By the time they were finished, Jess was bone tired.  She kicked of her heels and sighed with relief as she trudged barefoot back to her dressing room.

            Fifteen minutes later, Jess met Joey in the hallway and they went out to the vans together.  Jess felt so much better to be back in her own comfy clothes and sneakers.  She didn’t realize how slowly she was moving until Joey stepped on her heel as they neared the van. 

            “Come on, princess,” he laughed, “your chariot awaits.”  He hoisted her up into an empty seat and then climbed in behind her, pulling the door closed after him.

            Jess buckled up, then looked to her left and saw that the seat that Joey had put her into was next Chris.  Of course it was.  She sighed and closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would allow her to avoid Chris for now.  She wasn’t in the mood to deal with him.

            Chris didn’t make first eye contact.  He thought he’d better let Jess get settled and then casually meet her gaze and start a conversation.  If he was lucky, maybe she would have forgotten the whole little “episode” from this afternoon.

When he figured that he had waited long enough (after all, timing was everything), he turned to Jess—and saw that she had fallen fast asleep.  Yes, this girl was definitely a woman after JC’s heart.  It was really no wonder that they were friends.  Chris sighed, slid his arm around her shoulder and adjusted so that her head fell comfortably against him.  At least if she was sleeping, she couldn’t fight with him and he now had some time to figure out just how to fix things between them.

            When they arrived at the venue, there was no time to talk.  Everyone was rushed into the building, told to grab something to eat and to have a quick meeting with their scheduler while they ate.

            Jess lagged behind.  Schedule changes meant little to her; it wasn’t like she had to go everywhere with them.  She raided the snack food for some caffeine and sugar to keep her energized through the meet and greet.  If she could just make it through that, she could coast through the rest of the evening.

            When JC saw her sit down with a Coke and some chocolate, he got up from his table, filled a tray and sat down across from Jess.  Before she could say anything, JC had whisked away her junk food and shoved his tray in front of her.

            She tried to protest, but JC didn’t give her the chance, “Oh no you don’t!  If you eat that crap, you’re going to have a sugar crash in the middle of the meet and greet,” he admonished. 

            Jess rolled her eyes, but truth be told, she didn’t exactly hate it when Josh babied her.  “Fine, Joshua, whatever you say,” she smiled as she looked down at the carton of milk, a turkey and cheese sandwich and some fruit.  She didn’t know how she was supposed to eat all of this in the few minutes left before the meet and greet, but she knew she’d only waste more time in arguing with him than actually eating it.

            The meet and greet went the way that the last few had gone.  Jess was getting the hang of it, and had fun talking with the guys’ fans.  She was glad that she was able to be a role model of sorts for girls who had felt marginalized by the fact that they were not stick thin.  Jess just wished that it didn’t take so much energy to be upbeat.

            After the event, Jess gathered up her stuff and set out in search of Bryan.  It had been a long day, and she was more than ready to head back to the hotel and unwind.  She was just about clear of the room when Chris touched her shoulder.

            “Jess?  Do you have a minute?” his eyes pleaded with her, but she was good at ignoring things she didn’t want to see.

            “Why?  Is there something else about me you think is bullshit?”

            “Please, Jess?  I think we need to talk,” he tried to get her to look at him.
            “That’s nice,” she replied with a shrug, “but I don’t.  There’s Bryan, I have to go.”

            “I’ll come see you after the show then,” he called after her. 

            She shook her head, “No you won’t.  I have plans tonight.”  She stepped out into the hallway, away from his reach.  This was going to be harder than he’d thought.

            Jess enjoyed some quiet time while the five men sweat it up on stage.  She had a leisurely soak in the tub while reading a book she hadn’t had a chance to start yet.  She ordered up some dinner and she caught up on some writing and email before she finally heard what could only be described as a herd of  *NSYNCers coming down the corridor.  

            She was not surprised when JC burst through the door followed closely by Justin.  “Hi guys!”

            “Hey Jess,” JC flopped down, laid his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes.  “G’night, Jess.”

            “I don’t think so, Mr Sweaty.  You stink.  Hit the showers!” She jostled him off of her and gave him a push in the direction of his room.

            Justin waited until JC staggered towards his door.  “Hey, I’m just going to get cleaned up and then I’ll be back, is that OK?”

            “Of course it is.  Take your time; I’ve got a good book.”

            He nodded and shuffled off.

            Jess settled back in the cushions to read her book.  Just as she found her place, someone knocked on the door.  She contemplated for a brief minute about not answering the door, it was probably Chris and she wasn’t about to change her plans with Justin to have a fight with him.  But then she thought that it might help her to let off some steam if it was Chris, because she’d get the satisfaction of slamming the door in his face or at least telling him to get lost.

            By the time she had decided to answer the door, the knocking was growing louder and steadier.  She whipped the door open and was surprised to see Joey standing there apparently doing some little dance in the hallway while knocking on the door.

            She cleared her throat to get his attention, “Joe?  Did you want something?”

            As Joey turned around, she noticed he was dressed head to toe in black.  He was even wearing a black toque, and this was the middle of June.  What was that boy thinking?

            Joey leaned in and gave her a buss on the cheek.  “Hey, Beautiful, you ready to prank Justin’s shoes?”

            “What are you talking about?” she really couldn’t believe this guy some days.

            “Come on, don’t tell me you forgot.  When you tripped over Justin’s shoes this morning, I told you we’d prank him later, so let’s go!”

            “I’m sorry, Joey, I did forget.  I’m actually waiting for Justin to come over here.”

            Joey grinned.  “That’s perfect!  You keep him busy while I go take care of his shoes.”

            “Sure, Joey, I’ll do that.  You be careful, OK?”
            “I will.  Now don’t let on anything to Justin.”

            Jess tried not to giggle, “No fear of that, my friend.”  She shook her head as Joey zigzagged down the hallway humming the tune to Spiderman.  Tomorrow would be soon enough to find out what he was up to.