Sometime in the night JC turned into a hamster. It wasn't much of a shock as it should have been - JC had warned them a long time ago that weird shit like that tended to happen in the Chasez family, but since it had never happened before, they just all assumed that maybe JC had dreamed it all up. He'd told them just to please take care of him, just to wait it out, and "for god's sake keep your damn dogs away from me."

Justin had gotten up that morning deciding he needed a breakfast partner. A groggy JC had seemed a much better choice than a cranky Chris, so he'd gone to JC's bunk only to be met by a furry little creature, almost buried in the sheets, with black eyes staring back at him inquisitively.

Justin couldn't explain it, but somehow he just *knew* it was JC. Something about the way the little hamster moved towards his hands, or the fact that it was a little skinny, and most definitely because it's fur was smooth and soft and felt just like JC's hair, was a dead giveaway.

The rest of the guys adjusted fairly quickly. Lance, figuring he was the expert on rodent pets, believed the safest place for JC to be was along with Dirk in the ferret's cage. That is, until JC bit his finger hard enough to draw blood, completely indignant to the idea of being caged up. After that, JC had free reign of the bus.

JC the hamster wasn't terribly different from JC the man. He was still content to sleep on the couch with his music playing quietly, and he still made himself scarce if Justin came barging in with the new Jay-Z album or if Lance suddenly had an urge for Patsy Cline.

It was Joey's fault entirely the day that JC got lost. Joey figured it was high time that JC got outside for some fresh air and decided to pop him into his bag and go shopping. With strict directions from Justin about needing toys for JC to play with, Joey headed to the nearest pet store to pick up a hamster ball.

Unfortunately for Joey that happened to be the day where six hormone enhanced teenagers decided to be in the same pet store. The moment they recognized him, they were upon him almost instantly, and in the scuffle his bag was knocked to the ground.

JC ran as fast as his little legs could carry him to avoid being trampled by the mob. He ran around the multitude of legs, his ears hurting from all the noise, and headed under the counter smack into the store clerk's shoe.

With a quick swipe and a "how did you get out, little guy?" JC suddenly found himself locked in a cage with 7 other hamsters. He squeaked as loud as he could until he realized it would do no good.

Sometime later in the day, lost in awash of depression, JC looked up and noticed a girl with long curly purple hair looking at him and smiling. Minutes later he found himself being carried in warm hands.

"You're such a pretty hamster. You have to be sweeter than my last one," the girl cooed.

An hour later he was home, warm. and well fed. Her name was Mary Ellen and she was lovely and fun and very sweet. He found himself not being as afraid of his situation as he should have been. She fed him and played with him and stroked him behind the ears just the way he loved. The way Lance used to while watching TV late at night.

He'd lost count how long he'd been there sometime around the second week. He wasn't sure how the ritual started, but one night he'd been sitting next to her keyboard as she'd typed away. Tired, she'd stretched and gone to bed, forgetting to put him back in his cage. Unsure of what to do, and a little afraid in the dark, JC scrabbled across the floor, up the bed, and settled himself beside the sleeping girl. She'd woken up startled, but happy to see him there and somehow after that it has become a ritual. Every night, Mary Ellen would switch off her computer, pick him up and cuddle him to her face, and then placed him on her pillow for the night.

It happened a month or so after he'd moved to her apartment. He woke up one morning, snuggled into a warm body. She'd screamed when she'd first seen him, launching herself out of bed and across the room. He stood up, especially happy when he realized he was wearing the same clothes that he had been when he'd changed and tried to calm her down.

After a *lot* of explaining, she smiled and said with a touch of sadness "Well, I guess you'll want to go now."

He smiled shyly. "Actually, if it's okay with you, I'd like to stay here and cuddle some more."

~end~