Chapter 2 (After TRL) : A Sort of Homecoming

“Excited to see the wife?”

JC removed his gaze from airplane window and looked over at his questioning bandmate.  He hesitated for a brief moment before breaking out into the smile that was no doubt plastered on walls around the world.  It was more sincere than not, but it was practiced.  It was the same one he turned on when the cameras were rolling, and this time it was no different.  It was just another smile to cover up what he was really feeling.  It was all part of the job.  He had to remind himself he was doing this for not just his career but for the bands. 

“Does it show that much?” he replied trying to maintain the happy exterior he had committed himself to after the incident in Las Vegas. 

I’d rather sit through a thousand interviews being asked the same question over and over again for hours non-stop than to face that woman one more time.

“You’ve only been jumpy ever since we left New York!” Justin cracked as he playfully tapped him on the shoulder.  “Man.  Who would have believed huh?  This time last year we were both single and now look at you—a married man!”

“Yeah.  I’m still getting over it myself,” JC replied. 

In more ways than one…

“You and Aliesa Montaine!   None of us ever suspected!”

“Well it was spontaneous.” 

Justin frowned, his forehead crinkling, his face tinged with traces of regret.  “I’m so sorry C.  We should have been there for you.  I mean at least…I should have been there for you at your wedding…”

“You don’t have to keep apologizing.  I didn’t plan it.  It just happened.  How could you guys have known?”

 And I still don’t know how it happened…

“I know but I still feel terrible that you guys didn’t have anyone there.  I mean you only have your wedding once…I just wish I could have been more supportive.” 

“You and the other guys have been more than supportive of the whole thing,” JC commented remembering the yelling he had the morning after when Johnny had found out.

“They still giving you a hard time about it all?” Justin asked reading his thoughts.

That would be an understatement. 

“It’s better.  Shannon talked to Johnny the other day about how the rumors had been giving us all this free publicity… And with the album coming out …you know they always did say bad publicity is still publicity.  I guess now we’ll just have to wait and see how everyone reacts to it now that it’s been confirmed.”

Justin nodded in understanding.  “Management approved or not-I’m happy for you.”

JC put on another one of his forced smiles.  He gritted his teeth a bit as he muttered out a thanks.  If Justin noticed at all, he didn’t let on. 

“You want to know something funny?  I always figured you’d get back with Bobbi…” Justin admitted sheepishly.

JC raised an eyebrow. 

“I know! I know!  It’s silly now that I think about it.  Especially after you told us that you’d been talking to Aliesa for months…I still don’t know how you kept it a secret for that long.  With Britt…I know I didn’t tell you all straightaway about it…anyhow,” Justin said shaking his head.  “You were so heartbroken after you two broke up, wallowing about it for months…I didn’t think you’d move on…”

“I’m over Bobbi”, JC said lightly tensing up at speaking his ex-girlfriend’s name. 

Justin chuckled.  “Obviously.”

JC shook his head as a small laugh overtook him.  It was the first time the situation seemed laughable. 

 Oh if they only knew!  God.  At this point I’d rather have Bobbi.

“I think you did good man.  Aliesa is a nice girl…” Justin said in all seriousness.

“Correction J.  I’d say she’s a knockout,” Lance commented, overhearing them as he passed them to get to his seat.

“Who’s the knockout?” Chris asked as Lance slid in next to him.

“Aliesa,” Lance answered easily.

“OH YEAH”, Chris readily agreed smirking.

“I’ll say!  She’s got great legs!” Joey interjected from behind them.

“Do you remember that mini-skirt she wore in that video?”

“She was hot!”

“Those high heels…”

“Excuse me!” JC coughed interrupting the banter between his three bandmates .  They turned questioningly towards him, bemused expressions on their faces.  “Are we done talking about this like I’m not even here?” JC said loudly. 

Justin grinned slyly. “Well you have to admit she looks good in a pair of high heels!” he cracked before the other guys burst out laughing.

JC buried his head in his hands. 

 At least they’re taking this well…

“Cheer up man.  You’ll be seeing them up close and personal in no time!” Justin added as he picked up his cell phone.  “Speaking of…got to call my significant other…”

Yeah.  And I have to face mine…and not by choice…

“The single Dangerous Misleading is really hot right now, album sales are huge, and there are talks of touring.  How has this success affected you?  You’ve come so far in such a short amount of time. ”

Aliesa smiled easily at the interviewer.  She’d been doing it since 7:00 this morning.  The smile just sort of became a part of the persona that was sitting here in the room. She wasn’t.  She was anywhere but here.  The same question in the span of three hours would do that to a person.  And she could only imagine what they were going to ask next…

“Yeah.  I’m really still overcome by it all.  I’d say that it’s definitely overwhelming.  But as far as everything that’s happened is concerned, I’m not taking anything for granted.  It’s a reality check everyday.  It all came so quickly and I’m very much aware that it could go away just as fast.  The circumstances would leave anyone in my position a bit skeptical, even hesitant.  I’m just really really happy that people out there are embracing my music.  Like everyone else, I’m taking my life as it comes day by day,” she answered.

She watched as the interviewer nodded her head and scanned back down at her notes.  What was her name again?  Jane?  Jill?  Julie?  Aliesa lightly tapped her fingers against the sofa as she looked over at the woman sitted in front of her.  She knew what was coming.  This interview had asked every single question she’d had all morning from everyone else except the big one.  They always seemed to ask the big one last.  The interviewer looked up and caught her eye. 

She’s going to ask it.  She’s going to ask it.  She’s going to ask it.  Let’s talk love life Aliesa…5…4…3…2…1…

“Let’s talk about love Aliesa…more specifically your recent marriage to JC Chasez from the NSYNC.”

HA.  One for Aliesa!  It never fails.

Aliesa smiled triumphantly at her ability to second-guess the reporter.

“I can see that the mention of his name brings a smile to your face,” the interviewer
 teased. 

JC equals me smiling?  HA!  When pigs fly Ms. Interviewer!  That means NO.

Aliesa quickly dropped her eyes in an attempt to mask the emotions that she was feeling inside. 

JC this.  JC that. 

 She sighed. 

“Well love does that to you I suppose,” she mused softly.

“Much like your music career it seems like this has come out so suddenly.  The relationship seemed to evolve very quickly.  The day before at the Billboard Music Awards you were single and the next day you’re married…”

“Yeah I know what you mean…It’s like its not even real…” Aliesa commented lightly. 

Because it’s not… 

“It just seemed to come out of left field.  Nobody knew you were seeing each other.  Had you been dating for long?”

“We’d been talking for a couple of months,” Aliesa answered carefully trying to stick with the elusiveness of the plan that they had hatched up in Las Vegas.  “We didn’t want to go public with the relationship too quickly.  You have these couples that come out all the time and then fizzle after a month or two.  We didn’t want to be like that.  We wanted to be sure it was serious,” she added.

“Does that have anything to do with your past relationship with Christian Burns of BB Mak and the public scrutiny that came along with it?

Great.  Bring up the ex-boyfriend.  Why don’t we just talk about all the mistakes in my life!

“In a way.  I think my experience with having a very public relationship with someone in the industry prompted me to not want to make the same mistakes.  It’s hard enough to have a relationship.  What people don’t realize is that it’s even harder when you have one that is so public.  Your personal life is just out in the open for everyone to pick at and gawk at. It’s almost like you’re not just having a relationship with just that one person but one with the whole world.  That’s what makes it harder to maintain than a “normal” relationship, even though that’s what it is…But with JC and I hiding the fact that we were seeing each other...It had more to do with just the public scrutiny.  There were other reasons…Besides you can’t compare this relationship to my other one.  The circumstances were different.  I was different.  They’re completely different.” 

JC isn’t Christian.  I loved Christian. I don’t love JC.

The interviewer nodded.  She paused a moment before continuing her line of questioning. “Can you tell us when you and JC decided things were going to get that serious?  Marriage is a huge step in a relationship.”

 Whoa.  Bring on the personal questions.  Let’s not keep my personal life personal here…

“Well to tell you the truth…” Aliesa began. 

     The night of the Billboard Awards I ran into the guys from the NSYNC at an after party.  We had a couple of drinks.  I danced.  I partied like everyone else.  I woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and a wedding band on my finger, next to a guy, whom counting the night before I’d run into twice.  Basically I didn’t know him all that well.  The best part was that once I’d sobered up, the both of us had a huge screaming match in which we concluded that:
1) We couldn’t recall why we were in a room together.
2) We didn’t know how in the hell we got there. 
3) We didn’t know when we got married.
4) We didn’t know why we got married.
5) We couldn’t have a rational conversation.
and
6) We didn’t like each other very much.
I couldn’t get an annulment because that would just be career suicide if people found out we got married in a drunken stupor.   Our PR person, the only other person who knows about this all, thought it would be best instead to ride it out, and milk this for all the publicity it was worth.  After things have died down a bit we’re planning on having a  formal divorce, blaming it a on long separations and clashing work schedules.  I’m not really in love with JC.  He’s not in love with me.  We’re pretending this whole love thing to save both of our careers because of a horrible mistake.  And no, if I can help it I’m not planning to touch alcohol ever again. 

NOPE not saying that. 

“We didn’t plan for it to happen.  It just did.  When you’re in love with someone you don’t think rationally.  You don’t care about consequences, you don’t listen to your brain, you listen to what your heart tells you to do.  I listened to my heart,” she finished ignoring the contradictory thoughts zooming through her head.  She’d gone to far now to actually tell the truth.

The interviewer smiled at Aliesa.  She seemed satisfied enough with that answer. 

Go Aliesa!  Where are you coming up with this stuff?

“Sorry to interrupt Josephine…” Jeanne cut in as she waltzed into the room stopping the interview.  Aliesa’s eyes lit up at the information thrown her way.  She finally had a name to go with the person asking her all the questions.  Now, she wouldn’t be totally humiliated at the end of the interview during the good-byes.  Maybe the day was going to look up after all. 

“But I’ve got to snag Aliesa briefly,” Jeanne continued turning her head and grinning widely at her protégée.

Aliesa eyed her manager wearily.  Well, this was certainly out of character.  Jeanne thought interviews were sacred.  Didn’t she say once that the press could make or break you, and so indulging them at all times was priority?  Jeanne did not interrupt interviews…ever.

Before Aliesa could inquire about the oddity, a familiar face entered the room.  Aliesa blinked and sucked in her breath at the sight before her. JC. 

Chapter 3
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