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.
