|
This whole thing is crazy
The flight back was tedious. Aliesa could
tell Lance was ready to pull her aside and demand some answers, so she
kept clear away by staying as close to JC as possible. Of course
JC couldn’t be any more delighted in the proposition. It helped their
cause. But he knew something was up, he just wasn’t questioning her.
He knew better. Civility was working wonders for their ability to
sense when one of them needed some rescuing. And he’d done just that.
“Al we’re here,” JC said rousing the sleeping figure next to him. Aliesa opened her eyes and took in the early Florida sunshine. “Already?” she mumbled as she sat herself up. It felt like they had barely left the airport. She hadn’t even remembered saying good-bye to the other guys. “Yeah. Home sweet home,” JC whistled. “Right…” she grumbled opening the car door and stepping outside. She took in her surroundings. Who knew JC Chasez actually had some taste? There was nothing bad she could say about it. It was beautiful. There was potential in it. She might have gone as far to say that staying a while in Florida would actually be tolerable. “Is that a beach in the backyard?” She said in awe, catching up with JC as they passed the bodyguards unloading their belongings. “That’s my favorite part,” he answered, unlocking the door with ease, Aliesa still in wonderment of the place she would be calling home for the next couple of months. JC turned the doorknob intending to let them in, but then if realizing something important suddenly heistated. “Something wrong?” Aliesa questioned when he twisted towards her. “No. But I just remembered.” He motioned towards the doorframe and then at her. “Isn’t this the part where I’m supposed to carry you over the threshold?” “Excuse me?” “You know. The thing married people do?” JC clarified. Her mouth opened quickly and then clamped right back up. “Well?” He raised his hand questioningly awaiting an answer. She gave him a puzzled look. “I…technically…” She stuttered. He decided her indeciveness was enough. His impatience took hold. He scooped her up. “OH MY GOD!” She squealed out surprised, grabbing a hold of the front of his shirt as she was lifted off the ground. “You were taking too long and we’ve got an audience,” he explained when she gave him a dirty look as he loosened her grip on him, and shifted her weight. Turning the knob again, he pushed open the door with his leg and made his way into the house, before setting her down with a plunk. “Thanks for the warning.” Aliesa sighed still a bit shaken, as she attempted to stand upright without falling over. “Really.” “Don’t start getting comfortable just yet. We’ve got one more act and we’re home free.” JC glimpsed at the car still sitting in the driveway. Stepping back out, he waved at the bodyguards. “I’ve got it. We’ll be alright.” He called out as he pulled in the rest of their luggage. “Have a safe trip home.” The door shut. JC pressed his back against it, and closed his
eyes. Finally freedom.
“So now that you’ve finally swept me off my feet… What are we going to do now?” He grinned. And Aliesa’s stomach flipped. ****************** “Shannon it’s me…Are you there? Okay. You’re not. Well…I’m…I’m just calling to tell you that we’re back in Florida. I got a breakdown of my schedule and I wanted to run some things by you…Actually. No… I’m lying…that’s not why I really called I…I really need to talk to someone. So I’m begging you when you get this message will you have the heart to call your best friend back.” Aliesa babbled before fingering the keypad to disconnect the call. “Why do you always leave such long messages?” Startled Aliesa jumped, whipping around, one hand across her chest and the other clutching the cordless for dear life. “You really know how to freak someone out don’t you?” Shannon chuckled. “Could you tell I’ve been practicing? You know how much I LOVE to freak out popstars. It’s the BEST,” she remarked sarcastically. Aliesa stuck out her tongue. “I should have known you’d be on your way over.” She placed the phone back in the holder. “How did you get in here anyhow? I thought this place was secured tighter than a prison.” She asked wandering into the kitchen. “Us stalkers don’t understand the concept of being kept out…” Shannon joked following her. She watched Aliesa stick her head into the freezer. “JC let me in on his way out the door,” she explained. “He left?” “You didn’t see him?” Aliesa rolled her eyes as she plucked out the pint of ice cream she was looking for. “Shannon you probably know more about what he’s doing then I do. Hell. People we don’t even know probably know more than I do about the guy.” Shannon pointed at the frozen treat. “Should you really be eating that?” She asked as Aliesa grabbed a spoon from a nearby drawer. “When did you become my personal trainer?” “You do know you’re touring soon.” Shannon rationalized. A bemused expression fell on Aliea’s face for a split second. “I’m only in Florida suffering because of it….” she responded without missing a beat as she tore of the lid. “DAMN HIM!” She cursed. “OF course he has to eat the last of it and then just put it back!” “It’s only ice cream.” Shannon offered as Aliesa continued to scowl at the non-existent contents. “And I only REALLY needed it.” She sighed dumping the empty container into the trash. “Pig.” “That kind of a day huh?” “That kind of past few months,” she answered propping her elbows against the counter top and resting her chin in her hands. “Tell me you’re here because you’ve found someway to pull me out of my misery.” “Problems in paradise?” “Has it ever been paradise Shan?” Shannon patted her on the back fondly. “I just love how coming back from promotions always makes you Ms. Sunshine.” Aliesa laughed, smacking her hands against the tile. “You really know what to say don’t you?” She cracked shaking her head as Shannon fiddled through the fruit bowl in front of them and held out an apple at her. Aliesa pushed her hand out. “No way. In the state I’m in all I need is sugar. REAL sugar.” She illuminated, declining it. She pushed herself away from the counter. “I mean look at this place!” She said waving her arms around. “It’s heaven here! The beach is our backyard! And I can’t WAIT to get away.” She sunk onto a kitchen stool. “What’s been going on now?” Shannon asked as she rubbed the apple against her sleeve. “The strange thing is I don’t know,” she answered skeptically. “I thought that if we were away from the guys, the constant attention, maybe we’d get a little rest from all that pretending. For the first time in two months I don’t have to act 24/7. I finally get to be me. But for some reason…everything just seems ten times worse Shan you know? I’m stuck. And it’s awful,” she confessed. “Have you two been fighting?” “That would require speaking.” “But this is a good thing right? Isn’t that what you wanted. To be left alone?” “Not if being alone is being lonely. I didn’t want to be lonely Shan. And that is what this is. This place.” She said flipping her hands up. “He has his friends. He goes to the studio. He can get away. While I shift from room to room and just wallow in self-pity. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I never looked forward to learning hours of choreography and practicing for a show so much in my life. I can’t wait for next week to get here already.” Shannon raised an eyebrow. “That much?” “That much.” “Well I think I got something that will make you feel better.” “A divorce?” “Funny.” Shannon said dryly as she reached into her portfolio pulling out a bag. Happiness etched itself on Aliesa’s face in realization. She snatched it away quickly. “You sneak! YOU ARE THE BESTEST FRIEND a girl can have!” She drew out the contents. “Baskin-Robbins Peanut Butter and Chocolate,” she cooed. “Wait a second.” She paused looking at the ice cream suspiciously. “Whatever happened to your talk a second ago about how this was bad for me with a tour coming up?” Shannon smirked. “So I lied.” She shrugged. “We both know you needed it.” “How’d you know this is what I needed?” “Please! You underestimate how well I know you. You ALWAYS pull out the ice cream when you wallow. And we both know you’ve been wallowing. I’ve got the voicemail messages to prove it.” Shannon replied nonchalantly. “I do not ALWAYS bring out the ice cream,” she argued. “You keep Baskin-Robbins in business,” Shannon challenged. “Okay so maybe I eat a little too much.” Shannon cleared her throat. “Okay I admit I’ve been eating a couple of quarts. I can’t help it.” Aliesa sighed. “I really needed it especially after seeing Christian.” She said faintly. Shannon nodded in understanding, pulling up in the stool beside her. “You know I saw them last week.” Aliesa’s jaw dropped. “YOU SAW HIM and you’re just telling me now?” “You can stop looking at me like that!” Shannon defended herself. “Would you have wanted me to say anything about it with everything you’re dealing with already?” Shannon asked pointedly. “Well…No…” “There you go.” “So what’d he say?” Aliesa asked trying to act aloof. Shannon wasn’t fooled. “Al…” “Oh come on Shan. I can take it.” “He just asked how you were that’s ALL.” “He didn’t say anything about JC?” “No.” “Nothing?” “Well he DID ask about the tour. And I told him you were going to be in Florida rehearsing while the guys were recording…but it shouldn’t matter what I said or what he said anyways. You guys broke up or did you forget?” “I know…” Aliesa answered tiredly. "But it doesn’t mean it hurts any less.” “Al. You really need to move on. There was a reason Christian and you stopped seeing each other remember? Constantly reminding yourself about the whole thing isn’t going to make it any easier to deal with. It’ll only get you in trouble.” “What is that supposed to mean?” “Please!” Shannon countered. “We both know that whenever Christian comes up you flip out. The more you think about it the more it drives you nuts. Look what happened at the Billboard Awards!” Aliesa stared cold. Shannon clamped her mouth. “Oh gosh Aliesa I didn’t mean to say...” “What is it you are insinuating Shannon?” “Nothing…” Aliesa balked at the statement. “NO. You were trying to make a point. So make it.” “Fine. You want the truth?” Shannon looked at her friend directly. “You would never have gotten into this whole mess if you hadn’t seen Christian that night and dragged the whole thing back in the open again. But because you did, because you had a drama about him you drank, you drank A LOT. All because you were trying to prove a point.” “Is that what you think?” Aliesa swallowed. “You think I got drunk because of Christian that night? You think I ran off with JC to prove a point?” “I’m not saying anything.” “But you think it,” Aliesa said bluntly. “You think it.” “Look Al. Remember there are two people to blame in this whole thing. It wasn’t just you.” “You think I did all that because I was upset?” Aliesa asked her voice wavering. “We covered this already.” “No I don’t think we did this part.” “What do you want me to say? Do you want me to tell you I think it was just a coincidence that you’d been hanging on JC the whole night? That it had nothing to do with seeing your ex-boyfriend? That it had nothing to do with the alcohol and the fact that somehow you were trying to prove to your self and to Christian you were over him? Is that what you want to hear?” “If you thought all that Shan--if you knew all that then why did you let me do it? YWhy did you let me make a fool of myself? Why did you let me leave with a complete stranger?” “I didn’t even notice you’d left until it was too late. But you know what? Honestly even if I had I wouldn’t have stopped you! You know why?” Aliesa remained silent letting Shannon vent. “You were the happiest I’d seen you in a long time Aliesa, a really long time! JC made you smile. REALLY smile.” “I was drunk!” “Well you weren’t when he asked you to dance.” Aliesa blinked taken aback. “Why are you defending him all of a sudden?” “I’m not defending anybody. I just…you need to stop blaming yourself. Christian and you didn’t last because you never saw each other plain and simple. It wasn’t because you weren’t pretty enough. It wasn’t because you weren’t loving enough, or didn’t pay him enough attention. You were good enough! It was just because you couldn’t be in a relationship anymore with someone who became a stranger!” “Oh wow.” Aliesa blinked. “You must have been wanting to say that for a really long time haven’t you?” Shannon exhaled. “I never for one moment thought you would get married that night Aliesa.” “You know. Apperantly neither did I.” The irony of the comment was enough to have them giggling. The tenseness that had been present in the room somehow dissolved. “I think you’re the only person other than…and this is a terrible comparison…other than well JC who’ll take my crap.” Aliesa reached over and squeezed Shannon’s hand. “You really are a GREAT friend.” Shannon smiled. “You’re only saying that because you don’t want to share the ice cream with me.” She said tapping the container. “Because YOU know I didn’t just bring it for you.” “Where would I be without you?” Aliesa proclaimed as she stood up to grab another spoon. With as straight a face she could manage Shannon wryly commented, “You would be married to Nick Carter instead.” Chapter
15
Copyright©2001 Obscure Thoughts, JessNJules Writing. All Rights Reserved. |