*Disclaimer - I do not own any of the members of 'N Sync (you all must know this by now, but I still have to say it) they belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own all fictional characters such as Mike, Devon, Ashley, Carli, Rachel, etc. I do not like plagiarism, so please don't offend me by practicing the art. Thank you.

"Chris --," JC warned giving his friend a stern look.

"Don't you get all fatherly like on me, JC." Chris exclaimed, jumping to his own defense. "The guy wants me to walk like I'm carrying a load in my shorts! Tell me, what sane woman would find that at all desirable?"

Mike gritted her teeth to keep herself from jumping up and severely throttling each member of the group 'N Sync. She had been sitting at a table in the corner of the ballroom, where the auction was to be held, trying to write her introductions for each of the guys. And they hadn't stopped complaining for more than three seconds since they got there, which had been over an hour and a half earlier.

"Just suck it up and move on, Chris." JC snapped irritably.

"Joe, quit eating all the food!" Justin exclaimed from the other side of the room.

"Go play in traffic, Justin." Joe retorted, his temper rising for the occasion.

"Lance, stop beating that pen on the table!" Chris yelled.

"That's it!" Mike screamed over everyone's voices, shoving her chair back so hard it almost knocked over. "How old are you guys again? Two?" she strode purposefully toward Lance, who was banging away on the table with the pen in question. Mike snatched the pen from him and tossed it across the room, nearly pelting Joe in the head with it.

"If you start banging something else on this table, I'll break all your fingers. You got that?" she demanded. Startled, Lance nodded. She whirled to glare at the others.

"You," she yelled pointing to Joe. "Stop eating everything that isn't nailed down! You won't be able to fit in your tux by the end of the week at the rate you're going."

Joe sighed and sat down.

"And Justin, for God's sake, there's more than enough food for everyone here. Stop complaining. We all know that you're a growing boy and that you're the youngest and all, but that doesn't give you exclusive rights to being a pain in the ass." Mike snapped giving the younger man a stern look before turning to the last two men.

"Chris, grow up and act your age and do what you're told. You're supposed to be a role model. Besides, you're a friggen dancer and you do strange moves for a living. Improvise, dammitt!" she yelled then turned to face JC.

"And JC, stop being so bossy and worry about your own self for a change. These guys are old enough to know right from wrong, even though they don't act it most of the time. The father role is being played out to the max by you and if you don't stop, I swear to God I'll slap you're sorry ass."

She then glared at each member as the amused onlookers chuckled behind their hands.

"I don't want to hear another peep out of any of you. Kapish?" Mike hissed then turned back to her table.

"Peep." Chris started with a devious smile.

"Peep." Justin and Lance joined in. Joe and JC shook their heads, not daring to make a sound. Mike spun around to face Chris, her eyes dancing with humor. She strolled over to Chris, who folded his arms across his chest. JC turned his back to hide his smile of delight from her while everyone stopped to watch what would happen with anticipation.

"Christopher, why do you insist on making my life difficult?" she questioned with a sweet smile, dripping with sarcasm.

"Because you do the same to us. What do you think this auction thing does to all of us?" Chris shrugged nonchalantly.

"All right." Mike nodded becoming angry again. "Do whatever the hell you minuscule heart desires. I quit."

"What?" Chris questioned, stunned.

"You heard me. Take this job, and all your little temper tantrums, and shove it. I'm tired of working so hard to get things done and getting flack for it. You all agreed to this idea because it was for charity and I thought it might boost your image to the fans and the music business, but obviously you are too self absorbed and too self centered to look past your own discomfort. I thought you were a nice guy who would help people who were worse off than you. Obviously I was sorely mistaken because you have finally proven me wrong and I was just a fool to think that you guys were worth the aggravation, and the late nights, and the missing classes, and the failing exams, and the constant high phone bills, and the no vacations, and the canceling of dates with friends, and all the other things that comes with being your friend and co-worker at the fan club. I won't do it any more." she spat out reaching into her jeans pocket. She pulled out a set of keys and took off the keys to her office and to the fan cub from the ring and tossed them at Chris.

"Hasta, have a nice life." she stated icily as she grabbed her jacket and headed for the door.

"Damn pig-headed, mulish man." she railed quietly to herself as the door shut behind her.

"Okay, what just happened here?" Chris inquired with a confused look on his face.

"She isn't serious, is she?" Lance questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I think so." JC nodded, stepping down from the platform he had been standing on.

"Well, for crying out loud, I never thought she'd take it so seriously." Chris mumbled shaking his head.

"We have been a bit harsh on her. I mean, I don't like this any more than the rest of you, but she did have a point. We've been too self absorbed to remember that this is for a good cause." Justin rubbed his face tiredly as he sat down on a chair.

"Someone should go after her and apologize or something." Joe stated with finality. Everyone turned and pointedly looked over at JC.

"Why's it always gotta be me?" JC demanded defensively. "Chris was the one who started this whole mess."

"That's not the point, JC. And because you know how to fix these things. Besides, if anyone can get her to stay, you can." Chris shrugged with a devious half smile on his face. JC sighed shaking his head as he grabbed his jacket.

"You guys owe me for this one." he told them as he walked to the door. He quickly slipped on his jacket as a burst of icy wind hit him full on, making him shiver. Mike was nowhere to be seen, so he grabbed one of the vans that 'N Sync had rented for their week in New York and headed back to the hotel. He parked the van and walked inside the hotel going directly to Mike's room. He smiled ruefully, shaking his head when he heard her yelling the whole detailed afternoon to Ashley. JC knocked and waited a few moments. No one answered the door, so he opened it cautiously and strolled in to find Mike gesturing wildly with her hands while pacing the room as she packed her suitcase.

"And you can tell those derelicts that they can have their damn dress back." Mike railed throwing the silver creation on an empty bed. She turned and nearly came face to chest with JC.

"Um, excuse me? Ever hear of knocking? Better yet, ever hear of leaving angry people alone to vent their frustrations on inanimate objects? Leave. Now. I don't want to talk to you or anyone else." Mike stated hotly, glaring at the young man who took off his jacket and tossed it onto the bed where Ashley sat, eyes wide at what was happening in front of her.

"Well, if you'd stop yelling long enough to hear anything, you would have noticed that I did knock." JC snorted shaking his head.

"If I stopped yelling long enough...you cretin. Get outta here before I throw you out." she glared up at him, folding her arms across her chest.

"I can't do that." he shook his head.

"Sure you can. It's really easy. Here, let me help you." Mike retorted taking JC's arm in her grasp and hauling him toward the door.

"I'm not leaving, Mike. So forget it." JC dug his heels in and as hard as she tried to move him, he wouldn't budge.

"Why not? You think you haven't caused enough grief in my life? That I could possibly need or want more? What kind of sadistic person are you?" she exclaimed, releasing his arm and storming back over to her suitcase.

"Don't you think you're over reacting just a bit?" he inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Over reacting?" she demanded, turning to face him. "You think I'm over reacting? Tell me, JC, do you know how many hours I've put into everything I've done for the fan club? Do you know that I haven't gotten more than an hour of sleep a night since I started working for you? I bet you didn't know that. And I'm willing to bet that you didn't know I was failing three of my classes last semester and had to go on no sleep at all for two weeks before finals so I could catch up on everything." Mike railed taking a step forward with each of his steps backward.

"No, I didn't know. You've never told us anything. You always said everything was fine, and we believed that because you never said otherwise. You can't blame us for that." JC shook his head, not knowing that he was stepping closer and closer to the door.

"Men are so perceptive. You didn't notice that I was becoming more stressed? That I was becoming more emotional? That I was a bitch to everyone, including you?" she stated in astonishment.

"Of course I noticed. It was hard not to, but I figured if you really wanted to talk about it, you would without pressure from any of us." JC countered hotly.

"Leave." Mike stated coldly, reaching beyond him to open the door. The door had opened about six inches when JC's hand shot out and the door slammed shut with a loud bang.

"Now you listen to me, and you listen good." JC demanded, now backing Mike up with every step he took forward. "You told us we were acting childish. What about you? What does this whole charade prove to us? That you have a giant temper that you don't have a hold on? That you scream at everyone who doesn't do things your way? If that's not childish, I don't know what is."

Mike's jaw nearly hit the floor at what JC was saying to her.

"It was voted upon that I be the person to apologize to you for everyone and try to get you to stay, but now I don't think it's worth it. I mean, if one of our highest ranking employees acts like a child, how will we be presented to the world with this bachelor auction? Not in a way that I would like, nor would any of the others. We're not the only ones who need to grow up." JC shook his head with a snort.

"Well, glad to see that you can actually fight back. I never said I wasn't childish at times, because I know I am and I think it's total dog crap that you were nominated for this precious encounter when you didn't really do anything. Chris should be the one apologizing, not you. Now, leave." Mike cried out with frustration. She was beginning to feel ashamed of how she reacted earlier, and she didn't like that one bit. "And I don't think I should work for you any more either. It's getting too hard and I'm getting tired of everything."

"Mike, we don't want you to leave. But we do want you to be able to talk to us. Tell us if you think something's a good idea, not yell at us because we give you a hard time, because frankly, you give us a hard time every day. Yet we put up with it because we're your friends." JC explained, his voice lowering.

"But you're not really. You're my employers. There's a difference." she reminded JC softly, shaking her head.

"If you honestly think that, then I feel really sorry for you." JC shook his head, turning to leave.

"What else am I supposed to think?" she questioned suddenly. "It's not like any of you have talked to me outside of the fan club. None of us has ever hung out together. None of us have ever done anything together. That's an employer/employee relationship, not a relationship that friends have."

JC turned, opening his mouth to say something, but nothing came to mind because she was right. None of them had made the effort to see her after fan club hours. "It's not that we didn't want to. We all did. We just didn't know what kind of reception we'd get if we showed up at your dorm room." he shrugged with a sigh.

"Probably a better one than you thought." Mike mumbled as she zipped her suitcase shut. She turned to JC and sighed softly. "I'm going back to Orlando for a few days. I'll be back on Friday for the auction, after that, I don't know."

JC nodded silently as Mike slipped on her jacket. She turned to Ashley with a rueful smile. "I'll call you when I get back to the room. Tell you if you've gotten any mail and crap."

Ashley nodded with a laugh, glad that the yelling had finally stopped, as entertaining as it was. "All right. I'll be here. Where else am I gonna go?"

"I dunno. Aruba?" Mike smiled impishly as she headed toward the door. She stepped out into the hallway and walked to the elevators. The doors opened and Chris stepped out.

"Hey." he stated giving her a curious glance.

"Hi." Mike returned with a tentative smile.

"Um, I just wanted to say I was sorry." Chris sighed suddenly.

"Me too. I didn't mean what I said. I do enjoy working for you guys, it just gets a little hard sometimes." she replied with a shrug.

"Then why are you leaving?" he questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Because I need a few days to relax. I'm cashing in on a few of my vacation days. I'll be back on Friday though." Mike told him as she pulled her suitcase into the elevator.

"All right. Have fun." Chris smiled as the elevator doors shut with finality.

It had been two days since Mike had left, and their lives had been unusually quiet during their off time. No one was around to pick on them and they actually missed the easy bantering that Mike had done with them. Ashley was curled up in a chair, reading a book while the other watched Rode Rules on MTV.

"You know, we could go see her just to hang out for a day." JC suggested suddenly.

"Yeah right. She'd bite our heads off and demand why we had to ruin her vacation." Justin snorted rolling his eyes.

"I don't think so. I think we might be surprised." JC countered with a laugh, remembering the short lived fight the two had days earlier.

"Yeah, surprised that she has a butcher knife in her hands. Sure, why not? I've always liked to live on the edge." Chris shrugged climbing to his feet. After making a few phone calls, they had gotten five plane tickets on the next flight to Orlando, wich was leaving in a little over four hours. They all packed a small bag and piled into the vans then headed to the airport. The flight was a comfortable one, with hardly any people on it, and most of them had slept most of the way. When they reached Orlando, they all headed to their homes to drop off their stuff and grab something to eat before meeting at Lance's house to drive over to the college.

Once at the college, Ashley led the way to the room she and Mike shared. It was on the third floor of the dormitory farthest from the center of the campus. Ashley opened the door and rushed inside.

"Honey, I'm home!" she called out teasingly. Mike was lounging in bed, reading the book Phantoms by Dean Koontz, wearing her old, faded sweats.

"Hey, what are you doing back?" Mike inquired with a yawn as she sat up. JC turned the corner and smiled at her with Chris and Joe right behind.

"Well, we wanted to see what was going on. Maybe see if you wanted to go hang out at Disney for a while today." JC shrugged. Mike burst out laughing and flopped back down onto her bed.

"Um, yeah. I guess I can do that, but I have to see how much money I have left in the bank first." she replied through a smile.

"Ack, don't worry about it. It twill be our treat." Chris replied with a bad Scottish accent. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm Scottish, so watch it there, buddy." she grinned.

"Hey, I'm a third Scottish meself." Chris countered.

"I'm two thirds. Where do you think I get my temper from?" Mike replied as she climbed to her feet. She quickly got dressed and soon they were heading out to the theme park.

The afternoon was filled with laughter and good natured teasing from all parties involved. None of them had had that much fun in a long while, so it felt good to be able to act like a little kid again. They all had laughed so hard, tears h ad sprung to their eyes when Chris posed for a picture with Donald Duck. Chris had made it apparently obvious that he loved Donald.

They now sat in Ashley and Mike's room, talking about anything that came to mind. All in all, it had been a good day. People learned more about people, and things had become less awkward with everyone. There were still moments when no one knew what to say, but those moments were becoming less frequent.

"So, have you finished the introductions yet?" Justin inquired as he popped the top of the can of soda he was holding.

"Yeah, the rough draft anyway." Mike shrugged flopping down on her bed, where JC sat dozing lightly. She smiled with amusement, shaking her head.

"Does he always do this?"

"Pretty much." Joe nodded with a laugh. "Why do you think we call him Sleepy Spice?"

"Oh, I thought it was because his singing puts you to sleep, Joe. We all know how much you love him." Mike laughed, leaning back against the wall.

"And don't you forget it." Joe nodded as he pulled Ashley into his arms. Chris, Lance and Justin all climbed to their feet.

"So, what is there to do around here?" Chris inquired.

"You're looking at it. We college students don't have that much time for fun, so when we have any free time, we quite resemble zombies. We get this far off look on our faces, and we just sit there, staring at nothing. It's horrible, I know, but oh, so relaxing." Mike replied rolling her eyes.

"I know, I remember. I went to college too." Chris replied with a shrug.

"You never seem to let any of us forget that." Lance laughed giving Chris a playful shove. Chris gave Lance a sideways glare, lips twitching in a smile.

"So, we know that Joe will be entertained with Ash, but what are we going to do about JC?" Justin questioned, shaking his head and the other's antics.

"Let him sleep." Lance shrugged.

"We can't do that. He'll wake up and wonder where everyone's run off to." Mike shook her head.

"Then you wake pretty boy up. Last time I did, I nearly got my head bitten off." Chris shook his head, a look of mock fear on his face, as he backed away from the bed.

"Wuss." Mike smiled, leaning over the bed to wake JC. "Hey, JC, get up. We're gonna go walk around for a while."

JC opened one eye to glare up at her. "I'm not moving." he stated closing his eye again.

"Fine. Suit yourself. We were only gonna head to the jazz club a few blocks away, but if you don't want to go, I can understand." Mike nodded as she picked up her light weight jacket and slipped it on.

"All right," JC groaned as he sat up. "Who told her my weakness?"

"No one did, silly man. Look at what you listen to most of the time. It's not hard to guess." Mike laughed heading for the door. JC, Justin, Chris and Lance all followed her out of the dorm, leaving Joe and Ashley to amuse themselves for the time being.

"Man, this campus is dead." Justin exclaimed loudly.

"Well, Justin, most of the students are on Winter Vacation. Duh." Chris retorted giving the younger man a playful shove.

"I don't wanna go to the club, I'm gonna prowl around here for a while." Lance stated suddenly.

"I better go with him to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble." Chris sighed as Lance walked away from them.

"I'm gonna go with them. Somehow, jazz isn't for me tonight." Justin smiled devilishly and followed the others.

"Why am I beginning to feel like that was planned for our benefit?" Mike inquired raising an eyebrow.

"Who knows with them. Once they get an idea into their head, it's hard pressed to get it out, no matter what it is." JC shrugged as the two continued walking slowly toward the club.

"And what is it that they've gotten into their head?" Mike questioned, glancing over at him.

"That the two of us should get together. Long story. Started when we were getting fitted for those tuxes." JC laughed shaking his head.

"You and me, together? As in a couple kind of thing?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." he nodded with a faint smile.

"I thought you boys weren't allowed to date, let alone have girlfriends." Mike shook her head, their walking had slowed to a very leisurely stroll.

"Joe kinda ruined the life of monogamy for us." he shrugged. "Besides, we're not monks. We do like to have a good time with the opposite sex."

"I never thought you didn't. I was just saying…." her voice trailed off as she looked down at the ground in front of her.

"Just out of idle curiosity, what would you say?" JC inquired suddenly.

"What would I say to what?"

"If I asked you out, what would you say?" JC pressed as they came to a full stop.

"I don't know, JC. We work together. Hell, you're my boss. It would be too weird." Mike shook her head, turning to continue walking.

"You're fired." he told her suddenly.

"What?" she demanded spinning to face him again.

"Just for tonight, you're fired. Now what do you say? You don't work for me anymore, so you can't use that as an answer." JC shook his head.

"I'd say, friends dating can ruin a friendship." Mike sighed, her heart painfully thudding in her chest. She was clutching at straws, and part of her really did want to date him, but she wasn't quite sure.

"Another cop out." he sighed as they began to stroll again.

"That was not a cop out." Mike exclaimed tossing her hands into the air.

"Then what was it?" he countered looking over at her.

"It was the truth." she replied defiantly.

"Was it?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes!" she practically yelled.

"What would you do right now if I kissed you?" he questioned softly as he stopped walking again.

"What?" she demanded turning to face him.

"You heard me. What would you do?"

"JC, what are you talking about? As far as I knew, you could barely tolerate me, and now you want to kiss me?" Mike made a face as he stepped closer to her.

"Something like that, and it was never just tolerance. I've pretty much always been attracted to you." JC told her softly, taking her hand in his. She glanced down at their joined hands then back up at his face. He reached out and softly traced her lips with a fingertip.

"You can't do this to me, JC." she pleaded softly.

"Just once. I just want to know." he whispered leaning down. His lips covered hers in a soft, warm kiss that made her heart beat a wild staccato. Mike's hands rested on his shoulders, then slowly inched them up to rest around his neck, hand resting on his nape. Just once will never be enough, JC. Not for me. JC's hands encompassed her waist as she leaned into him. After a few moments, he pulled away, slightly breathless and a bit confused.

Mike peered up at him, surprise and trepidation showing in her eyes. She was shocked clear down to her toes. She hadn't expected a kiss from him could flip her world upside down, but the kiss had been electrifying. Something that had become tangible between them when only thoughts and glances had prevailed before. Confusion set in, and she sighed closing her eyes.

"No regrets. It was just a simple kiss." JC told her softly.

"That's not what I would regret, JC." Mike shook her head, turning her back on him so she could collect her thoughts.

"Than what would you regret?" he inquired, taking a step forward.

"Nothing." she shook her head. "We should get going. We'll miss the first set."

"Forget the club. What would you regret?" JC replied, impatiently raking a hand through his hair.

"It's not important. Nothing worth mentioning." Mike sighed as she began to walk again.

"Oh, no you don't. Don't walk away from me, Mike. At lest not without explaining that cryptic remark." he shook his head as he grabbed her arm. Mike glanced back at him and sighed, closing her eyes.

"We wouldn't be able to finish." she finally whispered.

"Finish? Finish what?"

"What dates and kissing lead to, most of the time anyway." Mike snorted tossing a hand into the air.

"And what do they lead to?"

"You know as well as I do that they lead to relationships." she exclaimed loudly.

"And would that be so bad?" JC raised an eyebrow.

"No! Yes! I don't know." she sighed, gazing into his eyes.

"I don't think it would be bad. Actually, I think it would be a wonderful complication in my life. You're the only complication I want in my life." JC shrugged with a small smile.

"The last thing you need right now is a complication. You're working so hard to make a career out of your singing, and with a girlfriend tagging along, it would make that very difficult. I won't do that to you." Mike stated angrily.

"I want you to do that to me. Just because I love my music too, doesn't mean I can't share myself with someone." he shook his head.

"Josh, I don't know."

"One date. That's all I'm asking for. Just one date." JC smiled convincingly at her. She sighed, hiding a sad smile of her own. She could take one heart break from him.

"All right. One date." she sighed in agreement.

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