It had begun with a phone call. A mans voice giving Henry Wilkins the new address of JC Chasez.

But really it had been luck.

It had been pure luck and Henry Wilkins knew it. It had been luck that he’d had a hard day at work. It had been luck that he’d had the three bucks in his wallet to buy a beer. It had been luck that he’d taken his mini camera with him. And it had been luck that JC Chasez had walked into the bar he’d chosen to go to that evening so he could prepare to stake out JC’s apartment. The journalism gods had been with him that night.

Henry smiled at the pictures that rested on his desk. There were five of them. Two of them inside the bar with this short girl wrapped around JC. A girl who was not the girlfriend everyone knew he had. The other three were taken outside the bar where JC was stumbling home supported by this same girl.

Henry had followed them in his car. He saw them both enter a small apartment building. He’d stayed all night and the girl hadn’t left. She’d left the next day with JC and then she’d come back alone. They’d both been wearing different clothes when they came out that morning.

Not only was JC with another girl. It appeared that he lived with the other girl. Wouldn’t all the little twelve year-olds parents love that? They’re little girls were idolizing a man who was living with a woman who was obviously his girlfriend.

Henry smiled to himself and figured he should toast the occasion at the bar where it all started. This was going to make his career.

The girl had dark curly hair. Her eyes were full of life and they stared at the man in front of her with hope.

"Can you believe it’s been a month?" she asked. "Can you believe we’ve been going out for a month?"

The man across the table from her swallowed hard. "I know," he said.

"I mean it just seems like yesterday that I met you at that party," the girl continued. "I didn’t even know your name until the next day." She giggled suddenly. She giggled a lot.

Brad grimaced. What had he ever seen in her? It was so obvious that they weren’t going to work out. Not when the girl he wanted had been in front of him for the last year.

"What did you want to talk about?" the girl asked. She leaned toward Brad. Her eyes smiled at him— challenged him. She still flirted with him all the time, even though they’d been going out for a month, almost.

"I don’t know how to say this Melissa," Brad said. He looked down at the table. He hated breaking up with people, but he didn’t want to be with her either.

The smile on Melissa’s face faded. This conversation wasn’t starting out well.

"Just say it." Melissa’s voice was hard. It wasn’t a tone of voice Brad had ever heard her use.  He didn’t like it.

"I don’t want to do this anymore," Brad said simply. "I think we’d be better off as friends."

Melissa just nodded, but her eyes spit fire. "You bastard. Who is she?"

Brad was shocked. "What?"

"You’ve been with someone else haven’t you? It’s that girl from the bar right?"

Brad didn’t answer immediately, trying to figure the best way to formulate his answer.

The hesitation was enough for Melissa. "Goodbye Brad," she said. She got up from the table and stormed out of his apartment. The door slamming shook the bookcases resting against the walls.

Brad rested his forehead in his clenched fists. That could have gone better. But at least it was over.

JC stared at the drab curtain that hid his bunk from the rest of the bus. He felt like he knew every thread, every slight variation of color and every flaw in the fabric. He’d been lying there for the last three days only leaving the small confines to perform and then to go into the hotel where he shut himself in his room.

He blinked once and continued to stare at the curtain. He could feel the road moving underneath the large wheels of the bus.

Suddenly the curtain was thrown back and JC was staring into Chris’s smiling face.

"Hey baby," Chris said seductively. "You miss me?"

JC blinked again. He didn’t move his head at all against the pillow.

"I’m not in the mood Chris."

Chris grinned evilly. "Baby, you’re never in the mood anymore. Show me some luvin’ huh?"

Chris began to climb into JC’s bunk.

For the first time in days JC willingly moved. His arm shot out and grabbed Chris’s shoulder. He pushed weakly.

"I’m not in the mood to joke around, okay?" he said tiredly.

Chris nodded and slid his feet back to the ground. He was suddenly serious.

"Josh, we’re worried about you."

"I’ll be fine," JC said. He closed his eyes signaling to Chris that the conversation was over.

Chris refused to listen though. "You aren’t fine Chasez," he said fiercely. "You’ve been moping for three days. You aren’t talking, you aren’t eating, you’re starting to miss notes and steps…"

"What would you do if you discovered that Dani had been using you the whole time you were together?" JC asked as fiercely as he could muster. It wasn’t very fierce. He was in too much of a funk.

"I’d be doing what you’re doing," Chris said. "I’d be hating life. But I’d also be beginning to look around me and see that life is going on. There are other women."

"Leave me alone Chris," JC said.

"Not until you start living again Chasez," Chris said stubbornly.

"Please Chris," JC said.

Chris stared at JC intently. Finally he nodded, backing up and closing the curtain of the bunk.

JC sighed and closed his eyes praying that he’d fall into a deep sleep and wake up from this nightmare.

Chris opened the door to the TV lounge quietly. He saw the other three guys sprawled on the couches watching a movie. They all looked up hopefully as Chris entered.

"Well?" Justin asked eagerly. His face fell when he saw Chris’s face though. "Didja ha any luck?"

Chris shook his head and flopped onto an empty spot on one of the couches. "He’s stuck in his own world."

"What are we going to do?" Lance asked. "He should have snapped out of it by now."

"Ah swear da next time ah see dat bitch…" Justin began, but Lance shot him a glare. Justin creased his eyebrows and stared out the window at the passing landscape.

The room became silent with worry.

"Has he talk to Abby sin we left?" Justin asked suddenly.

The rest of the guys shrugged.

"She a gurl," Justin said intelligently. "She prolly be able tah help."

The guys felt the bus slow down as they reached their destination. Tall skyscrapers surrounded the street they were driving down.

"Call her," Lance said. "It can’t hurt."

"Ah will," Justin said smiling. "Afta da show."

The bus stopped and the guys struggled to their feet leaving the TV room.

 "What’s the matter Brad?" Abby asked as she looked at the man standing next to her behind the bar.

Brad shrugged and continued to wipe down the counter.

"Don’t give me that," Abby said. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

Brad turned and gave her a feeble smile. "I’ll be fine."

"It helps to talk about it," Abby said. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Now what’s the matter?"

Brad turned back to the counter and continued wiping. Abby thought he wasn’t going to answer.

"I broke up with Melissa this afternoon," he said quietly. His voice was soft and sounded pained.

"You what?" Abby asked. She was shocked. As long as Brad had been with Melissa it was possible to believe that maybe she was imagining things in the way he acted around her. Now that they’d broken up, that didn’t seem so feasible. "Why?"

"It just wasn’t going to work out," Brad said. "She was, I don’t know. It just wasn’t working for me anymore."

Abby felt her heart begin to beat more rapidly. Had he broken up with Melissa because of her?

She reached up and gave Brad a hug. "I’m sorry," she said.

"It’s not your fault," Brad said. He held her close. "And besides we’d hardly been going out. What was it? A month?"

"Hey, that’s longer than I’ve been with anyone in two years," Abby said. She pulled away.

"Well," Brad trailed off as a customer came to the bar. It was a man in his late 20’s. He took the drink Brad prepared and walked over to a table in the corner. His eyes remained fixed on the bar and the two people behind it.

"Brad," Abby began nervously. Her palms were sweating and her throat felt dry. "If you want company sometime to, you know, keep your mind off of Melissa, we could like watch a movie or something. Josh’s apartment seems so empty without him so I wouldn’t mind the company."

Abby was sure that Brad could hear her heart beating.

"Really?" For the first time that evening Brad had a smile on his face. He sounded hesitant when he continued. "I’d like that."

Abby tried not to smile too exuberantly. "So would I."

The lights flashed around her as she strolled down the red carpet. She had a boa wrapped around her arms and a skimpy dress covered her body. She tilted her head back and smiled at the lights going off around her. She turned around striking a different pose.

"Stop, stop, stop," a man said and immediately all the flashing lights stopped. "Tammy, you need to smile with your eyes too, not just your mouth."

Tammy nodded. "I’m sorry Luc, I just have had a lot on my mind recently."

"It’d better be something a five minute break will heal," Luc said. He turned away towards the men with cameras. "Take five."

Tammy sighed and let the Boa drop off of her arms. She couldn’t go on like this. She didn’t love Josh, but he was constantly on her mind. He was affecting her work.

She’d done what was right. There was no question about that. He’d needed, she’d needed him to know the truth.

It was all Josh’s fault that she was having problems in the shoot today. She’d been moving up in the world when she’d met him. She’d been making a name for herself. And then she’d been the girl that was unofficially dating JC. And now she was going to have to start all over.

Tammy looked in the mirror. Her eyes looked sad, but there was a hint of anger. It was all his fault that she was no longer happy. The anger in her eyes surged. She smiled and it surged some more.

She had to make a name for herself on her own. That thought made her happy. Her eyes reflected that happiness. To do something for herself.

"You ready Tammy?" Luc asked.

Tammy nodded and turned on her dazzling smile, the one that had helped her get into the industry. Her life was going to get better.

She walked back to the runway and began twirling around again. The flashes started again. This was the life. This was the life that she wanted. Without Josh.

Abby was curled up on the lounge chair when the phone rang. She picked it up on the third ring. It took a lot of effort to move from the lounge chair when the cushions conformed to fit her body.

"Hello?" she asked tiredly.

"Bee?" a male voice said. "Whassup?"

Abby sat up straight, immediately feeling herself sink into the cushions more.

"Justin? How are you?"

"Guh," Justin said. "How ya doin’ wi out mah bro?"

Abby looked around the apartment. So many things just screamed JC. "This apartment is really big," she said. "It seems empty without him."

Justin laughed. "Thas cause he be big daddy."

Abby laughed. She sobered quickly though. "How is he? I’ve been concerned."

Justin’s laughing stopped quickly too. "He’s not guh," he said. "Ha you talk to him ah all?"

Abby shook her head as she answered. "No. He said he was going to call me but he hasn’t."

"He be takin’ this Tammy thing worse dan I expected," Justin said. "He don’t be eatin’ or sleepin’ an he fuckin’ up his stuff on stage."

"Shit," Abby said quietly. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Can you talk to him?" Justin asked in a moment of linguistic clarity.

"I can try," Abby said. "Do you think his cell phone is on?"

Justin shrugged. "I can gi you da hotel phone," he said.

"Okay," Abby said. She maneuvered to the coffee table where a pen and paper rested. She wrote down the number. "I’ll see what I can do, okay?"

"Thanks bee," Justin said. He sounded happier than he had at the beginning of the conversation.

"Good luck with everything," Abby said. "I’ll talk to you later, okay?"

"Night Bee," Justin said. "Good luck."

Abby smiled and hung up the phone. She stared at the phone number in her hands. How was she supposed to cheer JC up? What do you say to someone who’s had their heart broken?

She picked up the phone and dialed the number. It rang twice.

"Hello?" a tired voice asked.

"Josh?" Abby asked. The voice didn’t sound like him.

"Abby?" JC asked. "Why are you calling through the hotel phone?"

"I was just on the phone with Justin. He gave me the number."

"Oh," JC said. He didn’t really know what to say to the girl on the other end of the line. "How are you doing?"

"Good," Abby said. She wanted to tell him about Brad, but didn’t think that would be good considering his own circumstances. "How are you?"

There was a long pause. "I’m okay," JC answered finally.

Abby felt a small surge of anger. "That’s bullshit Josh." She regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth.

"Well how would you be doing Abby?" JC asked. His voice was bitter. "Can you even imagine what I’m going through? Can you even imagine what it’s like to feel this used by someone."

"Fuck you Josh," Abby spat. "I do know what you’re going through okay. When Carl announced that he’d found another guy what do you think I did? Jumped up and down with joy?"

JC was silent and Abby continued.

"I moped okay. I moped a lot. I felt hurt, angry and alone. But then I woke up to the fact that Carl wasn’t going to come back. I moved on."

JC was silent still. Abby could hear his breathing.

"I’m sorry," JC said finally.

Abby sighed. "I didn’t tell you that to make you feel bad Josh," she said. "I told you that so you could know that I understand."

"Why won’t people just let me mope?" JC asked. His voice was weak.

"Because it’s not healthy," Abby said. "You get in this cycle of moping and the longer it goes on the harder it is to break."

"I know," JC said.

"Everyone is concerned about you Josh," Abby said. "I’m concerned about you."

"I loved her so much," JC said. "I’ve never loved anyone before and she was just using me."

Abby could hear that JC had begun crying.

"I know Josh," Abby said. "You can’t let her win though."

"What do you mean?" JC asked. He sniffled.

"What I mean is that she used you, she hurt you and she’s still hurting you. You can’t let her dominate your life. You can’t let her control you like she did for the last seven months."

"Uh-huh," JC said.

"I don’t want to take away from your hurt," Abby began. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Hold on one second okay Josh? There’s someone at the door."

"Okay," JC said. He sniffled again.

Abby got up off the lounge chair and went to the door. She opened it and saw Brad standing there.

"Hey!" she said, a little too enthusiastically.

"Hey," he said. "You said if I needed company I could come over…"

"Of course," Abby said. She stepped back into the room, allowing Brad to enter. "I’m on the phone with Josh, but it shouldn’t be too much longer, okay?"

"Okay," Brad said. He felt jealously begin to well up inside of him. He walked over to the green curved couch and sat down. His eyes were trained on Abby though as she picked up the phone again.

"You still there?" she asked.

"Yeah," JC answered. "You’ve got company?"

"Brad just showed up. He and Melissa broke up today."

JC laughed suddenly. "Oh really?"

"It’s not like that," Abby protested. She could feel herself turning red under Brad’s stare.

"Sure," JC said. "Hmm… you guys alone in our apartment. Please use your own bed, okay? I don’t want to even have to think about what might have been happening on my sheets while I’m gone."

"Pervert," Abby said laughing. She saw that Brad’s eyes were still trained on her. She blushed again.

She continued seriously. "I don’t want to take away from your hurt, but please try to go out and have a little fun. It makes life more bearable I promise."

"Okay," JC said sounding serious again. "Maybe I’ll go see what the guys are up to."

Abby smiled. "That sounds like a good idea. And please Josh, if you need to talk call me. I’ve given my lecture now so you can vent any time you want, okay?"

"I’ll take you up on that," JC said, a smile evident in his voice.

"Good, now go have some fun, okay?"

"Will do mom," JC said. "Thanks Abby."

"No prob. Night Josh."

"Night."

They hung up the phone together.

Abby turned to Brad and smiled. "Sorry about that. Josh is still having a hard time."

Brad nodded. "So is that offer to watch a movie still open?"

"Of course," Abby said. She looked at the couch next to Brad and slowly sat down. "I was just getting ready to watch one actually."

"Sounds good," Brad said. He casually put his arm across the top of the couch, causing Abby to rest her head on it. She yawned.

"You can lie down if you want," Brad said. He patted his lap as Abby looked at him askance. "I don’t bite, I promise."

Abby smiled and rested her head on his lap. This had to be a dream come true.

The building was dark. All of the windows looked like black chasms on the building front. There was one light on the fifth floor— a single light on the eerily quiet street.

Henry Wilkins sat at his desk. He had a grin on his face; a grin that signified the puzzle had gotten even better.

There were the five previous pictures on his desk and there were two new ones.

That girl, JC’s new girl, had her arms wrapped around a boy who could be an A&F model. They looked quite cozy.

And then there was the same boy going into the apartment building that JC and that girl lived in.

Nothing sold magazines faster than a love triangle and this article that Henry was going to write was going to be the hottest story in years. Celebrities, bars, models and ordinary girls. What more could he ask for.

This story was going to make his career.

Justin and Lance looked up as they heard a hesitant knock on Lance’s door.

Lance hopped off of his bed and shuffled to the door. It was late, almost one a.m. He had no clue who would be knocking.

He opened the door slowly, suppressing a yawn.

"Josh?" he said suddenly awake.

JC smiled. It felt good to smile. It lessened the pain inside of him somehow. "Hey, I thought I’d come see what you guys were up to."

Justin had hopped off of the bed also and come to the door. "We doin’ nuhting," he said. "You welcome to come hang out dough."

JC smiled again and came in the door. "Okay."

"So what’s happening?" Lance asked. He was very confused as to why JC was suddenly looking better.

"I just talked to Abby," JC said with a grin.

Lance and Justin exchanged a look, mentally high-fiveing each other.

"Guess who showed up at her apartment as we were on the phone."

"Who?" Justin asked. That wasn’t what he expected JC to say.

"Brad!" JC said. He was way too excited about this.

"Brad?" Lance asked.

"Dat guy?" Justin said.

"Yup," JC said. "And he just broke up with his girlfriend for our Abby."

Justin and Lance exchanged another look.

"Isn’t that great?" JC asked. "Now we have something to tease Abby about."

"Yeah," Lance said.

"Great," Justin said.

"So what were you guys going to do?" JC asked. He actually was starting to feel a little better.

"Watch a mooie?" Justin said.

"Sounds good," Lance said.

JC nodded. He sprawled in one of the hotel chairs and Justin and Lance settled on the bed again. There was only one thing he wished for. The lounge chair that was in the apartment… with Abby.