*****
"UGH! It froze AGAIN!"
"So use mine," JC said, exasperated.
Chris' eyes widened. "No thanks, man, I'll just go find Lance's."
JC furrowed his brow. "There's nothing wrong with mine," he said. "You've used it before."
"Dude," Chris said, "That was before 'Digital Getdown.' I'm scared of your laptop now."
JC frowned. "You brat," he said. "At least I didn't collaborate with Joey on a song called 'Ode to My Frozen Pizza.'"
Chris scoffed. "You're just jealous you didn't think of it sooner."
"Of course," JC said. "That's why it made the album and everything."
"Whatever, JC," Chris said, flipping his hand out. "You're awed by the skill. You wished you had thought of writing it, so you and Jive decided to cut it."
"Right," JC said, stretching out the word. "Freak."
Chris snorted. "Jealous."
"Jealous about what?"
"Our song about pizza," Chris sniffed to Joey as he entered the room. "He's jealous he didn't think of it sooner."
"I think that was our best song!" Joey said, glancing at JC. "How did it go?"
Chris cleared his throat. "Pizza, you are so cheesy, you come in a box from aisle 5--"
"Shut up!" JC said. "That is the most annoying song--"
"I can think of others," Chris said. He plopped down onto JC's lap. "I thought of this really good one about tofu. Wanna hear?"
"NO!"
Chris pouted and wrapped his arms around JC's neck. "What about Humus? There was this really good song--"
"Shut up, you leech," JC said, standing up and taking Chris with him, staggering under the weight. He unwrapped Chris's hands from his neck. "Get off!"
"You called me a leech! I think I'm hurt."
"You should be," JC grumbled. "Joey? A hand?"
"Nope, sorry man, you dissed the pizza."
"I'm trying to work here," JC said crossly, disengaging Chris's arms from his neck again.
"Chris," Joey scolded, "You're disturbing Mozart."
JC rolled his eyes, then looked up and quickly shoved Chris off him. "Lance?" he asked, crossing the room. "You okay?"
"Fine," Lance said, leaning against the doorframe. "I didn't think I'd miss him this soon. Dammit. I hate it when he does that."
"He knew you would," JC said with a smirk.
"Sure, sure, ignore us, but when Lance comes in he gets all protective and shit...and working? He was working?"
"No no," Joey said, "He wasn't working, you must be mistaken."
"No I'm not," Chris said, "I quite clearly remember him saying 'I'm trying to work here.'"
"You're wrong," Joey said, shaking his head. "He definitely didn't say he was working. And if he did, you missed the rest of the sentence, the one that says 'If one blond former angel shall enter the room looking upset, I am no longer working, I am being supportive.' See, you missed that."
Chris sighed dejectedly. "You're right."
"It's okay. Getting old won't be too bad. It's the memory cells first. It's when the bowels go out that you have to worr--" Joey was cut off when he found his arms full of a wriggling Chris. "Dude, off."
"Nope. Carry me across the threshold, dear Joseph!" Chris commanded. "Giddy up!"
Joey rolled his eyes and carried Chris out of the room. "I'll give you giddy up..." he grumbled.
Lance was rolling his eyes and JC grinned at him. "You know the best part, honey?" he asked his voice sugary sweet.
"What's that?"
"They're your friends too."
*****
"Security breach--"
"Crazy--"
JC pushed his way through the crowd and up to the bodyguard. "What the hell is going on?"
Lonnie pulled his walkie talkie away from his mouth. "JC? What are you doing here? You gotta get back to your--"
"But Wes told me to stay out of my room--" JC paused. "Lonnie? What's going on?"
Lonnie hesitated. "There's--" He stopped, thinking. "Just stay with me Jace, aight?" J
JC frowned. "Where's everyone else?"
"In their rooms where they're supposed to be," Lonnie said, frowning. "I don't know--" he started briskly walking towards the rooms.
"Wes said they were all in Joey's," JC interjected helpfully.
Lonnie sped up. "Did he say why?"
JC had to almost jog to keep up. "No-- but-- I said I'd go in Lance's and he said I couldn't...Lonnie? Tell me what's going on, please? I--"
"Shit. JC, go to Joey's, okay?"
"No! Not until you tell me what the hell is going on!"
Static crackled and JC recognized Dre's voice. "Lonnie, get your ass over here, we have a situation..."
"LONNIE!" JC said, hitting a shoulder.
"JC, just GO!" Lonnie said. "You're only putting yourself in danger." JC rolled his eyes and followed anyway. "JC, I told you to--"
"I'm. Not. Going. Until you. Tell me. What. Is. Going. On." JC said slowly.
Lonnie opened his mouth to protest, but something flashed in JC's blue eyes and he nodded. "We had a break in," he said slowly. "Security breach. We were off handling the extra crowds and someone got into one of the rooms."
JC sucked in a breath. "Which room?" He didn't like the feeling he was getting. "Yours. Or Lance's. That side of the hallway."
JC's eyes widened. "Lance is okay, right?" Lonnie didn't answer. "Lonnie?!" Lonnie remained silent. "I'm going," JC said, taking off.
"JC! You little shit!" Lonnie swore, running down the hall after him.
*****
"Let me in there, Wes," JC said.
"JC, I'm sorry, I can't let you do that. Randy and Dre have it under control."
"I don't believe you," JC said, trying to get by. "I'm not kidding, Wes."
Wes nodded to Lonnie, who had come up behind JC. "JC...just...I'm. Um. Sorry."
JC felt himself lifted over Lonnie's shoulder. "No! You assholes! Put me DOWN!" "JC, I warned you--"
"I don't care!" JC shouted. "Let go of me!" Joey, Justin, and Chris looked up when Lonnie opened the door with a struggling JC over his shoulder.
"Hey, what's his problem?" Joey asked. "We could hear him all the way down the hall."
"Lonnie! I'm serious! Put me the fuck down, you oversized freak!" JC yelled, hitting Lonnie on the back with his clenched fists. "Goddammit, let me go!"
Lonnie dumped JC unceremoniously on the bed. "Don't let him leave," Lonnie said, shutting the door behind him.
"You're gonna be fired!" JC said loudly after him, then he crossed his arms over his chest and scowled.
"What's goin on?" Justin asked softly.
"There's a 'situation'," JC grumbled. "In Lance's room. And Lance is still in there and they" he gestured towards the door, "Won't let me in his room."
"He what?!" Chris asked. "We thought he was with you!"
"Obviously not," JC said. He jumped off the bed. "I'm going."
"Nooooo, you're not," Justin said. "Lonnie said that--"
"I don't care," JC said. "I'm going to get him." He pulled his key out of his pocket and stalked over to the door. "You helping or not?"
Chris rolled his eyes. "WES! Joey needs more ice!"
"Why?"
"Cause I bashed him over the head!" JC waited for a bit and then slunk out of the room. "Suckers," he muttered.
"Not quite, you little brat," Lonnie said, grabbing his shirt from behind and then standing in front of him. "Nice job, slick. Maybe Chris should make it more believable next time."
"He shouldn't have left his post anyway," JC grumbled, then shut up when he noticed that Wes had just moved to the side and was still in front of Lance's door. "You're all fired, you bastards. Abusive."
"Hey now," Lonnie said, letting go of JC's shirt. "It's fine."
"It's not resolved though, is it?" JC said. "No, it's not. So if you'll just step aside--"
"Sorry, man."
"No, I am," JC said, backing up and darting around him.
"JC!" JC slammed the keycard in the door. "JC, don't--" Lonnie heard JC's sharp intake of breath. "What the fuck?"
***
Lance wasn't sure how it had happened, exactly. Wes had said to go to Joey's room because there was a problem with the security, and that most of them were trying to help with the crowds. But when he was ready to leave, there had been the slamming of his door and a hand on his back and an order to "sit on the motherfucking bed" or he'd get his "fucking head blown off." Lance sat down on the bed.
Then when he finally looked up he saw brown hair and a familiar face with a mouth turned up in a twisted smirk. And then he saw the eyes, the blue eyes with a wild and crazed look in them.
"Ken..." he breathed.
"You took my life," Ken said. "You took my life, you took my fame, my money, my fucking girlfriend...you took everything. And I don't know how you fucking did it but you took everyone's memories too. No one fucking knows who I am. I don't know how, I don't know why, but I know you have to pay."
Lance swallowed. "Ken, can't we at least talk about it a little?" But then Ken had been distracted by Randy and Dre suddenly in the room and one of them swearing under his breath when he saw the gun, and he got scared and pointed it straight at Lance, and that's where they'd been for a few minutes when they heard the shouts in the hallway.
"Ken, you're crazy," Lance had said. "We...You don't want to..." And then suddenly Lance was flooded with relief because even though Randy and Dre were near him now and Ken had his back to the door, the door opened again and Lance saw the most beautiful thing in the world. JC, hair messed up and eyes blazing, was standing in the doorway. And suddenly Ken had spun around and pointed the gun at him, sputtering, but then JC said something and drew back his fist and punched Ken in the face, twice, and would have done it some more and in some other places if Ken hadn't suddenly fallen down and dropped the gun.
And he would have jumped down and punched some more if Lonnie hadn't suddenly appeared in the doorway and held JC back and said in that quiet voice of his, "Well, situation resolved, I suppose."
And then JC had kicked Lonnie in the leg and run out of his grip and over to Lance and Lance had never felt anything more comforting then the feeling of JC's arms surrounding him while he cried with relief.