Well my fabulous peeps, here's the next chapter of Thin Line, hope ya like it. I just have to say, your reviews did make me feel better. I'm still going through kind of a rough time but it helps to know that my brain can produce something for others to enjoy. You all rock my socks. I've got some time off ahead so expect more chapters in all of my stories, hopefully by the end of the week. As always, Read, Enjoy, & Review!!!

Chapter 10...

The Next Morning...

Hunter looked up from his food to see Cory smiling at him.

"What?" he laughed a little at the eager look on her face. She was like a little kid with a secret.

"I'm just wondering when you're gonna ask me why I invited you to breakfast this morning," she said, pouring herself some orange juice.

"Well, I'm hoping it's not my charm and good looks," Hunter said. "John is my friend you know."

"Very funny," she gave him a look, picking up one of the strawberries on her fruit plate. "That's not quite it."

"Then why?" he asked.

"Because I know something," she smiled. "And I think you know I know."

"You think I know you know what?" he asked.

"I think you know I kn...never mind," Cory laughed. "You have a crush on my sister, don't you?"

One thing Hunter had quickly learned about Cory, just like her sister, she wasn't one to beat around the bush.

"I think I'm a little old for crushes," Hunter smirked. "And Jessica and I are just friends."

Cory leaned a little closer, "Hunter, I didn't get to where I am now without being persistent. And I'm not gonna leave you alone until you admit it. So my suggestion is that you bite the bullet and just tell me the truth."

There was a definite air of confident authority in Cory's tone that made it obvious to Hunter that he didn't have a choice here.

"Okay," he sighed. "Yes, I like your sister."

"Good," Cory smiled. "Because she likes you too."

"She does?" Hunter stared, surprised.

"She hasn't admitted it, don't get too excited," Cory said. "But I know she does."

"You know?" Hunter asked, skeptically.

"Trust me," Cory said. "I know Jessie...So I hear you had a bad date a while ago and agreed never to try it again."

Hunter nodded, "You hear correctly."

"Forgive me when I say that's pretty stupid," Cory said.

Hunter laughed, "You aren't the first person who's said that."

"One bad date doesn't mean that you should just give up," she insisted.

"Jessica is one of my best friends," Hunter said. "What if I made a move and then things got messed up?"

"And what if you made a move and ended up in a great relationship?" she countered. "At the risk of sounding cliché, you never know until you try."

"And what do you suggest I do?" he asked.

"Well before we do anything, we've gotta check out this boyfriend Joe," Cory said.

"James," Hunter corrected. He had just found out about the other man the day before.

"Whatever," Cory shrugged. "Anyway, we need to see what he's about. She says she's going to visit him tomorrow. He lives in Boston."

"Well we cant exactly follow her," Hunter laughed.

"No but we can find a reason to make a trip," Cory suggested.

"Like what?" he asked.

Cory rested her chin on her hand, "I'm not sure yet."

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Dawn walked onto the elevator and did a double take when she saw Chris yawning. The two of them were supposed to be at the airport in a few hours to travel to California for a radio interview.

"Chris?" she stared. "You look exhausted."

"I didn't sleep very well," he admitted.

"Where's Taylor?" she asked.

"I don't know," Chris admitted, his tone distressed. "Something scared her last night. She left."

"Something scared her?" Dawn asked, confused. "Something like what?"

"I don't know," Chris sighed. "Am I crazy?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Dawn answered. "Why?"

"I'm worried," Chris admitted. "I barely even know her but I want to find her."

"That doesn't make you crazy Chris," Dawn assured him. "She seemed like a really sweet girl."

"I just don't get it," Chris shook his head. "Everything seemed okay and then she had this nightmare. I tried to wake her up and she freaked out."

"Let's just hope she comes back before we leave," Dawn said.

Chris sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I hope so."

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"So what's everybody doing with their days off?" Matt asked. Matt, Jeff, Adam, Viveca, and Jason were having breakfast together in the hotel restaurant.

"Surfing," Adam answered first. "What else would I do?"

""Of course," Matt laughed.

"I'm going to visit family," Jason informed.

"Yeah, we're going home for a couple days too," Matt gestured toward himself and Jeff.

"I have a signing in Charlotte tomorrow," Viveca said.

"Really?" Jeff looked surprised.

She nodded.

"You should hang out with us after," Jeff suggested.

"And do what?" she raised a brow. "Is there even anything to do in Cameron?"

"I will have you know there is plenty to do in Cameron," Jeff said.

Viveca was skeptical of that statement but she smirked, "I'll think about it."

"I think you should go Viveca," Adam spoke up.

She looked over at him, confused. It wasn't like him to push her to hang out with Jeff, especially not without him there. It bothered her.

She shrugged, "I said I'll think about it."

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A Few Hours Later...

Chris sat on the plane next to Dawn, his head leaning back against the pillow the flight attendant gave him. He didn't feel right. He'd waited until the last possible minute to get on the plane. Some part of him was hoping that Taylor would show up. For the life of him, he couldn't understand how he'd become so invested in a complete stranger but he was. Something was obviously haunting Taylor. She was too young to seem so lost and alone. The look on her face when he woke her up the night before was something he would never forget. She looked..terrified. What had her so scared? What couldn't she let go of?

He briefly considered talking to Dawn about it but he knew what Dawn would say. She would say that he had to leave and that if he was meant to see her again, he would. And normally, he would be fine with that. But in this case, he didn't like doing nothing. He wanted to find Taylor, but it had to wait. He had some obligations to fill, but when he could, he would do something. He had to.

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"Are you ready yet?" John asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited near the door.

"I'm trying to find my sunglasses," Cory said, rifling through her bag. "Keep your panties on."

"I've been waiting for like 10 minutes," John sighed. "We're just going to get food. Jessica ordered it. It's gonna be cold by the time we get there."

"You've been waiting for 4 minutes," Cory corrected. "And I'm looking for sunglasses, not putting on makeup and curling my hair, so chill."

He sighed again, rolling his eyes, "Just hurry up.

She raised her hand, giving him the finger while she searched through her bag with the other hand.

"Easy Princess," he smirked. "I'm not that kind of guy."

"Oh shut up," she said, finally pulling a black case out of her bag and pulling it open. She put on the huge black glasses and then picked up a set of keys.

"What are you doing with those?" he asked as she stepped into a pair of gym shoes.

"Nothing at the moment, but the plan was to use them to start the car," Cory said as they walked out of her room. "Hard to drive without them, ya know?"

"You are not driving," John said.

"You certainly aren't," Cory insisted, pressing the button for the elevator. "I'd rather not die young thank you."

"I am not a bad driver," John insisted.

"You're right John," she smiled, walking onto the elevator as he put his hand out to make sure the door didn't close on her. "You're an insane driver."

"I speed a little," John shrugged. "So what?"

She rolled her eyes, holding her keys out to him, "Fine, drive. Just don't get us pulled over because if they take you in, I'm leaving you there."

"Such a wonderful girlfriend," John said. "I'm a lucky guy."

She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. They rode the rest of the way in silence. John kept looking over at her. He couldn't tell if she was looking at him because of her dark glasses. She had to be one of the most irritating people he'd ever met and yet he was still going through with this plan. He was technically going out of his way to be around someone he couldn't stand. That just didn't make sense. They got off the elevator and Cory started toward the lobby.

"Why are you walking so fast?" John asked.

"Because that's how I walk," Cory said. "It's not my fault you have short legs."

"Just because I'm not built like a giraffe doesn't mean I have short legs," he argued.

"I haven't been called a giraffe in years," Cory said. "How does it feel to have the mentality of a sixth grader?"

"I don't know," John said. "You tell me."

She turned to face him, "Next time just say 'I know you are, but what am I?' It's just as mature."

"And you're the authority on maturity here?" he asked. "This from the woman who had an unplanned half naked catfight in ice water on live TV?"

"You know damn well that was not my fault!" she pointed.

"Kids, kids, why all the hostility?"

John prayed the voice he heard behind him was in his head. He could see from the look on Cory's face that his dreams weren't to come true. He turned to see Portia, self satisfied expression settled on her face.

"Something wrong?" Portia asked. "I could hear you two as soon as I got off the elevator."

"There's nothing wrong," John shrugged. "We were just talking."

"That's right," Cory shrugged. "Just normal conversation."

Portia laughed a little, "Yeah...right."

Portia walked away, obviously amused.

Cory shook her head, "Damn it."

John looked at her, "You know whose fault that was, right?"

She rolled her eyes, turning and walking away.

"What?" John followed her. "I'm just sayin..."

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"So, the way she sees it," Jeff said. "Love is just this terrible burden and it's nothing but heartache."

"Cant say she's completely wrong," Adam shrugged. He had listened to Jeff talk about his dinner for a few minutes and he was convinced that matters of the heart caused more frustration than they were probably worth. All this time he'd been distancing himself from Viveca for Jeff's sake, he'd never considered that Viveca might

actually start to like Jeff. And he wasn't sure that she was. Adam still felt a connection between them. He could still see the way that she looked at him but...something was changing in her interaction with Jeff. She used to roll her eyes every time his name was mentioned. Now, she was hanging out with him after shows. This was what he'd wanted, right? He kept his feelings for Viveca quiet for Jeff's sake...so why was it starting to bother him that she didn't hate his friend? It was probably nothing. He was probably just tired so his brain was out of wack. His goal was to help his friend out, that was the right thing to do.

"I just don't get it," Jeff said. "How can you give up on something before you have it."

"Not everybody's a free spirit, let it be, let love rule hippie like you Jeff," Adam smirked.

"I am not a hippie," Jeff said. "I just think people should be open to things."

"Well, she said she'd think about hanging out with you guys this weekend," Adam reminded him. "That's open. A few weeks ago, she would've told you she'd rather drink a bottle of hot sauce."

"Was that your sad, pathetic way of trying to make me feel better?" Jeff asked.

"It was," Adam nodded. "Are you saying it didn't work?"

Jeff laughed.

"Seriously man, just don't worry about it. Don't put any pressure on yourself or her," Adam advised. "When you're just you and not worrying about impressing a girl, you're not so bad."

"Adam," Jeff gave him a serious look. "Do you have..more than friendly feelings for me?"

Jeff could only keep the straight face for a few seconds before he started laughing.

Adam balled up a piece of paper and threw it at him, "This is what I get for trying to help you."

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"So how are we supposed to fool Portia and Randy when we cant stop fighting?" Cory asked. She, John, Jessica, and Hunter were sitting in Jessica's room eating take out.

"Couples fight all the time," John shrugged.

"Yeah but they also act like they like each other when they're not fighting," Jessica said. "You two aren't so good at that."

"Well, as far as they know, you two just had a lovers' quarrel," Hunter said.

"Did you just say lovers' quarrel?" John asked. "Are you like 100 years old?"

"He's right," Jessica said. A smile spread across her face, "So you guys just need to make up."

"If that look on your face means you're thinking about some sort of public makeup kissy face thing, I vote no," Cory put a hand up.

"I second that," John raised his hand as well.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind," Jessica smirked.

"Not exactly?" Cory gave her sister a suspicious look. "What does that mean?"

"I think I know where she's going with this," Hunter said.

"Well does anybody wanna fill us in?" John asked.

"I think what you two need is some quality time together," Jessica smiled. "Alone."

"What the hell for?" Cory asked.

"To get to know each other," Hunter said.

"Why do we need to be alone to do that?" John made a face.

"Because you just do okay?" Jessica said, rolling her eyes. "Cory, you said you wanted to meet James. I'm going to visit him in Boston. John, you have an apartment in Boston."

"Your point?" John waited.

"My point is that the two of you can stay there together for a few days," Jessica elaborated.

"You expect me to stay at his place?" Cory stared.

"You want me to let her in my house?" John asked.

"She's right," Hunter said. "It's a good idea."

Cory gave Hunter a knowing look.

"It is," Hunter insisted.

"You actually think John and I can be in the same house for days and not kill each other?" Cory asked. "Because if there is a weapon within reach, I will hurt him."

"I might be forced to push her out the window," John added.

"You guys don't even know each other well enough to dislike each other so much," Hunter said.

"We don't?" they asked in unison.

"No, you don't," Jessica said. "Now stop being difficult."

Cory shook her head, "I'm not doing it."

Jessica looked over at Hunter, "She always has been a brat."

"Surprise, surprise," John rolled his eyes.

"Oh shut up," Cory faced him.

"Don't tell me to shut up," he said.

"Don't be annoying," she sneered at him.

They continued to argue, neither of them seeing Jessica get up and walk around the couch to stand behind them.

"You know, we wouldn't have such a hard time with this if you weren't such an ass all the time," she said.

"Oh yeah, because you being crazy has nothing to do with i-"

They were cut off when, without warning, Jessica reached forward and grabbed them both by the ear.

"Ow!" Cory squeaked.

"Jessica, this is not funny," John gritted his teeth against the pain.

"Now..how are you two spending the next few days?" Jessica asked.

"Together," John said, teeth still clenched.

"Yeah, yeah, happy couple time," Cory said. "Just let go. That hurts damn it!"

"Good," Jessica smiled letting them go. They both glared at her, rubbing their ears.

She shrugged, going to sit back down, "I knew you'd see it my way."

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