His grip on me had not loosened as we walked Rodeo Drive, he ignoring nearly all questions that were fired at him. Though, so far, not one of them had caught on to the large rock on my finger and the mysterious band that had appeared on his own. HIs pace had slowed tremendously, he no longer pulling me away from them as we walked from store to store, we walking back into the one that we had been in earlier the day before.

Oh, when things were simple.

"Since you're my wife now," he said, turning to look at me as we walked along the clothing racks, stopping every so often to look at something, "I'm thinking I can buy you some new jeans."

"Why?" I asked, pulling my hand from his as he looked at the women's jeans, then looking at me (or, more noteably, my legs). "You don't need to buy me anything."

"And that little phrase makes it all worth buying you stuff," he grinned, looking at me with a a wicked flicker in his eyes. "So what made you wear a dress today? Get married and suddenly turn all girly?"

I rolled my eyes, smiling at him as he actually debated over jeans for me as I stood there, uninterested in them, "I wanted to look hot for my hubby is all," I chuckled, he turning to look at me again, eyes traveling from my toes to my face as he nodded. "What?"

"Goal achieved," he nodded. "You do look really good."

I blushed. "Thanks."

"What about these?" He asked, holding up a pair of jeans I was pretty sure I had already and were a quarter of that price. "These would look cute on you."

"Regardless of what I say, you're going to buy them anyway," I stated, he looking at me and nodding in agreement. "See? Why even ask?"

"Now," he said softly, reaching for my hand and pulling me to him, his mouth near my ear so that his words were only met by my ear, "since we're playing married, does that mean you get to wear all that freaky lingerie I know you keep in your bag?"

"JC Chasez," I mumbled, pulling away as he laughed, seeing my face redden. "No!"

"Oh, come on," he grinned, pulling me back to his chest, "I can buy you some more specifically for our pretend sleeping together."

"Chasez," I mumbled, still trying to hide the blush forming even brighter on my face as I grinned, shaking my head. "How do you know I have that?"

"Better question is, why do you have that?" He kept his hand laced with mine as we walked around the store, randomly grabbing pieces of clothing. "You wear even a hint of that and you'd have any man you wanted."

"But I'm not selling myself out like that," I stated, he looking back at me and smiling. "I'm not the Sex Kittens."

"Ah, but you are now my Sex Kitten." He pulled me behind the fitting room, out of view of the paparazzi taking photos through the windows. "You sure you're all right with this, Lily? We can stop this. Right now. Just the say the word and we can take the rings off and just be who we were before."

I seriously thought about what he had said. Did I really want to lead a fake life with JC Chasez?

Well, that answered the question.

"It's fine, JC," I said, he giving me a warm smile as he placed a kiss on my forehead, eyes falling closed at his touch, "the only thing I'm worried about is us if it blows up."

"Yeah, me too," he agreed, fanning his face. "God, it's hot."

"That's what usually happens in July," I stated smartly, he giving me a look, "it gets hot."

"Yeah, but haven't they heard of air conditioning?" He took my hand, leading me to the register and placing the three pairs of jeans and random shirts for both of us on the counter, letting the woman ring them up. "You'd think they would."

"I'm gonna pay you back for these," I said, watching as the price rose up quickly, he laughing from beside me, "no matter how many years it takes ..."

"Don't worry about it, Lil," he said softly, we both watching the woman who was folding the clothes and putting them in the bag, she eyeing my hand as I pulled it from the counter, hiding it. "You don't have to hide it, remember?" He asked softly, mouth against my ear, sending a chill down my spine. I shook off the feeling, he laughing. "Sorry."

"Yeah, yeah," I chuckled, waiting as he paid and accepted the two bags, leading me out of the store and back into the waiting paparazzi lenses. I pulled my sunglasses down over my face, shielding my already sensitive eyes from the flashes as he greeted them once again, they standing on either side of us and snapping photos.

"How was shopping JC?"

"It went great," he said, pulling me closer to him as they snapped shots. "Always in the mood for some shopping with her."

"Your assistant, right?"

He looked over at me, a subtle smile playing on his lips as he nodded, giving them a shrug after that. "Yeah, sure. My assistant."

"That's what you said she was yesterday."

"Right," he nodded. "That's what she is."

"What's her name?"

"Lily," he said, suddenly stopping as I looked at him weirdly. "Let's go in here," he said, nodding towards a flower shoppe. I nodded, still forcing my smile as we stepped in, immediately getting hit in the face with cool air. "That was sort of fun," he said, voice still chipper. "Oh, look, lilies for my Lily -"

"Stop being so corny," I laughed, he looking at me with a hurt expression. "What?"

"Your name is Lily. I want to buy you lilies."

"I don't like lilies."

"Your name is Lily. You're supposed to. It's in the contract."

"But I don't like them."

He lifted up a few, they assorted colors. Together, they did look beautiful. Without a word, he went to the cash register, the woman tying a ribbon around the rubber band to keep them together and look decorative, he walking up with a triumphant grin on his face, handing them to me. I smelled them, he leaning into me, the scent of the flowers and of him lingering in my nose, "lilies for the prettiest Lily of them all."

I blushed, he reaching up and tugging on a strand of my wavy hair and grinning. "Jace, really. You didn't have to."

"But I wanted to," he smiled. "This is kind of nice. Didn't know if I wanted to do this, but I like doing it. You're the only person I'd," he stopped, leaning back into me with a grin, "pretend to be married to."

"Yeah," I nodded, he linking his hand in mine again, my free hand holding the flowers as we left once more. This relationship was definitely going to be interesting.

And suddenly, I loved lilies.

"So you've got everything?" I stood at JC's hotel room door, watching as he finished zipping up one of his three duffel bags, he nodding as he surveyed the room. "All the toiletries? Cell phone? PDA? Wallet?"

"Ah, I don't know what I'd do without you," he grinned, patting his empty back pocket as he walked into the bathroom, sliding his wallet back into his pocket. "Cell phone and PDA are strategically placed in your purse because I know you wouldn't lose them. And toiletries are all packed and in," he stopped, looking at his bags, "that duffel."

"All right good," I said, putting my hands on my hips as I motioned behind me. "The bellboy is going to take our stuff downstairs. Rob is waiting for him. Then we've gotta hit the next city a la tour bus, which is another state away -"

"Vegas."

"Right," I nodded, mentally checking off the dates as they went, "then we go across country to Miami for a few performances, and then up to New York. We have a week and a half to ourselves and then, overseas."

"God, I'm gonna hate myself by the end of this, aren't I?" He scratched his head, looking at me with a lost look in his eyes. "I mean, the tour, not this ... you know."

"I know," I said softly, but I knew he had meant them both. I couldn't blame him; I felt as if we were both going to hate each other and ourselves once this was over. I didn't want that, but it was just like time, it kept going, you couldn't stop it once it started.

"Well, come on, Mrs. Chasez," he said, walking away from the bellboy as he lifted up the bags, tossing them on the cart. "Let's head downstairs." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, leading me down the the hall towards the steps. "I don't feel like facing the creator of this madness just yet," he said softly, my grip on his waist tightening as we both sighed deeply, walking in silence down the four flights of stairs towards the lobby. "You don't feel like I pressured you into this, do you?" He asked softly, looking down at me as I looked up to meet his gaze. "I don't want you to hate me when this is all over. I don't want to lose one of the closest friends I've had in a long time."

"I said I'd do it, right?" I asked, he nodding in response, "so don't worry about it. Whatever happens in the end, we'll manage. You've been good to me, Chasez; I'm not going to give up our friendship easily."

He smiled, placing a kiss on my temple as we slowly descended the stairs. "I'm still trying to figure out how exactly this is going to help me, but I've never doubted him before."

"He's your friend," I said softly, feeling him slide his arm away from my shoulder and drop back down between us, letting his fingers fill in the voids between my own, "you're not supposed to doubt him."

"Yeah, but how many times has he come up with something as crazy as this?" He pointed out, pushing the door open as we stepped into the lobby, close to no one there as we walked, our footsteps echoing up to the high ceilings. "Not only do I have to trust that he knows what to do about me, but I've gotta put trust in him knowing how to deal with you, too. Do you know how hard this has been and will be? We've been doing it for like, eight hours and I'm already second guessing everything."

"I know," I stated, watching as he ran a hand through his hair and forced a smile to the people with cameras outside already. They had been camping out for what seemed like eternity. I looked at him, he pausing for a moment as he glanced down at our hands, covering my hand completely so that my rings weren't visible, he shoving his hand into his pocket. "Jace," I said softly as we stepped onto the bus, he turning to say his goodbye to them all before turning to look at me as he stepped up into the kitchen area, "you know that regardless of rings, they're gonna debate we're together because they keep catching us with hands together?"

"I know," he said, licking his lips. "I just, don't want the marriage thing to hit yet. I'm thirty, almost thirty-one and I feel as if I'm a fidgety teenager again. I keep going back and forth with this. I mean, I'm glad it's you I have to pretend with, but then again, I feel as if I'm just playing house or something."

"Well, we are," I laughed. "The only thing that differs is weren't not little kids and we're not hiding in rooms playing 'doctor'."

"Well," he said, raising an eyebrow and looking at me, "I could arrange that. And bring along that freaky lingerie -"

"Will you drop that?" I laughed, sitting down at the table as he slid in across from me, reaching over and playing with my fingers. "That stuff isn't meant to be seen."

"Then it should have been bought."

He had a point.

"Okay, so what if I planned on going and working in Vegas and just leaving you to fend for yourself, huh? Become a showgirl or something?"

"Well, your boobs aren't fake for one," he stated, looking at me. "And you're too real. Those girls got nothing on you. They'd be out of a job."

"You need to stop that," I said, he looking at me quizzically. "Stop upping me over women that we both know are more beautiful than I am."

"Look," he said, pulling away as he leaned back, again playing with the ring, "it's always going to be known that somewhere, there is someone prettier, smarter, more athletic, more - endowed than you are. It goes for everyone. But can you just accept that sometimes, someone sees you as better than basically everyone else?"

"Why do you say stuff like that? It's not like you have to. I work for you, remember? I'm the one who needs a raise."

"I just think you're beautiful, is all," he said, shrugging. "Your personality makes you that way -"

"Which means, in lamens terms, I'm ugly but my personality is what I have going for me."

"No, it means that besides being beautiful, you've got a personality to boot. It's a rare find."

"Whatever you say, JC."

"Trust me, okay? That's how I feel."

"All right."

We both looked up as Rob made his way on the bus, cracking his knuckles. "Okay, so maybe the marriage thing isn't going to work," he said as we looked at him, puzzled. "I know someone who works at the city hall here and she said there's a way to tell the difference between a real one and this one I have. We've gotta do something else."

"Okay, like what?" I asked, Rob shrugging, he sitting down and turning on the television, settling on E! News. JC had gotten up, rummaging through the refrigerator. "What else is there to do? We can always say there's a sex tape."

"Um, pass," JC laughed, appearing from behind the door of the fridge with a bottle of water. "Not my thing. And even if I had a tape or two, they were - would be destroyed soon after I watched them a time or twelve."

I rolled my eyes, he reddening slightly as he slid in next to me, we both resting our legs up on the seat he had vacated. "Disturbing, Chasez. God, it makes my sex life seem a lot more normal than yours."

"You haven't had any in like, two years."

"So? You haven't had any in about as long."

"Nine months."

"I hate you," I mumbled, looking up at the tv and my eyes widening. "Uh, Jace?"

"What?" I felt his eyes on me, they slowly turning up towards where I had been looking, we both silent as Rob mumbled on the other side of the bus. "We've been discovered."

"Oh damn," JC mumbled, we both looking at the reporter who stood in the middle of the studio, to her right and above her shoulder, a picture of JC and I from earlier when we had been shopping, the words 'Married?!' digitally added underneath. "Oh, damn ..."

"Reports have been found that thirty-year-old JC Chasez, former member of the high-selling group *NSYNC, has been secretly married to his personal assistant, Lily, her last name unknown. It seems to have been hush-hush for quite some time, and when photographers caught them out this morning, Lily was spotted with a quite large rock adorning her finger, a band accompanying it. Sources say that they have been married for a short time, it a possible elopement, though the engagement was thought out and also secret - kept even from family and close friends. A rep for Chasez hasn't been contacted."

"Well, I guess we've got to keep running with that," Rob mumbled, tapping his fingers. "I've got to figure out how to get you two a marriage license and quick. When we stop at Vegas, I'll go to the city hall and -" he stopped, and I could see the gears shifting in his head. It never meant something good.

"Rob, that look you have? Wipe it off your face," JC said, his tone low and cautious. "I don't like it."

"Just, listen -"

"I don't think I want to listen to any other ideas you have," JC said, getting up and running a hand through his hair and looking back to both of us. "We'll just deny it. Say she's a close friend and she's married. Or it's just her grandmother's ring or something ... "

"Won't work," Rob stated, shaking his head. "Look, just listen -"

"I don't want to."

"Jace, come on. They've already started speculation. Just roll with it."

"What if I don't want to? What if I don't want to smear my name? Or hers? What if I changed my mind?"

"The ball is already heading out of the ball park, we've gotta hit the ground running. We can't just stop now."

He sighed deeply, leaning up against the wall and staring at Rob. "Then what? What do we do? Just keep going? Let them scramble to find a marriage certificate or license that doesn't exist?"

"No, we do one better."

"And what's that?" I asked, finally speaking as JC looked over at me, his eyes still locked on mine as I spoke again. "Act as if there is one and they just aren't looking hard enough?"

"One word: Vegas."

My stomach knotted up, looking at JC as it dawned on him what he meant. "Wait a minute -"

"Oh come on," he said, looking at us. "Then, you can get it annulled and state you were both drunk or something. They do use that as an excuse. It would work!"

"No, Rob, no!"

"Jace, it's either that or we start at the beginning and use the fake one and let them find that out."

"Then let them find it out."

"And have your career be ruined because you lied?"

"I didn't lie! You lied!"

"Yes, but you went along with it."

"Tell me again why you're my manager?" JC pushed off of the wall, looking at him with anger in his eyes. "You put us in one bad predicament and now you're putting us in this one?! You really are crazy."

"JC, come on, man," Rob sighed, putting his head in his hands. "I'm trying to get you back on top. I know you want to be on top."

I looked at the lost look on JC's face, feeling sorry for him. Here he was, just trying to make a name for himself as a solo artist, and now he was stuck in a rut that he wasn't quite sure how to get out of. Before I could even think, I was opening my big mouth. "I'll do it."

JC and Rob both spun to look at me, JC shaking his head in disbelief. "Lily, really, you don't have to -"

"Jace," I said softly, looking at him, "think about it: they find out it was falsified, they're gonna screw you so bad that your name will never be in the papers. They find the papers that show it's legal and that we kept it, it's gonna be on every website for a long, long time and it'll give you enough time to get your name out there again. It'll give you more publicity than you ever imagined. And Rob will get his damn People cover."

He sighed, face pale as he sat down beside me, gripping my hand out of being used to doing so. "Are you sure, Lily? I mean, really sure?"

"Yes," I said, licking my lips and turning my head to look at him. "I know this isn't something you'd do purposely, JC. And you've got a real ass for a manager who put you in this, not you."

"Hey, hey," Rob interjected, we both ignoring him. "I am not the one who agreed!"

"Shut up, Rob," JC said lowly, studying my face, "you'd do this just to give me fame?"

"If you want it -"

"I don't want the fame," he said, shaking his head. "I just want to be heard again."

"Then let's do it."

He licked his lips, hesitantly nodding. "Okay. Let's ... get married."

Rob got up, scrambling for his phone as he ran towards the back. "I'll make arrangements!"

I looked at JC, a slight smile playing on his face as he shook his head. "Man, Chasez, the hell I go through being your assistant."

He just laughed, placing his head on the top of mine. "You're really going to be my wife."

"That's a scary thing."

"You wouldn't know."

"I have been pretending to be for nearly nine hours now, JC."

He was silent, shaking his head. "You're right. Well, you know what that means, right?"

I pulled away, looking at him as he tried to mask the devilish smile on his face. "What?"

"I do get to see that lingerie after all!"

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head, "highly doubted, Chasez."

"But it'll be our honeymoon."

"In your mind," I laughed. "To me, it'll be another night where I call for a lot of drinks."

"Amen to that," he grinned, kissing my forehead once more and sighing deeply. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

"God only knows," I mumbled, shaking my head. But honestly, I knew: we had gotten ourselves into a big pile of shit.