“Anyone else nervous?” Chris asked, jumping in place to get himself pumped up.

“Why should we be?” JC sat relaxed on a nearby stool. They were waiting for Justin to come in and explain the final details of the performance.

“I haven’t had a camera on me in a decade. Remember the first time a television crew filmed us? Thought I was gonna puke my guts out.”

“So you’re saying you’re going to be throwing up on stage? Maybe hopping around like that won’t help.” Lance crossed his arms and gave Chris a funny look.

“Right, I’ll stop.” Chris placed a hand on his stomach suddenly realizing that jumping around wasn’t a good idea.

“Guys, Justin’s on his way.” Joey pointed down the hall to see a not so enthused Justin making his way to the group.

JC didn’t have a good feeling about this. Justin stopped in front of them, hands in his back pockets. He was looking at them the same way he looked at JC after the Super Bowl incident. Justin rubbed the back of his neck as he let out a sigh. “We have to cut some stuff.” He didn’t even look at them.

“Cut stuff?” Chris repeated.

“Yeah, they’re saying it’s too long. We’ll end up going overtime.”

JC stood up. “Can’t you just not sing one or two of your songs?”

“I wish I could… we’ll cut No Strings Attached and Tearin’ Up Heart.” The guys stared at him, expecting him to say more but he just walked back out.

“Well, damn. Looks like you won’t be on stage long enough to puke.” Joey said looking at Chris.

JC couldn’t believe it. Justin was once again ruining everyone’s chances. He looked at the others to gauge their expressions but they all looked so neutral. They didn’t care one bit about the cuts and Justin’s rude dismissal. JC gritted his teeth as he fought the urge to chase after Justin to punch him in the face. He searched the room for drinks but there were none.

They heard the cheers from the crowd outside. Justin had started to perform. Chris, Joey, and Lance quieted down to listen to Justin. In about 10 minutes, they were to set to to stand on the platform that would elevate them onto the stage to perform. JC was contemplating leaving right before it was their time to humiliate Justin but he didn’t feel comfortable bringing the others down too.

“You guys are coming up.” One of the crew members motioned for them to follow him beneath the stage to assume their positions on the lift.

JC let out a sigh as he tried to forget about his anger for a moment. It was the moment he’s been waiting for these past few weeks. He was going to make the most out of the time they had now which was a measly two minutes, plus or minus.

The platform started to rise, each of them quieting down. The cheers from the audience got louder and louder. JC’s heart was racing. Once they were completely revealed and the smoke around them start to dissipate, the audience’s screams got louder when JC thought they had reached their highest pitch. The music started to play and JC once again felt the rush he had been craving all these years.

Every step he danced had a whole new meaning from when he rehearsed them. Each note he belted out contained remnants of his soul. Performing was his life. He’d forgotten how good it felt to be on stage with his friends. The people who rode with all the way to success. He heard his name being screamed from all directions. After all this time, his fan base was still there. The warmth surged through his heart and for the first time in a long time, he was genuinely happy.

Before he knew it their performance was up and they were sinking back into the stage. The endless screams of each of their names still audible even after the hole in the stage had closed. Joey patted JC on the back as he smiled humbly at him. It was the first time in a long time that all of them saw JC this happy again.

****

JC sat back, watching the commotion around him. He and the others decided to wait in Justin’s dressing room for the after they watched him receive the reward. He was still mad at Justin but he couldn’t help but cheer his friend along with the rest of the people. Lance, Chris, and Joey were shouting the loudest. It would’ve taken a miracle to settle them down. JC wished that he could be as happy and lighthearted as they were. To be truly proud of Justin without any bad blood.

Chris picked up a green jolly rancher from a bowl that was sitting on Justin’s dresser and passed the bowl around to the others. “Damn, no M&M’s.”

JC picked up a bag of skittles and raised it up between his pointer and middle fingers. “Skittles no good?”

“Those are for pansies. It’s all about the M&M’s, my man.” Chris unwrapped the jolly rancher and threw it in his mouth. “Tonight was great, wasn’t it?” He said in between sucks. He wasn’t prepared for the saliva to well up in his mouth from the sourness of the candy.

“Extremely. I forgot how fun it was to perform with you guys. Good thing you didn’t throw up.” Lance answered as he patted Chris’ shoulder.

“What about you, Josh? How was it?” Joey pointed the question to JC.

JC grinned as he leaned further into the couch. “I loved every minute of it.”

“Oh, totally. The grand two minutes.” Chris chuckled.

“I’m sorry about that, guys.” Justin walked in, hearing what Chris was laughing about. “That was really my only option. I hope you guys aren’t too mad.”

Lance got up to give his friend a hug. “We can’t be mad at you. We’re here to support you and that’s what we did. Right, guys?” Lance turned to the other three men in the room.

Chris and Joey gave a thumbs up while JC avoided eye contact. Justin ignored JC’s coldness and decided to sit next to him anyway. He held up a hand to give JC a high five, not sure what to expect. JC let out a sigh and high fived him, he didn’t want to spoil tonight.

“Alright,” Justin clapped his hands together. “There’s an after party that’s going to start soon and I want us all to be there. What do you guys say?”

Chris stood up and pretended to be in his pain as he placed a hand on the small of his back. “I don’t know; do you think they’d appreciate old geezers showing up?”

“You’re the oldest one here. Don’t call us geezers.” Joey piped up. “We’re in. Leave the old coot out of it.”

Chris frowned but agreed to go to the party anyway. JC decided that going to the party would give him a chance to start talking to people about music again. He still felt a surge of electricity coursing through his veins from the performance so he figured he’d use it all up trying to network.

****

Everyone went their separate ways once they arrived at the party. Justin was sucked into a group of celebrities talking to him about his award, Chris and Joey went straight for the food, while Lance spoke to some friends he hasn’t seen in a while.  JC worked his way through the waves of dancing people.

He spotted Jermaine Dupri in the back and figured that he’d try speaking to him. JC pitched his ideas to him and although Jermaine seemed interested, he had to step back from it all. That irked JC to know that even someone like Jermaine, who had been out of the game as well wasn’t even interested in working with him.

JC tried to speak with Timbaland but he wasn’t interested either. He suggested that JC do his own thing again and see where it goes. “What do you think I’ve been trying to do?” he muttered as he turned away from Timbaland to scout out more producers. He was getting more and more irritated.

The music was too loud, people were too crazy, and everyone he spoke to had to ask him to repeat what he was saying because they couldn’t hear. He was about to approach David Guetta when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Timbaland.

“If you really want to get back in the business, why not work with Justin? That kid has got some talent. You should know. I had lots of fun working with him.” Timbaland suggested.

JC smiled at Timbaland through gritted teeth. “I’m actually trying to do stuff without Justin’s help. I don’t need him.”

Timbaland looked at him, not completely understanding the look on JC’s face. But he knew it would be best not to pry anymore. “I’ll see you around man.” He raised his glass to go back to the woman he was talking to, leaving JC.

His fists were clenched. Timbaland suggesting that JC work with Justin was too humiliating for him. For years he had been trying to succeed without Justin’s help and having someone suggest that he work with him was like a slap to the face. His failures are because of Justin.

JC felt another hand on his shoulder. It was heavy, giving him an idea who it was. “Enjoying the party?” Joey asked, flashing his toothy his grin. His smile disappeared when he was met with JC’s icy glare. “What happened?”

JC jerked his shoulder to get Joey’s hand off. He saw Chris coming toward them as he made his way in the opposite direction. He wasn’t too far when he heard Chris ask Joey, “What’s up with him now?”

****

JC rummaged through his cabinets to find the strongest drink he could get his hands on. His hands were trembling as he desperately wanted alcohol in his system. Unable to find what he was looking for, he settled for another Shock Top. The tension he’d been feeling managed to mitigate as soon as he took a long drink from the bottle.

His anger resurfaced as he thought about his failed attempts at finding someone to work with. He took another long drink, finishing it in less than a minute. JC grabbed a few more bottles and quickly went through them.

The buzz turned into a euphoric high. He felt the room start to spin and his vision start to turn black. “Fuckin’ Justin,” he mumbled as he fell to the floor.