The dance school had been up and running for about a month and everything was going great.  Enrollment was up and the kids were having a great time.  Mollie had been feeling more and more like herself every day.  JC was busy with the band again, which was good for her because she hadn't been ready to be intimate with him yet.  It had been long enough medically speaking but for some reason she had reservations.  He was back home now and it was harder to avoid getting close.  She was actually running late to meet him at the Challenge for the Children.  She’d been there the last two days but as today was the big game, she should have been on time.  Her master class was that morning and the kids were moving along so well she just wanted them to do one last run through.  She grabbed the jersey from last year’s challenge and slipped it over her tank.  She threw her hair in a ponytail and ran out the door, calling out instructions to Jesse, her assistant as she went.

“Mollie, I got it,” Jesse said, annoyed with her control freak ways.

“I know, I’m just frazzled, thanks for locking up.  I left you a two tickets for the game so I’ll see you later?”  Mollie smiled as his face lit up with a huge grin.  She knew he wanted to go to the game but couldn’t afford a ticket. 

“Have I mentioned lately that you’re the best boss ever?”

“No, but I’m going to be the worst girlfriend ever if I’m any later.  Gotta go!”

            She hopped in her car and headed for the stadium.  Luckily, they let her in the artist entrance with no trouble and she managed to slip in and catch the end of the national anthem, JC spotting her as they held the final note.  As they ran over to their benches, he ran towards her.

“Cutting it close,” he said against her lips before dipping in for a kiss. 

“Who me?  I’ve been here for ages.”

            She gave him a wink and found Johanna, who didn’t look happy to be sitting alone net to three empty seats.  Johanna was at the studio that morning also but she had the good sense to leave on time.  Now that everything was up and running with the studio, Johanna didn’t have much to do.  She kept track of the books and made sure everything was accounted for but she wasn’t actively involved.  She’d moved over to JC’s house because he never went home and feeling like the third wheel in her best friend’s life just wasn’t fun.  The house was big and lonely and she was getting bored.  She’d been excited to spend the day with her friend, even if it was at her boyfriend’s event.

“Hey girl, sorry I’m so late.  The kids in the master class are moving along so great!  I couldn’t stop them, we were on a roll.  I think I have a great piece for them to perform for the showcase.”

“Molls, you promised no studio talk today, just hanging out, enjoying our time off.” 

“Sorry.”

            Mollie knew her friend was in a rut but she couldn’t help but want to talk about the things that were going well for her.  After a rough couple of months, it was nice to be on the upswing.  She understood that Johanna also had a few bad months but she’d come out of it eventually.  She just needed to figure out what was going to make her happy.  They chatted about the game and made small talk when Jesse and his boyfriend arrived.  The fans cheered loudly and loved every second of the game.  When it was over, the guys were using the locker room showers and then meeting in the conference room for their annual meeting.

            JC had driven with Justin this morning so Mollie sat in a chair outside the room and read a magazine that was on a nearby table.  They took quite a while but before long, Mollie heard yelling.  She got nervous, the guys rarely argued about anything.  Before long Joey came out of the room, brushing past her.  Lance was not long after and JC didn’t say a word as he walked towards the door.  Mollie glanced in the conference room, seeing Justin with his head in his hands.  She ran after JC, finding him waiting for her to open the car.  He was silent the whole ride home and the tension that radiated from him kept Mollie from asking what was going on.  Arriving home, he went straight for the backyard, sitting out on the dock and pulling his knees up.

            Mollie went inside, unsure of what to do or say.  Something must have gone terribly wrong in that meeting for him to be so angry.  She busied herself around the kitchen, eventually sitting in the breakfast nook to watch him as he sat for over an hour.  Her cell phone rang and she answered without looking to see who it was.

“Hello?”

“Molls, please don’t hate me,” Justin’s voice pleaded. 

“Justin?  What happened today?  Josh hasn’t spoken a word since he walked out of that meeting.”

“Shit.  I thought he’d tell you by now.  They’re all mad at me because I want to take time off to do a solo project.  We’d agreed to take some time off before recording the new record anyway.  I just figured it would be no problem to let me do my own thing on my own time.” 

“Justin, you just sprung that on them in a meeting with managers and executives?  They’re probably all pissed off because you didn’t speak to them one on one, or as a group without the big wigs.”

“Everyone had to be told at some point, I just figured I’d tell my bandmates when I told management.” 

“Justin, these guys are more than just your bandmates.  They’re your brothers you’ve grown up with them, you’ve all built a career together.  Their livelihood is affected by your choices and vice versa.  You’ve known JC since you were a kid.  You should have had enough respect to speak to them personally and ask for their blessing.”  Mollie was shocked that he seemed so cavalier.

“I need to do my own thing for a while…” 

“The sad thing J, is that if you’d come to them and told them your feelings, they probably would have backed you up.  The way you went about it was like telling them you were taking their career away.  They have families to support just like you do.  When you’re in a group you have to consider everyone and I’m shocked that you didn’t think enough about them…or about me, to let us know before this meeting.”

“Mollie…” 

“I have to go Justin.  I’ve got a boyfriend who is beyond hurt right now.”

            Mollie snapped her phone shut.  She seethed with anger at Justin’s choice to break the news in such a formal and professional way.  The guys had been together long enough that they had become family and you don’t keep family in the dark.  She decided to head out and talk to him.  The sun dipping down into the lake, the air cooling down…it was too pretty for such an ugly situation.

“Hey…so Justin just called,” Mollie said, sitting next to him on the dock.

“After everything, he doesn’t think enough of me to tell me man to man?  I’ve known him since he was a little kids with a hick accent and a bad haircut!  I don’t even get a phone call.  That’s what I’m most upset about.” 

“I know.  I told him as much.  You all need the time off.  How you choose to spend it is up to you but if one of you is seriously considering heading in a new direction, it would only be right to tell each other in a more respectful way,” she said, rubbing up and down his back.

“It’s just frustrating.” 

“I know…but you should come inside.  I have something to show you.  Of course I pictured that when I showed you this you’d be happy but I’ll take what I can get.”

            JC smiled at her, watching as she rose from the dock.  She never ceased to amaze him.  Even when she’d been having a hard time lately, she still came to comfort him during his temper tantrum.  He took her outstretched hand and pulled himself up.  Following her into the house, she led him over to the basement door.

“Ta-da!” Mollie’s hands were splayed out, Vanna White style.

“The basement door?  Yay?” 

“No silly, open it and go down.”

            He did as he was told and went down into the basement.  When he was about halfway down the stairs, he knew something was different.  There was carpet where there used to be concrete and it felt much warmer.  He could feel Mollie following him so he withheld his reaction until he got a full glimpse.  Clearing the last step and rounding the corner, he was shocked.  The barren basement had been transformed into the coolest studio he could imagine.  The sound board was state of the art, there was comfortable couches and his platinum albums hung on the wall.

“I hope you don’t mind I stole a few things from your house to put in here…” a voice said from behind him.

“When did you have time to do this?” 

“When you finished up the tour.  I desperately needed distraction but when I couldn’t be at the dance studio, my mind was here.  You deserve something special, you’ve been the best to me through this whole thing.”

“I love it,” he said, scooping her up in a big hug.  “Thank you.” 

“Oh and there was one other selfish reason I did this.  I know you’ve been here every day anyway…but I was hoping we could make it official and you move in with me.”

“You’re unbelievable, you know that?” 

“I try,” she replied with a shrug.

            Mollie was relieved to see some sort of weight lifted from him.  She knew the hurt of what went on today wasn’t gone but maybe it could be redirected.  She left him to tinker as she made dinner and an hour later had to pry him out to eat.  He ran back down after dinner and as she rinsed off the dishes, Mollie wondered if she’d created a monster.  She took a shower and got herself ready for bed, climbing in and reading her book.  She thought she’d see him at some point but she gave up and lay down.  When she woke, she fully expected to find her boyfriend snuggled up behind her but she was mistaken.  She could smell coffee, so she knew he was at least alive.  She went down the stairs, Boo trailing along behind her.  She continued through the kitchen and down the basement stairs.  A soft piano tune was wafting up the stairs and she could hear JC humming a melody over it, random words coming out every so often.

“Locked inside your heart shaped box…”

He looked cute whilst in deep concentration.  She liked what she was hearing but as soon as he saw her, he stopped.  He ran his hand through his unruly hair and sat back in his chair.  She padded over and slipped onto his lap.

“You like your new toy?”

“I didn’t mean to be down here all night,” JC said.  “But things just started flowing.  It’s been ages since I had time to just play around with my own thoughts and ideas.” 

“Well maybe this little hiatus will be productive for you.”

JC didn’t reply, just let that sink in for a moment.  He considered the possibility that he could do more than just be in this group.  Snapping out of it, he promised Mollie some pancakes and the two headed upstairs.