Chapter 6

One Month Later
Tuesday May 23, 06
9 Days Before Tour

"I can't believe how far we've come." Jaime said after rehearsal.

"You are all looking really good." Sabrina complimented.

"Thank you." Jaime smiled.

"Man, I am dying to ask; what is between you and Joey?" Cassy asked.

"What do you mean? There's nothing going on between me and Joey. He has a girlfriend." Sabrina answered.

"Yeah, a girlfriend who is your twin." Stacy reminded her.

"That doesn't mean anything." Sabrina shrugged.

"Man I don't know why he's with her when its you he wants." Elaine added with her deep Texan accent.

"Yeah, I think he feels obligated to stay with Melody." said Amber who'd joined them for today's rehearsal.

"Guys, I don't wanna talk about this." Sabrina interrupted.

Clearly upset, she left the room and went out in the hallway.

"What's wrong?" Justin asked seeing her crouched on the floor.

"Nothing." she shrugged.

"I don't believe you." Justin said sitting beside her.

"Whatever." Sabrina sighed wishing everyone would just leave her alone.

"Is it your sister?" Justin asked.

"Justin, no offense, but I do NOT want to talk about it." Sabrina demanded.

"Are you in love with your sister's boyfriend?" Justin asked.

Sabrina was fuming when he asked that, she stood up and refused to answer as she walked away.

"Sabrina wait!" Justin called.

"Just leave me alone." Sabrina yelled.

A pair of eyes watched her retreat to the only place she could think of to be completely alone--the roof.

Sabrina went to the edge of the roof and sat on the edge with her legs hanging over. She knew it wasn't safe, but at that point she really didn't care.

"What I wouldn't give for a smoke right now." she whispered looking down to the street.

"You're not going to jump are you?" a very masculine voice asked.

"No. Although its very tempting." Sabrina sighed. "What are you doing up here?"

"I saw you come up here and I wanted to see how you were doing." Joey answered.

"Shitty." Sabrina answered.

"Way to be honest." Joey chuckled.

Sabrina just shrugged and sighed deeply.

"Can you get down from there? You're freakin me out." Joey asked.

"Yeah." Sabrina got down and sat down on the ground with her back against the waist high ledge.

"I'm sorry about Melody." Joey sympathized knowing Melody was being a real bitch.

"I can handle her, but seeing her every day is really rough. If she puts me down one more time I'm going to flip." Sabrina sighed feeling weary tears building.

"I try talking to her, but she doesn't listen." Joey said hoping desperately that she wouldn't start crying.

"She won't listen to anyone but herself and sometimes her stupid little side-kick Jasmine." Sabrina shrugged.

"Why does she treat you like that?" Joey asked.

"I don't really know. We just started high school and she started hanging out with the 'in' crowd while I stayed true to our old friends. She became our parents favorite because she was the popular one. She went to all the school events while all I wanted to do was dance." Sabrina explained. "If she wanted anything my parents went out of their way to get it for her, as for me, I had to work for everything I obtained. I was the 'other' daughter."

"I'm sorry." Joey again sympathized with her.

"There was nothing I could do to stop it. I watched my best friend slipping away from me a little at a time." Sabrina said finally breaking down.

Burying her face in her arms, which were over up drawn knees, she silently cried. She desperately wished Joey hadn't seen her breakdown like a baby, but there was nothing she could do about that now.

"Come here." Joey said drawing her close, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Sabrina felt herself leaning into his embrace yet she didn't let herself completely open up.

"Just let it out." Joey whispered caressing her head like a child.

Sabrina cried for a few more minutes, then pulled herself together and pulled away.

"Why did you have to be so nice?" Sabrina asked sniffling.

"I don't know, my mama raised me right." Joey smiled.

Reaching up, Joey's hands gently framed her face while holding her gaze his thumbs tenderly wiped her tears away. "If you ever need to talk, come and find me. I want to be your friend Brina. I don't want your sister to come between us." he said still holding her gaze.

Sabrina couldn't find the right words to say as his touch was on fire and there were butterflies in her stomach.

"She used to call me that." Sabrina whispered.

"I'm sorry. Did you not want me to use it then?" Joey asked.

"It's fine, I liked hearing you say it." Sabrina smiled faintly, then blushed when she realized what she said.

"I was wondering where you went." Amber said coming through the door leading to the roof.

"I needed some air." Sabrina answered.

"I see you found some. The girls left already, but they wanted you to know that they were sorry." Amber said sitting down indian style in front of her.

"Thank you, I just had a rough day. I normally wouldn't flip out like that, but on top of this shit with Melody, I am going to rag soon. So my emotions are really off balance right now." Sabrina explained.

"Wow, I did not need to hear that." Joey groaned.

"Sorry." Sabrina laughed, a slight blush tingeing her cheeks.

"Suck it up. One day you'll be married and you'll have to go and get your wife tampons." Amber teased.

"And you'll have a baby with her and when you're in the delivery room you'll see and hear much more gruesome sights." Sabrina added.

"But ladies, until then, I can protect my ears." Joey defended.

"Wimp." Amber scoffed.

"That's okay." Sabrina patted his arm.

"Thank you." Joey smiled.

"So are you ready to go? I'm hungry." Amber asked rubbing her stomach.

"You are always hungry. Seems like all we do is eat any more." Sabrina chuckled.

"Are you going somewhere?" Joey asked.

"We're going back to Sabrina's. She has a roast cooking and we're going to eat a scrumptious dinner then watch RENT." Amber answered.

"RENT huh?" Joey smirked.

"It's a good movie. I've seen it a ton of times, but Sabrina has only seen it once. She has the soundtrack so she knows all the songs, we used to be really obsessed, but its toned down a bit." Amber grinned.

"Awesome. That Mark, he's a good character." Joey added nonchalantly, not sure if the girls knew about his RENT experience.

"Haha, Joey. Sabby not be very Nsync savvy, but I do know that you played Mark on Broadway." Amber laughed.

"You did?" Sabrina asked turning to Joey.

"Yes, I sure did." Joey smiled.

Sabrina felt herself blush as she recalled a previous conversation with Amber.

"What's that for?" Joey asked.

"She's embarrassed." Amber grinned evilly, knowing what she was thinking of.

"Why are you embarrassed?" Joey asked.

"Can I tell him?" Amber questioned her friend.

"The first time we watched it, we decided that we were going to marry Roger and Mark. Amber would marry Roger, and I would marry Mark, then we would live a happy broke Bohemian life together. It was really kinda stupid." Sabrina explained feeling rather stupid.

"I WILL marry Roger." Amber sighed dreamily.

"Justin may have a hard time with that." Joey smirked.

"He'll live." Amber shrugged.

"You know he's probably forty something right?" Joey reminded her.

"So you do know that it's just a movie don't you!" Amber said sticking her tongue out at him.

"My point exactly." Joey nodded.

"Do you wanna come with us?" Sabrina asked him.

"Are you sure I won't be a third wheel?" Joey hesitated.

"As long as you don't mind us singing along to all the songs and getting really hyper. Oh, and you'll have to drive though Amber's spending the night and she's got a bunch of shit in my back seat." Sabrina explained.

"I can't spend the night?" Joey pouted.

"You can if you want to." Sabrina shrugged.

"Really?" Joey asked surprised.

"Sure, why not."

"Yes, please Joey, come to our sleep over. We'd have so much fun, you don't have to be up early tomorrow do you?" Amber asked.

"Nope. We have tomorrow off, this sounds interesting." Joey smiled.

"So you'll come? You won't be disappointed. It'll be loads of fun." Amber gushed excited.

"I don't know." Joey said now feeling a little leery.

"Up to you." Amber said standing up.

Sabrina got up and followed Amber back downstairs and out to her car.

"So you comin'?" Sabrina asked Joey before getting into the car.

"I'll be there. I just have to stop home and grab some stuff." Joey nodded.

"You know the way?" Amber asked.

"Yes, thank you." Joey answered.

"When were you at Sabrina's house?" Amber questioned, an evil grin on her face.

"I was in the car when Justin went to pick her up a while ago." Joey answered.

"What was Justin doing picking you up?" Amber turned to Sabrina.

"He needed my help with something." Sabrina shrugged.

"It was the flowers wasn't it?" Amber grinned. "I knew he couldn't know that himself, when I asked him about it he wouldn't answer."

"He asked, I told." Sabrina smiled.

"And you had to help because he had no idea what a gerbera daisy was." Amber finished.

"You got it." Sabrina nodded.

"Well ladies, I'm gonna get going. I'll see you in about an hour." Joey said walking toward his car.

"Drive safely." Sabrina called to his retreating form.

"You too." Joey waved.

Sabrina and Amber got in the car and took off towards Sabrina's house.

"This is going to be fun if Joey really does come." Amber said.

"It should be interesting anyway." Sabrina agreed.

"Can I ask what's going on between you and Joey?" Amber asked cautious of her feelings.

"There's nothing going on between us, we're friends. Nothing more, nothing less. How can there be anything between us when he's dating my sister?" Sabrina reminded her.

"That's true I guess. I really do think he likes you though, and I meant what I said back there. My observation says he likes you but he's trying--stupidly mind you--to work things out with Melody." Amber said giving her opinion.

"Not a day goes by that I regret pretending to be Mel or not telling him who I really was." Sabrina admitted.

"You like him don't you?" Amber asked already knowing the answer.

"I don't want to, but I can't help it. He's so nice and he really cares about what you're saying and what you're feeling. He's just so real and I've never met a more honest man." Sabrina sighed.

"Keep your head up, I don't know what to tell you outside of that. I'd tell you to fight your feelings, but no matter how hard you try you can't." Amber sympathized with her.

"I'll be fine." Sabrina said trying to reassure herself more than Amber.

"So what else are we going to do tonight?" Amber asked changing the subject.

"We're going to finish supper, eat it, then watch RENT and get all hyper. And after that we'll just play it by ear." Sabrina answered.

"Intense. Pumpkin will be excited to have a guest I'm sure."

"Psychotic is more like it." Sabrina chuckled.

"She's not that bad."

"Yes she is."

"She likes me."

"Because she grew up around you."

"Whatever."

"I win."

"Whatever."

They arrived at Sabrina's and parked in the driveway, Sabrina went to shower while Amber entertained Pumpkin.

Sabrina came out of the bathroom with her wet hair dangling and wearing only a towel when the doorbell rang. Thinking nothing of her apparel, she went to answer it.

Joey stood staring at Sabrina who was oblivious to the fact that she was still wearing nothing but a towel.

"Sabrina, sweetie, you're letting everyone see you in a towel." Amber laughed at Sabrina who was still standing by the door in a towel waiting for Joey to come in.

Pumpkin chose that moment to run for the door and made it outside. She ran as fast as she could down the sidewalk.

"Dammit!" Sabrina said fixin to run after her.

Joey saw her intentions and stopped her.

"I have to get her, she's going to get hit again!" Sabrina exclaimed trying to break free.

"Brina honey, me and Amber will go after her. You need to go get dressed." Joey spoke reassuringly.

Sabrina looked him in the eyes and begged. "Please find her".

"Don't worry." Joey whispered lowering his mouth to softly brush her cheek.

Amber cleared her throat breaking them out of their moment.

"GO!" Sabrina said stepping away.

Amber and Joey stepped outside and ran down the sidewalk and called her name. Sabrina went back inside and threw on a sports bra under a 'Kiss Me' t-shirt and her white pajama shorts with red lips all over. she threw on some red flip flops and quickly brushed her hair anxious to go join the search.

She ran outside and saw Joey and Amber walking towards her holding a hyper Pumpkin. She ran towards them and took her from Amber.

"Don't you ever do that again Pumpkin!" Sabrina reprimanded then clutched her close.

"Nice shorts." Amber smiled.

"Thank you." Sabrina answered.

They went back inside and Sabrina put Pumpkin down. She went to the kitchen to check on the pot roast. She turned the crock pot off and pulled out her pot of pre-peeled potatoes and filled it with water then put them on the burner to cook.

"Do you need any help?" Joey asked.

"You could cut up the vegetables for our salad." Sabrina nodded.

"I could do that." Joey nodded taking the cutting board and knife that she held and found a spot on the counter to set up his cutting.

"I hate cooking." Amber whined coming into the kitchen.

"I know. That's why, again, you are in charge of setting the table." Sabrina smiled sweetly.

"Are you a professional table setter Amber?" Joey teased.

"Yes, we do this often and I always set the table and I can wash a mean dish too." Amber said proudly.

"Justin was telling me about you making breakfast for him." Joey commented.

"What a tool." Sabrina laughed shaking her head. "I didn't make him breakfast. The morning after we met at the club I decided to make a big breakfast and I called Amber to invite her and found him and were there so I invited them too."

"Understandable." Joey nodded. "Why do you cook so much?"

"I love it. If I wasn't a dancer, I'd be a cook. When I bought this house, one of the things I loved was this spacious kitchen." Sabrina answered.

"You own this house?" Joey asked surprised.

"Well, technically I'm still paying it off, but yes I do own it." Sabrina nodded.

"Sweet. I'm impressed. We were a few years into Nsync before I bought a house." Joey smiled.

"I've been working full time since I was sixteen. I bought my first car when I was seventeen and that's completely paid off." Sabrina shrugged.

"You never cease to amaze me." Joey stopped cutting and stared at her.

"Oh stop." Sabrina blushed.

"She is a wonder to behold." Amber smiled adding to the red in her cheeks.

"People!" Sabrina declared.

"Learn how to take a compliment," Amber smirked.

"How about you Amber, do you own a house?" Joey asked her.

"Nope. I have an apartment." Amber shook her head.

"You guys are such good friends, why don't you live here with Sabrina?"

"We'd kill each other." Amber answered.

"You're like best friends."

"We are too different to live together. We can be best of friends and spend time together, but to live together we'd clash." Sabrina explained.

"Makes sense I guess." Joey shrugged then moved on from the cucumbers to lettuce.

"Make sure you rip the lettuce, don't cut it." Sabrina instructed.

"I know sweetie, I have made a salad or two in my day." Joey assured her.

"Just checking. Some people actually cut the lettuce and that just bothers me really bad. A lot of people don't know to use fresh spinach leaves either, it gives it extra flavor and the darker leaves gives the over all presentation a little something extra." Sabrina explained.

"Is she always this passionate about food?" Joey asked Amber.

"Sad isn't it?" Amber chuckled.

"Intriguing was more what I was thinking." Joey added.

"I love cooking." Sabrina shrugged.

"Intense." Joey commented.

Sabrina one of the simmering potatoes and found them tender quite ready to be mashed.

"Scoot over for a second." Sabrina told Joey, bumping him over with her hips.

Joey obliged and stepped to the side watching her reach to the cupboard above and grab a black colander which he assumed was for the potatoes.

"Thank you." Sabrina said moving to the sink to drain the potatoes.

Joey watched her pour the potatoes and run hot water over them to rid them of the gooey starch that clung to the sides of the pot. He then watched her rinse out the pot and set it back on the burner. She added the potatoes then went to the fridge and took out a jug of milk and a stick of margarine.

"Are you going to watch me all night Joey? Or are you going to finish that salad?" Sabrina smirked.

"I'm content to watch you." Joey admitted.

"Yes, but we do need you to finish." Sabrina added.

"Fine." Joey sighed dramatically.

"You'll live." Amber laughed.

Sabrina grabbed a couple cans of thinly sliced green beans and put them on to cook. She returned to her mashed potatoes and added the milk and margarine, then began to mash.

"Focus Joey." She said without looking up.

"How did you know?"

"It got silent." Sabrina smiled looking up.

"Damn."

They finished cooking the meal in virtual silence, everyone focusing on the task at hand.

"This all smells delicious." Amber sniffed appreciatively after they'd sat down.

"Will you do the honors Amber?" Sabrina asked looking at her friend.

"Sure why not." Amber shrugged.

They all held hands and bowed their heads while Amber led them in a blessing. They dug in and feasted on the meal they'd all helped prepare.