Lynn lifted the handle of the faucet. Water came rushing out with a spurt and filled the sink. She turned it off and started scrubbing the dirty pan that now held leftover cookie residue. The cookies weren’t only for Rachel for her next day of work but it was also a warm up for when Justin and his friends came by Memphis for a stop on their tour.

A smile formed on her face at the thought of her son returning home once again. Her parents were as excited as she was, if not more. They loved to spoil him, and she did as well. He was her only child after all, her pride and joy.

She looked out into the large backyard as she scrubbed at the dirty dishes. It felt like it was only yesterday Justin and Trace were playing army in the backyard, taking turns while pretending to be generals, sergeants, and casualties. She remembered them playing “camping” with the family’s tent in the backyard and their many fishing trips where they’d come back from the lake. Bright smiles were hidden underneath their masks of mud and the lingering smell of fish. They were happy and having the time of their lives, until they had to get into the bath afterwards.

Lynn was skeptical about their friendship as they got older and *NSYNC exploded but the boys proved her wrong. They stuck with each other through the good and the bad and their friendship was stronger now than it ever had been before.

She couldn’t wait for Justin to get home, for her house to be filled with excited talking and catching up with each other on stories of their lives. Justin hadn’t been home in weeks since the tour started and their reunion was long overdue. She especially wanted to make sure he was ok. He seemed distant and maybe a little sad the last she spoke with him on the phone and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

“Lynn, are you here?” Her sister-in-law, Abigail, called over the sound of the front door opening.

“I’m in the kitchen!” Lynn called back. She abandoned washing the dishes and grabbed a cloth to dry her hands.

“Of course, your practically live in here,” Charlotte chuckled as she walked into the kitchen, Abigail and Cassidy at her heels. “You don’t have to clean to impress us, Lynn,” she added as Lynn reached into a cupboard and pulled out four glasses.

“Call me excited. I’m just getting everything ready for when Justin comes home,” Lynn replied with a smile. “Here, take these out to the back patio. I’ll be there in a few minutes; I just need to get the tea ready.”

“Let me give you a hand,” Abigail offered, taking off her sunglasses.

“Thanks, Abby.”

The two women worked around each other to get the sweet drink ready. “Your excitement must be catching,” Abigail said as a large grin formed on her face. “Rachel and I are convinced that Cal’s going to propose any day now.”

“Really?” Lynn gasped with a smile. “I’m so happy for her. Should we give her ideas to set the date now? A winter wedding is always a good choice.”

“That’s assuming she doesn’t die from excitement when he finally does propose,” Abigail pointed out. “When she’s not with him all she does is mope around the house and wonder why he hasn’t asked her to marry him yet. Can you believe it, the poor thing thinks she’s doing something wrong.”

“Oh, she shouldn’t think that! Rachel’s an angel. My favorite niece,” Lynn said as they carried glasses and a pitcher aof sweet tea out to the patio where Cassidy and Charlotte were waiting.

“I still can’t believe Justin paid to add onto your home,” Cassidy mused, accepting her glass and pouring the tea into it. “You have a wonderful son.”

“You do too,” Lynn said as she took a seat. “If it weren’t for him I’d lose my mind having to deal with Justin. Do you remember how rambunctious they used to be? I swore Trace was the ringleader.”

“Then you obviously haven’t met my daughter,” Charlotte laughed, her eyes crinkling in the corners. “She can charm her way out of any sort of trouble. I wouldn’t put it past her to convince them to do anything she wanted. She’s a little devious,” she added and then took a sip of her tea.

“Speaking of…why is she home?” Cassidy asked, tucking her dark hair behind her ears and leaning back in her chair. Charlotte turned her green eyes to her friend but didn’t lift her mouth from her straw. Cassidy looked over at Lynn and Abigail who stared back at her. Cassidy sighed. She’d have to be the brave one again. Now she didn’t wonder where Trace got it from anymore. “Not that I don’t like having her around but…it’s kind of odd that she same back unannounced, don’t you think?”

Charlotte set her glass down and leaned back in her chair. The other women could see her jaw tense despite her not giving away what she was thinking. Cassidy couldn’t look right at her. It was scary looking at Charlotte when she was angry. Her face would be emotionless but as soon as you took a look into her eyes you were a goner.

“She’s home, that’s all I care about,” Charlotte replied, calmly.

“Yes, but…she said she wasn’t going to dance again,” Abigail said slowly, as if measuring her words. “That’s what she lives for. Why would she stop?”

“She’s been dancing for years. I’d take a break if I were her too,” Lynn jumped in. She could feel the tension rising, much like the Memphis heat.

Charlotte let out a long, slow breath and turned her eyes back to her glass. She watched the little droplet of condensation slide down the side of the glass before forming into the puddle that sat on the table beneath it. Then she lifted her eyes and shrugged. “She’ll tell us why she’s back when she wants to. I’m not going to push her.” Then a smile suddenly formed on her face and she changed the subject. “Now, what’s this I hear about Rachel and Cal?”

Abigail looked at Lynn and then gave a half smile. “We’re sure that Cal’s going to propose to her any day now.” Charlotte and Cassidy both let out squeals of excitement. Lynn let out a breath of relief, glad that the tension had gone in the light of the good news. “Rachel’s so excited.”

“The first of the bunch,” Cassidy noted.

“I always expected Rachel to be the first one. She already knew what she wanted in a boyfriend since she was four,” Abigail chuckled, taking a sip of her tea, smacking her lips in satisfaction as she put the glass down. “Shoot, she’d propose to him if she didn’t think he’d do it first. She was starting to get antsy. Even caught her humming the wedding march while she did her chores. Makes me wonder how she functions at her job.”

The women dissolved into peals of laughter at that statement. The light wind carried their laughter and wrapped around them like a hug. As the laughter died Lynn fanned her eyes, feeling tears well up in the corners.

“I can’t wait to see Justin’s face at the sound of that news,” Abigail said as she wiped her eyes.

“He’ll probably go into Big Brother mode,” Charlotte mused. “Wanting to know what they’re doing, where they’re going, when they’ll be back, and then hound them if they ever show up late to something.”

“Well, he’d save Cody from doing his job,” Abigail commented. “He likes Cal a little bit too much. Probably already introduce him as his son.”

“Things are changing, aren’t they?” Cassidy asked.

“Thanks for being so cryptic, Cass,” Charlotte teased.

“Think about it. Our children are growing up. Soon they’ll move onto bigger and better things. They’ll get married and start families and—“

“Finally think about moving out of our houses!” Charlotte interrupted her, lifting her tea glass. The other women laughed their approval and tapped their glasses together before taking sips. A smile was on Charlotte’s face but in the back of her mind she was worried.

Very worried.

“Justin, focus!”

Justin blinked and looked in the direction from where the sharp command came from. Above him JC was leaning against the railing on one of the stage’s upper levels. Joey and Chris were playing on the moving sidewalk on the other riser and Lance was talking to one of the stage hands about something.

“Sorry, man,” Justin muttered, putting his hands on his hips and walked away so JC couldn’t read his face.

Justin didn’t need a mirror to know that a pathetically sad look was stuck there. He couldn’t help it. How else was he supposed to look after breaking up with someone he’s dated for four years? Britney had been his whole life for four years. He shared his fears with her, his darkest secrets that he hasn’t told any of his friends about. He gave her his heart and she just…shattered it.

He could hardly concentrate in rehearsals because he was there. Wade, the one who helped the girl of his life break his heart. He trusted him, both of them, in the very beginning. Hell, he was the one who brought them back together again. It was during the ’99 VMAs that Justin realized he wanted to be with her officially. And she wanted to be with him too.

At the time she did, at least. Justin glared at the ground. Was it all just a lie to her? Was it some sort of game to her? He didn’t want to believe it, he wanted to believe that she loved him as much as he loved her but everything was messed up. He didn’t know what the truth was anymore. And even if she didn’t do anything, Wade wouldn’t pursue her without a reason…

“Hey.” Justin jumped when JC’s hand came down on his shoulder. JC’s eyebrows were knitted together in concern. JC’s big blue eyes asked the question that didn’t dare leave his lips.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Justin mumbled, dropping his shoulder. JC’s hand fell to his side.

“J, come on. I know it’s eating you up inside,” JC said softly. “And, not to sound like a jerk, but it’s starting to affect our show. The fans can tell that something is up. It’s only a matter of time until the news hits the stands.”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it!” Justin hissed. JC held up his hands and took a step away. “I don’t need this,” he muttered. He jumped off of the stage and walked past a long row of chairs before he disappeared from sight. JC sighed and ran a hand through his hair as Joey came up behind him.

“Man, the kid’s really hurting,” Joey noted.

“Yeah, no kidding,” JC replied. “He shouldn’t just run away from his problems though.”

“He knows how to put the ‘baby’ in Baby J,” Chris snickered. Joey and JC turned to look at him. Chris’s smile instantly dropped from his face and he widened his eyes. “What?” he asked, his voice raising a few octaves. “I’m only speaking the truth! Ever since…whatever happened between him and Spears he’s been acting like a little kid who doesn’t get his way.”

“You’d know that first hand I’ll bet,” JC said dryly.

“Oh, ha ha.” Chris jumped onto the moving sidewalk at the top and let it carry him to the center of the stage. Then he took the stairs down and joined them on the long catwalk. “Am I not allowed to have fun anymore?”

“Not at his expense.”

“Then I might as well not talk.”

“Let’s see how long that lasts.”

“Hey!”

“Guys, knock it off,” Lance said as he lifted himself back up onto the stage. Chris stuck his tongue out at JC and pressed his lips together. His cheeks puffed up as he glared at JC but the older man ignored him while turning to Lance. “Justin’s really hurt right now, we can’t do anything but let him let off steam in his own way. He was hurt by someone he thought he would marry. Marry, guys. He wouldn’t just be able to move on from that.” Chris’s eyes started to cross but he went unnoticed. Lance sighed and added, “And it doesn’t help that his best friend isn’t here for him to talk to about the whole thing.”

“You haven’t got a hold of her either, then?” Joey asked. Lance shook his head. “We didn’t either. It’s not like her to not answer her phone.”

“Yeah, I even tried her home but her mom keeps saying that I ‘just missed her’,” JC said with finger quotes. Chris grabbed his throat.

“Hey, does his mom know?” Lance suddenly asked.

“Yeah, I told her about it but I didn’t go into deep detail,” JC replied. “I don’t know everything that happened and, even if I did, it’s not my place to tell. It’s his but for some reason he’s avoiding talking to her, too.”

“I wish he’d talk to us,” Joey muttered.

“Bwaaahhhh!” Chris doubled over, panting heavily. Lance, Joey, and JC all looked at him as he put his hands on his knees and took in and let out deep breaths. He glared at the other three that looked down at him, eyebrows lifted at his exaggeration of trying to get his breath back. “You guys…are a bunch…of sad sacks,” he panted, standing upright.

“What’re you talking about?” JC sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn’t want to sound insensitive but they were wasting time. They still had shows to do and they needed to be on point for them. Joey has done a few shows injured. Chris has done a few shows with a broken ankle. JC’s done countless shows when he was sick, of which he would collapse afterwards from exhaustion. But they would keep going and that’s what Justin had to do as well.

“You three are being ridiculous. Oh, boo hoo, Justin’s girlfriend broke up with him,” Chris said with a roll of his eyes.

“Cheated, Chris,” Joey corrected him.

“We don’t know that,” JC said sharply. Joey took a step away from him. JC clenched his hands into fists. Britney was like his kid sister. Since he met her on the MMC set he knew she’d be big. He didn’t know how big but he knew it would happen. And when it did a huge set of problems came with it, which he didn’t understand. She was a sweet girl but the press hated her. He wanted to punch every single one of the article writers for saying such mean things about her. They didn’t know her. Granted, he felt like he didn’t know her as much as he used to anymore but he knew a lot more than they did.

“Anyway, what I’m saying is we’ve been through breakups before. We got through it, so will Justin. The only reason this is a big thing is because the press was attacking this relationship from the start,” Chris explained. “If they were more careful with their relationship in the public eye then this wouldn’t have happened.”

“You don’t know that, Chris,” Lance said gently.

“Bull!” Chris snapped. Now JC and Lance stepped away from Chris. There were random moments when he’d be serious and they knew to take him seriously and really listen to what he had to say. Even now it still shocked them how angry and serious he could get when he seemed to constantly live an easy going lifestyle. “That is fucking bullshit and you know it! Justin and Britney fucking knew how important they were to…to US Weekly and OK! Magazine and all those other junk magazines. They knew that they’d be followed around ever single damn time they left the damn studio together. They were the ones who let the pressure get to them. They were the ones who didn’t fight back! They were the ones who didn’t fucking fight hard enough!”

“Man, we’re all hurting from this. But it won’t help to get angry,” JC said quietly, putting a hand on Chris’s shoulder as they heaved.

“I just hate this!” He replied.

“I know, Chris, I know.”

“I…I fucking hate that he’s hurting,” Chris mumbled, echoing what was on the others’ minds. “I hate that my brother is hurting and I don’t know how to fix it!”