[chapter eight]

(Caitlin's house. 6:01pm.)

JC parked his Cherokee in Caitlin's driveway as Lonnie parked in the street in the unobtrusive van all the security personnel used to "trail" their charges. JC hopped out and walked up the rest of the drive to knock on the front door. He could hear a stereo blaring Korn's latest CD and a few shouts.

Just as JC raised his hand to knock, the door was thrown open. A very surprised Alex looked out to see JC with his hand still in the air, sporting an equally surprised expression.

"JC! Hey! Come on in! Caitlin is probably going to be a minute or two late, but come on in and wait." Alex said as he held the door open wider to admit JC into the front hallway.

"Thanks Alex." JC responded, stepping inside.

"BIRD!!! JC is here!" Alex shouted just as Scout came into the hallway at a dead run.

JC dove to one side as Scout gave a yell and tackled Alex on the way out the door. A brief scuffle ensued as Scout and Alex screamed obscenities and taunts at each other. JC decided to get out of the line of fire and walked into the large, airy living room right off the front entryway.

Moments later, he was greeted to the sight of Caitlin racing down the stairs, Jon right on her heels. "This is SO not funny!" Caitlin was shrieking as Jon picked her up and carried her outside onto the back patio. Jon dumped her unceremoniously onto some lawn furniture, then hustled back inside and locked the door behind him.

"Hi, you must be JC. I'm Jon, nice to meet you." Jon extended his hand and smiled, as though nothing were out of the ordinary.

"Hi Jon. Nice to meet you." JC responded. "Um...is everything ok?" He asked skeptically.

"Ok? Oh yeah. Sure." They both turned as they heard the front door slam and Scout walked in. "Mission accomplished?" Scout asked.

"You betcha." Jon responded. "Mike, this is JC. JC, this is Mike, otherwise known as Scout."

Scout and JC shook hands and greeted each other. "So, uh, what's going on?" JC asked.

"Oh, that." Jon gestured outside to the lawn furniture that was now sitting vacant. "Alex and Bird were arguing with each other a few minutes ago about a bunch of stuff, and we've found that if we can separate them, then get them pissed of at US, they'll stop arguing in a hurry. The 'lock-out' method is a new tactic for us, but seems to be working so far. I don't hear any arguing." Jon said with a grin.

"So...they're locked out of the house so that they'll settle their differences?" JC asked.

"Either that, or the time it takes them to get in will give us enough time to formulate an escape plan, since the wrath of Alex and Bird combined can be ugly." Scout said with a serious look on his face.

JC laughed, liking these two roommates of Caitlin's immediately. Moments later, they heard voices in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

"Shit! Run!" Scout declared, as he and Jon took off running. "Nice to meet you JC!" He called over his shoulder.

"You too!" JC hollered after them. Looking up, he saw Caitlin descending the stairs, at a more reasonable pace this time. She was wearing jeans and a knit top in a green that made her eyes seem even greener. She was grinning, and her cheeks were flushed a bright red from all the running.

"Hi JC! Sorry about all that...were you waiting long?" Caitlin asked smoothly as she came to stand in front of him.

"Nope, just got here. Everything ok?" JC asked with a grin.

"Perfect." Caitlin said with a dazzling smile. Grabbing her wallet and keys, she turned to JC. "Ready to go?" She asked.

"Ready when you are." JC responded, walking with Caitlin to the front door.

"After opening the door, Caitlin turned towards the family room. "Bye Bonehead! Bye Dork! Bye Dumbass!" She shouted as she turned to close the front door behind her.

JC burst out laughing. "Typical evening at home, huh?" He asked teasingly.

"You have no idea." Caitlin responded, laughing.

"So, how did you get back into the house?" JC asked.

"There's a tree outside the house that reaches the roof. We just climb up that, hop on the roof, and then boogie over to my bedroom window. Simple." Caitlin said with a grin.

After settling into JC's car and deciding to try an Italian restaurant not far from Caitlin's house, JC steered the car through the neighborhood while sneaking glances at Caitlin. "Soooo.... what were you and Alex arguing about?" He ventured.

"Who squealed?" Caitlin asked with a straight face.

"Jon and Scout told me they separated you two to stop a fight." JC said.

"We were fighting about all kinds of stupid stuff...chores around the house, the enormous phone bill Alex racked up, where we are spending Christmas, who's turn it is to go to England...you name it, we were probably fighting about it. The best part was Alex trying to give me a curfew tonight." Caitlin said, sticking her tongue out with a look of distaste on her face.

"I bet that went over." JC said.

"Like a lead balloon. Alex tends to be a BIT overprotective." Caitlin replied. "Needless to say, we fight about all kinds of things, but hardly any of it is serious, life-threatening or even that interesting...but Jon and Scout are hypersensitive to conflict, so they feel the need to host an intervention on a regular basis. But how was your day, dear?" Caitlin asked sweetly, trying to steer the conversation back to JC.

"Good. We made a lot of progress on some lyrics and met with a bunch of management people to do some scheduling and planning for the next few months. It was pretty productive." JC responded.

JC and Caitlin chatted all the way to the restaurant, and then walked inside to get a table, Lonnie lumbering behind them about 30 paces. After sitting down and ordering drinks, Caitlin looked around and saw Lonnie seated several tables away, trying to keep a low profile.

"I feel bad. He just has to sit there and look at us?" Caitlin asked. "Maybe he would like to join us?"

JC smiled at her naïveté about the security that constantly surrounded *Nsync. He loved Lonnie, and all the guys on the security team. They put themselves at risk to keep JC and his four companions safe, and he imagined that the job must get tiresome or boring after a while. But, the security guys never complained, and most of the time JC didn't notice them--which meant they were doing their job of security really well.

"Nah. The security guys are used to this stuff. Actually, you probably did him a favor. Lonnie loves Italian." JC said with a smile.

Caitlin smiled in return. "Oh. Ok. So, what should we order?"

JC and Caitlin had a leisurely dinner in the restaurant. JC was asked to sign a few autographs by young fans, but for the most part, dinner was peaceful and uninterrupted. Caitlin was fascinated to watch JC interact with fans, and with the way he signed autographs and made small talk without seeming the least bit bitter or upset about being interrupted. Caitlin couldn't even imagine the lives they must lead on a normal basisunlike the life they had right now. Right now, there were no tours, no appearances, and no interruptions in the album-making process. In a few months, she knew all that would change.

After arguing over who would pay the bill (JC won), Caitlin followed JC out of the restaurant and into the night air. "So, where are we headed?" Caitlin asked.

"It's totally up to you. I'm at your service." JC replied, giving a small bow. "Anything you feel like doing?"

"You know what sounds good? Batting cages! Are there any around here?" Caitlin asked.

JC's eyes lit up. "Yeah! There are some on the south side. That's a great idea!" JC was excited that she wanted to do something fun, and obviously didn't care about messing up her hair or trying to be seen in public with him. Some girls he had dated in the past were only interested in being seen with a pop star, or meeting 'famous people'. Caitlin didn't have those pretensions, and he liked her all the more for it.

JC drove swiftly over to a complex with miniature golf, batting cages and a driving range. Caitlin loaded up on quarters for the batting machine as JC picked out a couple of bats. Much laughter ensued as Caitlin attempted to hit the first couple of pitches, but she quickly found her rhythm. Between pitches, or when they were switching batters, JC and Caitlin kept up a steady stream of conversation.

"How's your brother, by the way?" Caitlin asked, remembering the reason she met JC in the first place.

"He's better. I think we're all over the initial shock of his diagnosis, but he seems to be handling it well. Tyler's tough." JC said, with obvious 'older brother' pride.

"I'm glad to hear it." Caitlin responded. "I should be grateful to him--he's the reason we met in the first place." Caitlin added with a smile.

"That's true." JC said, looking at her appreciatively as she stepped up to the plate again. Her clothes fit her well, but weren't tight or inappropriate. Still, JC could see all the curves of her body, and his mind began to wander as he watched her swing at the pitches. He loved that she seemed comfortable with her appearance, and that she didn't seem to care much about having every hair in place or perfect makeup. Even now, her hair was blowing in the wind, and she would occasionally run a hand through it to 'fix' it. She wore no makeup, save some lip gloss. He loved how natural and normal she was.

Caitlin turned around and noticed JC staring at her. "Are you staring at my butt?" She asked teasingly.

JC blushed slightly. "Umm...no. Of course not." He said.

"Busted!" Caitlin laughed. "Ok, slugger, your turn."

JC stepped up to the plate and Caitlin watched him concentrate on the pitch. She smiled as he nailed the first pitch and sent the ball flying out to center field. "Nice hit!" She encouraged.

"Thanks!" JC said happily.

Caitlin watched as he cycled through the pitches, and then after a brief conference, they decided to hang up their bats and head for Jive, where JC had to stop by for a few minutes. "Are you sure you want me to come with you? Won't I be in the way?" Caitlin asked.

"You won't be in the way at all. I just have to look over a few bits of paperwork and some guitar tabs--piece of cake. Besides, if the guys are around, I want to introduce you to them." JC added.

Caitlin was silent for a few moments. It was one thing to go out with JC--she could almost convince herself that he wasn't famous, and was just a normal guy. Meeting the other members of *Nsync was going to cement his lack of normalcy. Still, she couldn't help feeling excited about meeting them, or the fact that JC wanted her to meet them.

"If you say so." Caitlin said with a smile.

"So...why do your roommates call you Bird?" JC asked as he drove towards Jive.

Caitlin blushed slightly. "It's silly really. Way back when I met Jon and Scout, which was about a decade ago, they used to tease me all the time about my skinny legs. So they started calling me Bird Legs. Then, when they all joined the navy and were assigned 'call signs', I got one too. Bird. Of course, they later amended the reason for the name."

"What was the amendment?" JC asked.

"In England, a pretty girl is called a bird. So they reasoned that the name still applied, but I think they were just weaseling out of an asskicking." Caitlin said with a grin.

"I think that applies perfectly." JC said with a gentle smile.

"Thanks." Caitlin said quietly.

"So what are their call signs?" He asked.

"Mike is Scout, Jon is Stunts, and Alex is Murdock." Caitlin paused. "Alex had a big Zen for A-Team as a kid, so that's how he got that one." She said with a laugh.

JC laughed with her as they pulled into the parking lot of Jive. As they were stepping out of the car, Lonnie drove up in the van, and got out.

"Oh my gosh, I completely forgot about Lonnie!" Caitlin exclaimed.

"That's the idea." JC said with a smile as he guided her towards a back door into the record company. "Come on in...welcome to my home away from home." JC said as he opened the door for her.

chapter nine