[chapter one]

(Several days into the New Year)

"Justin, scoot a little closer to Chris, please." The photographer asked, advancing the film on his camera.

"Oooh...goody. I love standing next to Chris...that way he only looks about three feet tall." Justin teased, sticking his tongue out at Chris.

"Shut up." Chris threw back. "Or I'll punch you in the knees."

JC burst into laughter along with Joey and Lance. "That was harsh, J. Funny, but harsh."

Justin threw JC a grin. "Just wait 'til I start in on that monstrous hair of yours. I swear, your hair doesn't get longer, it just gets taller. Can't Caitlin do something about that?"

"Watch the hair, fro boy." JC retorted. "At least mine is its natural color, not some concoction out of a bottle you invented yourself."

"Hey, what's wrong with artificial hair color?" Joey asked.

"What? You mean that flaming red hair wasn't natural? Shocking!" Chris joked.

"I kinda miss the red, you know? Maybe green next..." Joey mused.

"No. It might turn out like that blue disaster Lance had a couple of months ago." JC replied.

"Come on now, it wasn't that bad." Lance defended himself. His four friends stared at him mutely for a moment, and he laughed. "Ok, it was bad."

"Gentleman, a little focus please?" The photographer asked, ready to resume the shooting.

Off to one side of the set, Allison Evans stood watching the fivesome tease each other. She had recently been brought on board at Jive to helm the new MSN channel merger with the pop group. Though she had only worked for the company for a few weeks, she already felt comfortable with her new "charges". She had relocated to Orlando straight out of college in Boston, and the guys had been great about introducing her to new people around the company and making sure she felt at home in Orlando.

"Focus...that's like, a pun right? With the whole photography thing..." Joey began.

"Lame!" Chris retorted loudly.

Allison shook her head and laughed to herself as she listened to the five friends tease each other. They truly were a brotherhood, and she was confident there was nothing they wouldn't do for each other. But the teasing...they wouldn't have it any other way. She laughed again at the vision of Lance with blue hair and of Chris punching Justin in the kneecaps, then tamed her smile into a look of concentration as she turned to face the guys again.

She watched as Tony instructed the five men to alternately clown around, act serious, give their 1000-watt smiles, and try to create a pyramid akin to a cheerleading group. The five guys simply took all the instructions in stride, and it was obvious to Allison just how much time they had spent in front of a camera. They all seemed like natural subjects, though she could see different sides of them through the photo shoot. Chris tended to tug on his snug clothing, and Allison knew that he would rather be in a baggy sweatshirt than showing off his body. He clowned around more to hide his discomfort about being photographed. Joey always naturally went to the back of any group shot, as though he thought he were less important than the rest, or simply trying to blend into the background. JC seemed almost embarrassed by the pictures, as though he weren't worthy of a camera's film. Generally regarded as the best looking by so many fans, he seemed totally oblivious to his looks, and was more concerned with getting his band mates to behave or to help the photographer find the right pose. A perfectionist, yes, but a ham, no. Justin, on the other hand, seemed totally at ease, and appeared to really enjoy hamming it up for the camera. His poses, his smileshe was a pro when it came to pictures. Allison could tell he had been doing this his whole life. Lance seemed to mirror Joey in some waystended to try and fade to the back of the group. Unlike the rest of them, even during serious shots, Lance smiled. He also tended to be the first to put an arm around another's shoulders, or to lean against one of his friends, as though he were trying to present them as a group of friends, rather than as five professional singers.

"Ok, fellas. Let's switch the background and do some individual shots." Tony instructed. While he changed film and the background, the makeup on the five singers was touched up, and every lock of hair regelled into place. "Justin, you first." Tony called. Breathing a collective sigh of relief, the remaining four grabbed bottles of water and walked over to where Allison was stationed off to the side.

"Hey there, skippy. How are ya?" Joey asked with a wink.

"Dandy. How are you?" Allison replied with a smile for all of them.

"Hot. I hate photo shoots...the lights are always so hot." Joey said.

"Really? And I thought it was just you." Allison teased.

"Nah. JC is the one who gives off the real heat. Look at the boy...isn't he a hottie?" Joey teased his friend as JC rolled his eyes and took a big swig from his water bottle.

"Yeah, that's me. Mr. Hottie." JC deadpanned. "Bow down to my undeniably sexy looks."

Lance, Chris and Joey all gave JC half bows, then began laughing along with JC. Allison joined in their laughter, which she seemed to find constantly infectious.

"Man, Caitlin needs to put a leash on that ego." Lance teased JC.

"Believe me, I'm trying!" Came a voice from behind the group.

"Hi baby." JC cooed as the young woman bounced up to the guys with a grin.

"Hi honey." Caitlin said, planting a kiss on the tip of JC's nose. "Yum. you are so dead sexy with base on your face. What I wouldn't do to ravage you right now." She teased with a grin.

"Watch it, or I'll take you up on that." JC replied, pulling Caitlin close and giving her a quick hug, careful not to mess up his makeup. "Cait, I want you to meet Allison Evans, our publicity expert on the new web deal. Allison, this is Caitlin Peck, my girlfriend." JC said.

Caitlin spun around and extended her hand to Allison. "Hello, nice to meet you. So, you're in charge of keeping these boys in line when it comes to publicity, eh?"

"So it would seem." Allison replied, shaking Caitlin's hand and liking her immediately. "Nice to meet you too. I can't believe we haven't met before now. JC talks about you all the time."

"Gee, and I'm sure it's all positive, right sweetie?" She fluttered her eyelashes at JC, who rolled his eyes with a smile in return. "JC has mentioned you several times as well--it's nice to have a face to put with the name."

"You too." Allison enthused.

"So you have to boss these guys around in the publicity department, huh? Good luck with them. I swear, Lance is the only nice, polite one in the group, and I think deep down he's a tiger." Caitlin winked at Lance and smiled back at Allison.

"Thanks for the heads up." Allison returned with a smile, as she looked quickly to Lance, who appeared to be blushing slightly under his makeup.

"If you ever need help keeping them in line, give me a holler. I find that whips and chains work particularly well." Caitlin teased.

"Honey. I thought we weren't going to tell anyone about that little experiment." JC deadpanned.

"Oh. Sorry." Caitlin tried to look contrite. "Speaking of, I bought a new pair of handcuffs today, and I'm just dying to try them out. Joey, you busy?"

"Tease." Joey replied with a grin. "Anytime, anyplace, any position."

"Watch it, mister." JC replied, playfully punching Joey on the arm.

"Oh, I love it when men with makeup on fight over me." Caitlin teased as she turned to Allison again. "So how long have you worked for Jive?"

"Not very long. They brought me on board to helm the publicity and promotion for the new MSN channel devoted to Nsync." Allison replied.

"That sounds like it was a great deal. The possibilities are limitless, and the web definitely needs something like this. Very groundbreaking, it would seem." Caitlin replied seriously.

"Exactly. I'm really excited about the prospect of developing something totally new with the webmasters, something that really draws their fans in." Allison said.

"And they are totally ready for it too. Several of the message boards have lit up the last few days, speculating what is going to be available and included for fans who sign up for it." Caitlin said.

"You check message boards?" Allison asked curiously. "Looking for inside information on your man?" She teased lightly.

Caitlin laughed out loud. "You never know what you'll find. Yesterday, I found out that Chris is in fact, married, and that JC and Justin have been having an affair for quite a while. Explains all the time they spend together." Caitlin raised an eyebrow as she looked at JC, then smiled again. "Actually, I do it to keep up on what the fans are saying about our boys here, and then I can pass it along to them, without them having to surf the net themselves. Considering how hopeless all five of them are in front of a computer..."

"Really? I'd kind of gotten that impression myself." Allison said.

"I mean, they think JavaScript is a new kind of coffee, that DreamWeaver is a song, and that surfing the net means checking email." Caitlin smiled as she teased them. Allison joined in her laughter as Caitlin stuck her tongue out at the guys.

"By the way, I have goodies for you guys." Caitlin added. She pulled several books out of her shoulder bag and began handing them out. "Ok, the latest John Grisham for Joey. Here's Crichton's Airframe for Justin. Chris, here's Movie Megacheese for you by Mike Nelson. I read that...it is TOTALLY hysterical! Lance, I picked up a couple of things for you...some of those business reference books you needed, and the latest James Clavell book. And here honey, All the Pretty Horses...you big softie." Caitlin concluded with a soft smile for JC. The guys all murmured their thanks as they eagerly opened the covers of the books Caitlin had brought.

"If you don't mind my asking...what do you do, Caitlin?" Allison ventured.

Caitlin smiled at Allison. "I'm a librarian. Hence handing out books like Santa Claus. I consider it my civic duty to make sure these guys know how to read something more than a cue card." She teased. "Actually, they are all pretty big readers, so I just keep them stocked as much as possible. I also do a lot of internet work for the public library, which is why I'm so familiar with the net."

"That's really great!" Allison said. "If I ever need some research help, I'll know who to call."

"Absolutely!" Caitlin said smiling. "And if you ever need a dose of estrogen to counterbalance these guys, give me a call."

Allison smiled at the woman. "I'll do that. Thanks."

"So, who wants to take us working gals out to lunch?" Caitlin called to the guys.

"As soon as Justin is done hogging the camera and we get our head shots in, we'll get out of here and get some food." Chris said.

"I should really stay and do some work..." Allison started.

"Are you kidding? And miss the chance to have Chris pay for lunch? Not on your life!" Caitlin insisted.

"I'm not paying!" Chris said indignantly.

"Like we can afford lavish lunches on our salaries. You know, some of us have to WORK for a living. The least you can do is pay for our lunch." Caitlin said with a teasing smile. Chris grinned back and nodded.

"Good, then it's settled." Caitlin beamed, then turned to JC. "Now, about that affair you're having with Justin..."

(Later that evening)

Caitlin padded through JC's family room, turning off lights on her way. She walked slowly upstairs, balancing a cup of tea for herself and a bottle of water for JC. She entered the bedroom and kicked the door shut with one foot.

"Points for grace, sweetie." JC teased as she almost lost her balance in the maneuver. Caitlin stuck her tongue out at him as she crossed the room.

"Would you rather have this water in the bottle or poured over your head?" She teased back.

"Uh, the bottle is fine." JC returned. "Thanks." He said, taking the bottle from her and uncapping it. He took a long drink as Caitlin walked around the bed to her side. Clad only in woolen socks and an oversize Redskins jersey, she looked just as sexy as she did in her 'librarian gear', as he jokingly called her wardrobe.

Caitlin settled herself beside him in his bed, took a sip of tea, then set the cup on the bedside table. "So...what's your schedule for the next few days?" She paused slightly, then grinned. "Never in my life did I ever think I would care about someone's schedule so much."

"It looks like we're here for a few more days, then we head out to LA for the awards show, then we'll be back here, doing studio time and chillin' at the lovely Compound before the Super Bowl madness starts. But don't worry...we'll all be at your place tomorrow night for the blowout bash." JC laughed. "Let me rephrase that...the blowout bash for this week."

Caitlin laughed. "Yeah, the Shack is the hardcore party place. Not! We just like to have a few friends over on occasion. We wouldn't have nearly so many people if you five didn't have to bring an entourage everywhere you go." Caitlin teased.

JC pretended to pout. "Madam, I do not have an entourage. Merely several friends from work, managers, publicists, bodyguards..." He paused. "Ok, it's a little like an entourage." He conceded.

"Speaking of publicists...Allison seems really nice. I hope to get to know her better. Will she be there tomorrow night? Might be nice to have an actual friend who's a girl, rather than three immature male roommates to hang with all the time. And you, of course." Caitlin replied with a stifled yawn.

"Yeah, she'll be there. Ready to get some sleep, yawny girl? What time do you work in the morning?" JC asked.

"9am." Caitlin replied with another yawn. JC set the alarm next to him on the table, then flicked off the light. The both gravitated to the middle of the bed and settled into a comfortable embrace. "I love you." She said quietly.

"I love you too."

chapter two