” she replied.

He pulled back and looked into her eyes. “Are you sure?” He asked, lightly stroking her cheek with his finger. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m ready,” she replied, kissing his cheek. “It’s not like you could go to jail or something,” she added, joking a bit.

He chuckled and kissed her. “No, but people might think it’s wrong that I’m with someone five years younger than me.”

“Since when do I give a crap about what others think?”

“Good point.” He kissed her again before picking her up, bridal-style, and gently laid her down on the bed. He gently tugged at the bottom of her tank top and looked at her with questioning eyes. She nodded and he lifted her shirt over her head. She blushed when his eyes rested on her breasts. “Don’t be shy, you’re very beautiful,” he told her, kissing her cheek. He then gripped the bottom of her pajama pants and started to pull them down.

“Wait,” she stopped him. “Don’t you want me to…?” her voice trailed off.

“No, but thanks for the offer. Tonight’s all about you.” He kissed her nose and smiled. “Just close your eyes and relax.” She nodded and slowly closed her eyes. JC leaned forward and took a nipple into his mouth, his hand attaching to her other breast. He gently bit down on the nipple and rolled it between his teeth, causing her to let out a little sigh of pleasure. He massaged her other breast as he continued licking, sucking, and biting on the nipple. He then switched sides and smiled a bit when he heard her gasps of pleasure. He backed away and hooked two fingers in her panties. He slowly dragged them down, not taking his eyes off of her creamy thighs. Once he pulled them off he lightly kissed the patch of hair that covered her, causing her to squirm a bit. He lowered his head, licked her folds briefly, and began ravishing her clit.

"Oh my fucking god," Mack moaned as she felt his tongue enter her wet opening. "Don't stop." She breathed before pushing his head down farther, running her fingers through his hair and massaging his scalp. She arched her back and let out moans as pleasure shot through her and to her center. JC lifted his head and she let out a sigh of disappointment. He backed away a bit to pull off his shirt and shed himself of his pajama pants before climbing on top of her. He unwrapped the condom that was in his hand and paused to roll it onto his cock.

"Will it hurt?" She whispered to him as he lay her head down on the pillow.

"I'll go slow."

"JC, that won't fit in me," Mack whispered as she finally took in the size of him.

"Don't worry." He kissed her forehead and slipped a finger into her so that he could get her ready for him.

"Oh God." Mack groaned as she felt a second, then third finger be inserted. She squirmed a bit. It was uncomfortable to her but she figured she’d get used to it. A few minutes later she was moaning into his ear.

"You want it?” he whispered in her ear.

"Fuck yes,” she begged as his fingers probed her center.

Replacing his fingers with his dick, he felt Mack's walls tighten around his length. He only slid in the head, because he knew his three fingers hadn't stretched her enough for this. "Are you OK?" JC asked before he pushed in anymore.

"Yea." Mack replied, the initial pain of feeling her walls stretching subsiding. Sliding in inch by inch, JC got half way in before he felt as if he'd broken something. Reaching down in between them, he touched his hand to her center and saw the blood coating his finger.

"You're officially not a virgin anymore," he announced before sliding all the way in.

Under him, Mack wiggled in pain as tears sprung to her eyes. JC noticed and kissed them away as she squeezed her eyes shut. He didn’t move as he waited for her to get comfortable. Slowly she opened her eyes as she felt her walls adjusting to his size and her body began to responded to his. "I love you Mack," he breathed to her as he pushed in for the second time.

She was about to respond when a new sensation hit her as she felt him press in deeper. "Ahh. Fuck!" She screamed as he hit the spot again.

"Want me to do it again?" He asked her as he sat inside her, unmoving. She looked at him and saw that smile on his face, the teasing one. The one that made her want to punch him and kiss him at the same time.

"Yes!" She hissed through clenched teeth.

"Beg for it," he said seductively, huskily, wanting, no needing her, to yell his name.

"JC. Please," she begged as she felt the sensations begin to die away. Pulling out completely, JC slammed into her, hitting her spot again, the impact causing her to scream out. "Harder." She breathed raggedly, unable to form many words.

"You sure?" JC asked, not wanting to hurt her.

"Yes! Damn it. I'm not fucking delicate!" She nearly screamed at him.

"Ok then." JC smirked, she had no idea what she got herself into. It was nice to know that his girl liked it rough. Pulling out completely, he then slammed into her as hard as possible. Burying her to the hilt, Mack yelled out, feeling her body almost ready to reach the limit. "Turn around." He commanded, making sure she was leaning on her elbows with her backside high in the air. Entering her from that angle, he slammed into her, getting satisfaction as he felt her body quake from him hitting her spot for the third time. Getting a steady pace of in and out, he could feel himself nearing the limit and he was almost positive that Mack was on her second. JC pulled out completely and laughed at the annoyed/disappointed groan that came out of Mack’s mouth as she turned to face him.

“Come on!” She cried out.

JC merely laughed and kissed her. “I just want to try one more thing, ok babe?” He asked, nuzzling her cheek. He didn’t wait for her to answer and lay down next to her, his head lying on the pillows. “C’mere.” He held out his arms to her. She crawled over to him and knelt by his side. “No, sit on me.” A confused look flashed across her features before she blushed but did as she was told. She eased herself down onto his cock as he held onto her waist. He waited until she got comfortable before lifting his hips and filling her completely before sliding back out. He got a rhythm going and licked his lips, watching her rise up a bit before coming back down. She ran her hands over his chest, lightly pinching his nipples as he moved faster, thrusting harder. She leaned forward, her moans filling his ear as he slammed into her. “I’m…almost…there…FUCK!” he slammed into her once more, relishing in the feeling of her walls clamping down on him. He kept his arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled out of her, rolled onto their side, and pulled the covers over them. She snuggled closer to him, taking in his sent before drifting off to sleep.

~*~*~

JC woke up the next morning with sunlight hitting his face. He forced his eyes open and squinted. He stretched and noticed that the space in the bed next to him was empty. He sat up and looked across the room and saw Mack sitting in a chair, her covered knees brought up to her now covered chest.

“Are you ok?” JC asked without moving. “Did I hurt you last night?”

“No.” Mack’s voice was hoarse as if she had been crying. “I’m just thinking.”

“About what?” JC pulled on his pajama pants and walked over to her.

She stayed silent. He wasn’t sure she was going to respond. “What if the baby is yours?” She asked.

“It’s not,” JC replied, tired of the conversation all ready.

“But what if it is?” She demanded. “Then what am I to you? Your no-strings-attached fix on the side? No pun intended.”

“No! I love you, you know that.”

“Yet if the baby is yours you’d run to Bobbie’s side in an instant because you can’t just leave the baby without a dad,” she replied. JC opened his mouth but she stopped him. “You know you would. I just think…last night was a mistake and I don’t think we should be together until we find out who the dad is.”

“Are you sure? Do you really want that?” JC asked.

He could see the answer in her eyes. It was different from her reply. “I’m sure.”

“Ok.” His heart sank but he nodded. He gently laid a kiss on her cheek before grabbing his shirt, pulling it on, and walking towards the door. He looked over his shoulder just to make sure. She was looking out the window, not turning around no matter how much he silently willed her to.