(Based on the song "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston)
"Thats a wrap!" the director exclaimed as the boys finished their first video for the single off the new album. The three days were exhausting and they quickly left the set. No one had any clue about Lance and Erica being together until the video shoot was over. JC quickly regrouped with October and when Lance walked up to Erica, she instinctively gave him a kiss. The others looked at them surprisingly.
"Well, I see someone has been hiding something" October smirked as Lance and Erica broke away from each other like nothing happened.
"No, not really" she hesitated.
"It's kewl that you and Lance are together. I always hoped you would" she smiled and drug JC away.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking" Erica said to Lance who was looking down at his feet.
"Nah, its ok. There was no reason to hide anything. I just didnt want anyone to think that I wanted you only because you are October's friend and that you were alone and vulnerable" he looked up and watched the others walk out the building.
"You're crazy, you know that?" she laughed "They are your best friends. As long as you are happy then they are"
"Well then why didnt you tell October?" he looked at her inquizitvely as they started to walk to the door.
"I didn't want her to think I was making the wrong decision, because to tell you the truth, I didn't like you much when I met you" she said truthfully.
"Oh, gee thanks!" Lance joked with her as he put his arm around her and opened the door.
"So, are you two happy?" October asked Erica as they went for a walk a couple hours later. The guys had interviews to do so they decided to hang out without them for awhile.
"Yeah, I am. I mean, I didn't ever think I could be with him. You know, I wasn't really attracted to him" she replied.
"So, then what made you attracted to him?" October asked again as they walked into a cafe.
"I'm not sure exactly. It was a bunch of things. When I really sat down and got to know him, he was totally different than I thought he would be. I didn't want to judge him on what was inside and when I did, I realized how much of a fool I was. Plus, the day of the accident, Chris told me that if I believed in love, and when the time came around, I shouldn't let it go or it would pass me by" they sat down and she continued. "I wish the accident never happened so that Chris could enjoy the love that he and Lexie shared, but since we cant change anything, I'm glad that they loved each other before all of that, so Chris can always carry that with him. He never passed it by and he will be always glad that he had it"
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Remember, I almost let it go, too. I'm glad JC came to the house that day or I would have made a big mistake" October said as the waitress came and took their order.
"I'm glad he did too! You two are perfect for each other. You guys are so cute that its sick!" Erica laughed.
"Oh please! Just wait, you two will be lost in your own world too soon!" October joked with her.
"So, what did JC say about me and Lance?" Erica continued as she sipped her cappuccino.
"Just that you two will be good together. Just as long as you two are happy, thats all that matters" she replied.
"That's what I said to him, too. And believe me, we are very happy" she added.
"Thats good then" October said briefly, as she picked up her espresso.
"What about you and JC? Are you two happy?" Erica decided to ask some questions of her own.
"Yeah. Couldn't be better." she replied.
"So, have you two talked about any other plans?" she put down her cup and looked at her curiously.
"What kind of plans?" October cluelessly sipped her espresso.
"Like, long-term plans"
"Well, no, not really. I mean, we are hoping that things progress that far but he is too busy right now with the group to think about stuff that far ahead" she answered.
"That's understandable. I wonder if they ever think about how long they want to stay on top before they decide to settle down and have a private life"
"Well, I'm sure that as long as they are still popular and successful they will continue to live each day as they are now. When its time for something new then I guess they will be ready" October finished her coffee as the skies started to turn grey.
"And you are okay with that? I mean having to take second to his career?" she asked.
"Maybe not okay but I can deal. I had to learn to live with it and so will you if you decide to take it that far" it started to drizzle and October continued. "Well, we better get going before it starts to rain harder"
"Good idea. The guys should be on their way back by now anyways" she replied as they paid their bills and quickly walked back to the hotel.
"Hey you!" Erica said to Lance as they walked into the room. She walked up to him and gave him a kiss. Chris stood beside him and walked away quickly.
"What's his problem?" Justin asked as Chris went into his room and closed the door.
"Who knows" Lance replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Opie, I need to talk to you" JC said seriously, as he stood in the kitchen area of the room.
"Ok. What's up?" she asked innocently as she saw the expression on his face.
"Can we talk in our room?" he started to walk towards the door.
"Why? You can tell me out here. What's wrong, JC? You are worrying me" she walked up to him cautiously.
JC hesitated and then cleared his throat. "Um...I was told today that I might not be able to take you with us on tour"
"What?" October questioned as if she didn't hear.
"Who told you that? No one said anything to me" Lance defended.
"I'm not going to mention anyone because the decision wasn't final. But, it does also include Erica and no one told you because no one knows about you two" JC finished.
"Are you serious?" October asked in disbelief. Erica stood beside her, open mouthed, not knowing how to react.
"Opie, I'm sorry...." JC reached out to her but was interrupted.
"No!" she jumped back from him. "This is so not fair! You know what is going to happen if I can't be with you. I won't go through this again!"
"Opie don't say that!" Erica cried.
"Just calm down, Opie" Justin came up behind her. "We will all work this out. Everything will be fine"
"And, what if it isn't fine?" she started to cry. "I will have nothing. Where would I go? What would I do?"
"I'm in this too, ya know! You won't be alone" Erica consoled her.
"Neither of you are going anywhere" Lance protested. "JC, when did they say they were getting back to you?"
"Tomorrow morning, before we leave. If the decision is made that they can't go with us on the tour, then they can't come with us back to Orlando" JC mumbled and looked to the floor. He tried to hold back tears, knowing that he was breaking October's heart. But, it was also breaking his.
"Oh my God!" October exclaimed. "Are you serious?"
"This isnt my decision, Opie. This is hurting me as much as it is hurting you" JC looked back up at her. The tears were unavoidable.
"Well, it might not be your decision but I dont see you giving them an ultimatum. You arent out there defending me, telling them that you won't go on tour if I can't be with you. You are just letting our future lay in their hands and you aren't doing a damn thing about it! Maybe I should make the decision. Then maybe we can avoid all the hurt that we will feel tomorrow!" she finished and ran in her room.
"Opie!" Erica yelled back to her as she slammed the door. JC followed her into the room.
"I can't believe this!" Lance said as combed his fingers through his hair.
"Neither can I! I mean, what about us? If October can't do it then I won't be able to!" she crossed her arms and looked away.
"Don't say that!" Lance said as he walked towards her and put his arms around her. "I'm not letting you go. I'll fight for you to be with me if I have to"
It was 4 a.m. when JC awoke to the sounds of a radio playing. He noticed the bathroom light on as he rubbed his blurry eyes. He sat up and listened to light sounds of a song.
He realized what the song was as he looked over and noticed October wasn't there. He began to get nervous when he noticed the bathroom light on. Everything was quiet except for the soft melody.
"Opie?" JC whispered as he stood up and walked to the door. "Opie?" he called out again as he pushed open the door and the dry hinges creaked. He looked in at October. She sat on the floor with her head in her hands. She looked up at him as he entered. Her eyes were red and puffy.
"Whats wrong?" he said to her as he kneeled down and sat beside her. He wiped the tears from her eyes and held her hands. The song still played in the background.
"I know they arent going to let me go with you on the tour" she sobbed and then sniffed as her nose started to run. "You are all I have, JC. If I have to give you up again, it will be the last time, because I love you too much to keep doing this over and over"
"No, don't say that" JC pushed her chin up so that he could look at her. "You're not going anywhere and you will be with me on the tour"
"JC...." she started but was interrupted.
"Don't say anything else. Just come with me" JC stood up and held out his hands for her. She stood up and he led her out into the room. He turned around and put his arms around her waist. She put her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat as they danced to the song.
"JC, wake up!" Lance yelled through the door the next morning. The sun was shining brightly through the windows but it didn't wake them up. They hardly had any sleep and Lance was waking them up at 8 a.m.
"Go away!" JC mumbled as he was half awake and rolled over towards October.
"C'mon man! We have that meeting before we leave. It's in a half an hour!"
"Ugggh!" JC grumbled. He was awake now but still too tired to get up. October awoke and jumped into the bathroom.
"Are you getting up?" Lance asked persistently.
"Yesssssss!" JC drug the word out as he stumbled out of bed and searched for clothes.
"Man, its hard to get him up!" Lance exclaimed as he walked towards the fridge.
"And you wonder why we don't even try" Joey said as he sat down on the couch with some o.j.
"Well, I wouldn't have tried if this meeting wasn't so important. Its not just about him and Opie anymore" he added as he poured some juice for himself. As he finished, Chris stood up and walked out the hotel room.
"Would someone please tell me what is wrong with him? I mean, he was all happy and stuff when we got here and now he's all depressed again like, well, you know when" Justin said from where he was standing at the patio door.
"He's probably just tired or ready to go home or something" Lance replied.
"Well, if he's tired then he aint ready to go on tour" Justin walked over to the couch and sat down.
"I don't think its that" Joey jumped in "I think we should just keep an eye on him because him being quiet is not normal"
"Its about time you woke up!" Lance exclaimed as JC and October walked out of their room. JC streached and yawned as he combed his long, newly highlighted hair with his fingers.
"Yeah, yeah" JC grumbled again as a knock came at the door. Justin walked over and cracked open the door.
"Its time for the meeting" he turned around and said to them and they all walked out the door and followed.
They rode the elevator to a few floors down and walked through the double doors to the meeting room. A long wooden table took up the length of the room. There was a pitcher of water in the center, along with some fruit and glasses sitting in front of each chair. There were three men standing at one end. Chris was already there.
"You can all sit" one of the men gestered to the chairs and they quickly sat down.
"You all know that we really don't have meetings like this, but things need to be cleared up before the tour starts" one of the others began. "Knowing that things are going to get hectic pretty soon is not something new. Bringing along extra baggage is not part of the schedule...."
"Extra baggage?" JC interrupted with an attitude. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well, bringing along Miss Skye and Miss Taylor, and yes, Lance, we do know about your relationship with Erica, was not part of the original schedule"
"So, what are you trying to say?" Lance was tired of being run around and decided to get to the point.
"What we are trying to say is that we cant accomodate any more people on this tour"
JC slammed down his glass of water with a loud thud and everyone jumped and turned to his attention. "They are both coming with us on the tour, whether you guys like it or not!" JC defended as he stood up.
"Well, whether you like it or not, Mr. Chasez, we make the rules for the tour, and you can either sit down and deal or leave and find your own way back to Florida!" the one man finished as everyone gasped at his ultimatum.
JC looked at everyone looking at him and at October's tear soaked eyes and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. October chased him out into the hall.
"JC! You can't just leave! What about them?" October pleaded as he stopped and turned around.
"I dont have a choice, do I?" he said as he walked back up to her.
"I know that I wanted you to fight for me but I didn't say leave your friends and your group behind! You have to do something!" October exclaimed.
"Opie, I don't know what to do anymore!" he replied and put his head down as tears started to form.
"I knew this was going to happen. I told you last night!" October remembered her confession to him.
"Yea, and I know what is going to happen now. I'm the one that's going to have nothing. Not you or the group!" a tear streamed down his face as he turned and walked down the hall.
"JC! Don't go!" she yelled after him but he kept walking. "Don't walk away" she said under her breath as she, too, began to cry. Erica and the rest of the guys came out of the room and stood behind her. They all watched as JC neared the end of the hallway and then vanished around the corner.