~*~*~*(Meanwhile in the other transportation vehicle)*~*~*~
        "Ummmm I spy with my little eye something that is...BLUE!" Nick said.
        "Hmmm," Julie thought. "Could it be that road sign?"
        "UH! How'd you guess!?" Nick pouted since he had lost the game.
        "Cuz you are quite predictable!" Julie grinned.
        "OH Yeah?"
        "Yeah!"
        "Then would you predict I'd do THIS!?" He lunged at Julie and began to mercilessly tickle her.
        "AHH!!!...please...stop...I...need...air...soon...Hannah!...help...meeeee!" Julie squirmed.
        "Are you two kids fooling around back there?" Hannah turned around and joked.
        "Hey, um, where's the van?" Lance asked from the driver's seat, getting the others' attention.
        "Julie, we're going the right way...right!?" Hannah asked from the passenger seat.
        "Um well I thought we were..." Julie replied quietly.
        "HA!  THAT'S a big help, Ms. Know It All!" Hannah Julie glowered at her.
        "Hey!  I'M not the one who has lived in Southern Cali my WHOLE LIFE!" Hannah's eyes shifted left and right as she fought to think of a response, and whirled back around, arms crossed, in defeat. "That's what I thought," Julie added smugly.
        "HEY! MCDONALD'S!!" Nick pointed out.
        "What, you want to just GO now? Shouldn't we just get to our  house first?" Julie questioned.
        "We'll be fine..." Lance said it in a reassuring, confident voice. Julie frowned and tapped Hannah on the back. They turned so their backs were to the guys and began to confer on the side of Hannah's seat, the side next to the windows. They were whispering and giggling.
        "Girls! They have nothing to do but giggle and gossip," Nick commented The girls turned around.
        "As much as we love you two, Nick and Lance, don't you two boys live on the EAST coast?!"
        "Um, yeah, so?" Nick asked.
        "Well, mister 'We'll be FINE'...do you know where you're going?" Hannah pointed at Lance
        "Um..." he began.
        "Our point exactly. But whatever, just get off the freeway...we can take a break McDonald's...we're getting sick of sitting in this car..."
        "K..." the guys agreed.

~*~*~*(Back in the van)*~*~*~
        "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Please tell me! Please tell me! If you do not tell me, if you do not tell me, I shall scream! I shall scream! Are we there yet? Are we..." Brian, Kevin, and AJ were singing off-key and loudly to the tune of "Brother John" (Are you sleeping, are you sleeping, Brother John, Brother John? Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing! ding ding dong, ding ding dong!) Jenny grumbled and clamped her hands over her ears, indicating that the boys were being annoying. I wished I could do the same, but I had to keep my hands on the wheel. Howie noticed her actions.
        "You should be glad Nick isn't here too, then you'd be going crazy," Howie yelled over the singing.
        "I AM going crazy!" Jenny replied.
        "ME too!" I said. "...What happened since you guys were recording in the studio?!"
        "YEAH!" Jenny added, " I thought you guys were SuPpOsEd to have voices that BLENDED together!!!"
        AJ, Brian, and Kevin took no notice of our complaints, and continued to sing.
        "Kev-IN! I though you would keep Brian CALM!" Jenny screeched. He just shrugged and continued to sing. "AJ, I'm sitting RIGHT behind you, do you REALLY wanna know what kind of pain I can inflict upon you from here!?" Jenny finally threatened. This made AJ pause and think for a spilt second while Brian and Kevin continued.
        "No..." he muttered. "Guys, c'mon, shut up." Brian and Kevin looked at each other as if bewildered by AJ's command.
        "Aww, you're no fun, Bone!" Brian whined.
        "It wouldn't be that bad if you guys had sung ON key," I commented.
        "Ooooh! Is that a request!?" Brian piped up.
        "NO...not for that song again!" Jenny replied. "...But OTHER songs would probably be fine..." she hinted.
        "Yo, why'd you guys use Sarah's mom's van?" AJ asked as if the question had been bothering him for some time.
        "I dunno...it's big...comfy...has good mileage..." I started.
        "OH! AND it has a CD player!!!" Jenny added.
        "What CD is in right now?" Kevin asked.
        "What do you think!?" Jenny wailed. "I was stuck listening to it allllll the way here! Julie ad Sarah are MEAN!" she whined.
        "So I take it you don't like our music?" Brian asked, pretending to be hurt.
        "What? No, I didn't say that, it's just I was forced to listen to it against my will!"
        "Uh-huh, sure..." Brian looked at the ground, still pretending.
        "Aww, Jenny! You hurt Bri's feelings!" Howie said.
        "He's just a whimp!" Jenny laughed. "No, I really do like your songs...Look, if it makes you feel any better, my favorite song is the one you wrote," she said it sincerely.
        "Which one!?" AJ laughed.
        "Yeah, Brian here has written more than one, Jenny..." Kevin added.
        "I like all of them..." Jenny stared and Brian and both smiled. "Oh yeah...well, it's 'That's What She Said'." Jenny answered. "Oh, and after being forced to listen to it, I have come to actually like your new CD too...but note...I am NOT obsessed like some of the others we know...." she added.
        "HEY!" I grumbled. "Julie...Chin...and I...are....not...obsessed..."
        "Well, I'm flattered!" Brian grinned.
        "You SHOULD be!" she replied.
        "Um..." Howie broke in.
        "What, D?" Kevin asked.
        "Uh...have you guys seen the other car recently...?" There was a brief silence as we realized that during our arguments etc. we had lost sight of the other car.
        "This is not good..." I muttered.
        "They should know where to go, I mean Julie and Hannah are with the guys..." Jenny added.
        "But we all know guys won't ask for directions!" I said.
        "OH yeah!" Jenny gave me a high five.
        "I resent that..." Kevin stated.
        "OH! MICKEY D'S!!!!!!" AJ yelled.
        "Oh geeze, Bone, we just had a huge breakfast..." Kevin muttered.
        "That was HOURS ago!" AJ tried to defend himself. "Why can't we just go? Please!? I mean, we've lost the others, there is nothing we can do about it..." he argued.
        "Fine, fine, fine," I agreed and lead the car to the exit.


~*~*~*(In McDonald's)*~*~*~
        "Over here, guys," Lance motioned to a table for four as he held onto his tray. Julie, Nick, and Hannah followed with their trays and sat down.
        "HEY!" Julie protested as Nick stole her fry. "You have your own, buddy."
        "Your point?" he grinned as he stole another one.
        "Children," Hannah rolled her eyes laughing.
        "Hannah...MAY I have one of your wonderful fries?" Lance politely asked.
        "Why, of course you may," she replied. Lance turned to Nick and gloated.
        "That, my friend," Lance patted Nick on the back, "Is how you ask a lady for a fry."
        "Who said Julie's a lady!?" Nick laughed.
        "OH...! YOU...!" Julie began.
        "Kidding, kidding kidding!" He threw up his hand in defeat. "Here, have some fries." He gave her some of his as a peace offering.

        With much fighting of who would get out of the van first, we bumbled into McDonald's. AJ went straight up first and ordered a #4.
        "So the supposed facts are right?" Jenny asked. He looked confused. "Always a quarter-pounder with cheese..." she explained and he grinned. We got our food and searched for a table. I thought I saw a blond head.
        "Is that Nick...?" I motioned as much as I could while holding the tray with both hands.
        "Yeah, the dooffus!" AJ exclaimed and headed over. We followed him.
        "Mind if we join you?"
        Julie looked up to see AJ and almost choked on her drink.
        "Thanks for scaring us!" Hannah answered.
        "Of course," AJ grinned.
        "Where were you guys!?" Howie asked once we had pulled some more tables in place and sat down. Nick was busy scarfing down his food but tried to answer.
        "Phee Phewere Phonderim guh bwame ginth aphout oo," Nick said with his mouth completely full of burger.  Lance looked at our confused faces and translated:
        "He meant to say 'we were wondering the same thing about you'."
        "HEY that's what I said!" Nick defended himself after he swallowed.
        "No, not with practically the whole burger in your mouth that is," Julie teased.
(some time later)
        "K, I'm full," Hannah announced.
        "NO way!" Jenny, Julie and I laughed.
        "Very funny."
        "You wanna go in the kiddie area?" Lance got a smirk on his face.
        "What?" Hannah raised an eyebrow.
        "C'mon," Lance grabbed Hannah's hand and led her through one of the doors to the McDonalds playground.
        "Oh they are not the only ones going to have fun!" AJ pronounced and ran after them, "C'mon, D..." Howie sighed and followed.
        "Hey Julie, let's go watch the fun," Nick took Julie's hand and led her outside...
        "AHHH!!!!!" We soon heard a yell. Hannah rushed inside.
        "Um, both Lance and AJ...um..." she began.
        "...Are kinda sorta maybe possibly stuck in something?" I finished for her. She nodded. Kevin sighed and both of us went outside to help.
        "C'mon Bri, let's go watch the fun," Jenny stood up.
        "No, you go, I'll stay here."
        "Why?"
        "No reason."
        "There must be one."
        "Nope."
        There was a moment of silence. Jenny plopped down beside him.
        "If you don't tell me..." she tried to think of a threat but couldn't.
        "At a loss of words?" he cracked a smile.
        "Oh you hush up!" she grinned. "So what if I am?"
        "There's a first time for everything..." he laughed.
        "Well poo on you!" Jenny crossed her arms.
        "Did I upset the all mighty Jenny?"
        "Yes..." she pretended to pout.
        "Hey, that's MY thing!"
        "Then we're even, Steven."
        "Fine, fine."
        "Now can we go outside and help?" Jenny inquired.
        "Arright arright," Brian gave in.
        "By the way, your name isn't Steven..." Jenny grinned. Brian cracked a smile.
        The two came outside to see that both Lance and AJ had somehow gotten stuck in the mounds of plastic twists and turns.
        "AH-HA!" Hannah had been bothering Lance. "You know, you are too tall to attempt those."
        "Yeah you two..." Julie began..."They have height rules for a REASON..."
        With time, we somehow got them out, but we never allowed them to live the instance down. We got back in the cars and agreed to attempt to keep track of the each other on the road. In the van, AJ and I fought for control of the radio as the others complained about the different stations. Whenever one of the Boys' songs would come on they would groan and sing off-key to make fun of themselves. In the car, Nick was trying to convince Julie to have a thumb war or play mercy, and Hannah was trying to get Lance to spill secrets about the other members in his group, threatening to dump the ice of her drink into his lap. In the van, Brian and Kevin got into a friendly argument and Jenny and Howie enjoyed being spectators. AJ was cheering them on. Soon, AJ, Kevin, and Howie fell asleep. At one point the van passed the car. Jenny noticed that Nick and Julie were asleep in the back, curled up in a cute position. She also saw that Brian was trying not to notice them.

*Chapter 19 ~ Settling In*
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