Chapter 3
And indeed it was. After Rose left for work, Ali tried to take a nap to calm her nerves. But every time she closed her eyes, scenes from her meeting with JC flashed through her mind. And those eyes. That smile. It was almost like he didn’t want to leave.
Then she snapped out of it. If you keep flipping out, you’re going to jinx yourself. She was going to see him on stage tonight. What will he do? Will he see her and maybe bring her onstage? That would be too cool. She could just picture being one of the girls that are brought up onstage when they do “For the Girl Who Has Everything”. She’d love that. But do the guys know? I can bet on it. They’re probably having a field day with him about it.
What about when they go backstage? Oh my gosh. I’m probably going to make a total fool out of myself. She managed to collect herself as she thought of what Rose had said that one night. “He’s a normal guy. He just happens to be famous. There’s no rule that says you guys can’t be friends.” With that, she fell asleep.
The girls left the house around six Ali had finally stopped shaking but she couldn’t stop fiddling with the VIP pass she wore around her neck.
“Will you calm down already?” Rose said. “It’s a good thing I’m driving or otherwise we wouldn’t make it there alive. You wouldn’t be able to keep your hands on the steering wheel.”
Ali rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’m fine”.
“Uh huh. Sure. Then try to sit still for one minute. I’ll time you.”
Ali tried not to move, but her nerves were too bouncy. “God, if he looks as good tonight as he did at Mickey D’s, I’m just going to be like “Duh”.
Rose laughed. “You’re fruity. Let’s just go there and have a good time”.
Ali nodded. Then she looked on the floorboard and caught a glimpse of something red sticking out from under the floor mat. She reached over and saw that Rose had brought the yearbook from when she and Lance had gone to school together. “Oh lord. You wouldn’t…”
She looked to see an evil grin spreading on Rose’s face. “Watch me. This is going to be MY fun tonight”. Her grin became wider and made Ali burst out laughing.
* * * * *
As the last opening act left the stage, Ali began to fidget again. JC was going to be coming out soon. What will she do?
Rose seemed to be reading her thoughts. “Just scream and yell like any normal fan.” Then she grinned. “And move, shake, get jiggy…whatever you can to keep his eyes on you. Show that boy what’s going on in that little Smurf brain of yours”.
Ali smiled back “Yes mom”.
“Just whatever you do, try to resist the urge to jump onstage and molest him.” They both cracked up laughing, but that laughter quickly ceased as the lights came up.
As the band started up, the guys came out dancing to begin “Crazy for You”. Ali gapped as JC made his entrance. Oh my god. He looks good enough to eat. Then she noticed something that made her heart melt. He’s wearing his jersey. JC was dancing up a storm, and his eyes were darting all over the place. He was looking for her. She could tell. Once he started singing, she whistled and danced to get his attention. He came over her way and they locked eyes. Then came the words. “Every night, I just get down and pray that you’ll come my way”. When he saw her, a huge grin spread across his face. He winked at her and danced on to the other side of the stage. Ali’s heart went into her throat and she looked at Rose, who was also grinning, ear-to-ear. “You go girl” she mouthed.
JC kept making his way by her, which wasn’t too hard since her seats were almost right in the center. As she and Rose cheered and grooved to the music, they each felt a tap on their shoulder. At first they thought it was just people bumping into them. But then they felt a hand. They turned around. A security guard motioned them to follow him. They didn’t know what was going on. They simply looked at each other and shrugged as they made their way through the crowd. Soon they realized where they were going. The guard led them to a little room behind the stage, where there were already about ten other girls.
“This is your lucky night. You have been chosen to go onstage with NSYNC”. Ali and Rose looked at each other. “Alright!”
“You will be motioned to enter the stage for their performance of “For the Girl Who Has Everything”. Figures. Ali thought to herself. She had it pegged. “Now there are a few rules. No horseplay…” Ali just drowned it out. She was going to behave. As long as she sees JC, she couldn’t pay attention to anything else. She shook like a leaf as she made her way out to the stage. As she picked her seat, she looked out the other corner, waiting for the group to make their entrance. As the music began, Ali shook with anxiety. It wasn’t just seeing JC that was making her crazy. This was her first time being up close with the guys. She was still trying to make sense of it all.
Rose could sense her tension. Her and Ali always seemed to be able to read each other’s minds, and this was no exception. She leaned her arm on Ali and whispered. “You ready?”
“Oh yeah. This is going to be a trip. I wish I had brought a camera,” she whispered back.
Rose cocked her head to her little backpack, which she had to have checked before they got in. However, when she had it checked, Ali had gone to the bathroom, so she didn’t see what Rose had brought in. “We did”.
Ali beamed. “You’re awesome, you know that?” They laughed and Rose stay leaned on her friend as the music started and the guys slowly made their way out.
JC was the second one out, and he noticed Ali right away. Oh lord…he better not announce anything here. The fans will have a fit. But she didn’t think he’d really do that. Instead, he made an announcement to the crowd. “All these lucky ladies get to be the girl who has everything.” The song began, and as Justin sang his verse, JC kept glancing at Ali. He’s dying to say something. I know it. But Rose nudged her. “Just keep your cool”. Ali calmed herself and let the music take her away.
The chorus began. Ali was dying to find out what was going to happen. Suddenly, the guys stopped. It looks like they planned something. Justin went over to JC. “Hey JC, do you see someone who’s worthy of getting serenaded?” Then JC pretended to look around, but then he looked straight at Ali. “I think I’ve found the perfect candidate”.
He waltzed his way over to her and, while down on one knee, sang with all his heart. Ali looked right into his eyes. If they sparkled anymore with these lights, she’d go blind. Suddenly she felt like they were the only ones on stage. Then the last line came. “And in my dreams, I’ll make your wish come true…” With that, he kissed her on the cheek and went out with the guys to sing. Ali was dumbfounded. Wow. That was incredible. As they left the stage, Ali looked back at JC and blew him a kiss. He winked, and she knew then that this was going to be a great night.
**In the Dressing Room**
Ali and Rose rushed backstage after the concert, pushing against the swarms of fans that were trying to get back as well. When the guard reached the dressing room, Ali took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. She and Rose went in to find Lance coming out of the bathroom. He looked at Ali and laughed. “You must be Ali. JC hasn’t shut up about you.” Then he looked over at Rose and the two locked eyes. “Hey, I know you. I think”, he said with a little smile. “You look real familiar.”
Now was Rose’s chance. She pulled the yearbook out from under her arm and opened it up to the page with his picture, which she had marked. “Maybe because of this”. She showed Lance the ninth grade yearbook photo and watched his face turn from its normal color to a bright shade of red. She couldn’t resist the temptation to burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Lance couldn’t hold his in either. “Ok, that’s it. Where’d you get that?” Then he remembered what JC had told him. “Oh wait…you must be the one that I went to school with. JC said something about this. What’s your name?”
“Rose Mendoza”
Lance shook his head and his mouth dropped. “Rose? From Sumner Hill? You were in my English class.” He went and hugged her. “Wow. This is great. How long has it been?”
“About six years if memory serves me right”. She went to hug him back and looked up to find that Ali had left her side. “Hey, where’s Ali?”
Ali had found JC, and the two of them were gossiping quietly in the back room. “So how’d you like the show?” He asked.
Ali grinned from ear to ear. “It was incredible. I love the special effects.” Then she looked him straight in the eye. “Alright now. You’ve gotten out of it long enough.”
“What?” He said, trying to look surprised.
“You did that serenade on purpose, didn’t you? She replied. She watched his face turn red and the corners of his mouth trying to hold back an evil grin. “You had it all planned out.” She playfully smacked his leg, then let her hand rest on his knee.
“Ok, you caught me. I knew I’d find you. I just had to do it. Besides,” he reached out and placed his hand on hers, “you seemed like the only one who really deserved it.” This made Ali blush and the two laughed.
JC leaned back in the sofa. “Man, what a night. Another show tomorrow, and then we finally get a break.”
“I don’t know how you do it. I’d love to get into the music business, but I don’t know if I’d be able to handle the schedule.”
“You’re into music?” JC asked. Now he was curious. “Are you a good singer?”
“I’m pretty good. I can sing some of the songs that Blaque did tonight.”
“Cool. You’d have to sing for me sometime.” He looked over at Ali and reached out for her hand. “I’m really glad I found you out there tonight. I know this may be hard to believe, but the guys will back me up when I tell you that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you all day.”
Ali blushed. “You’re not the only one. When I got home my best friend saw my face and knew right away that a guy was involved. She nearly passed out when I told her about the whole thing, but she was like ‘you go girl. Tell that boy what you want’”.
JC laughed. “You know, this is a first for me. Being interested in a fan and all. I mean, I’ve seen fans that I thought were cute and all, but I haven’t really found anyone who could really hold a normal conversation without going ‘oh my god, I can’t believe I’m talking to the guy from NSYNC. My friend are going to freak’ and blah, blah, blah. But its like, you’re the only one so far that I’ve met that’s been really nice and hasn’t gone into hysterics. You held your own pretty good”. Then he smiled. “Not to mention that I think you’re really pretty”.
Ali smiled. She was trying to remember that she wasn’t just talking to JC the celebrity, but JC the guy. “Thank you”, she said. “Flattery will get you nowhere.” She smiled to show JC that she was being funny. “I wonder what Rose and Lance are up to”.
JC peeked his head around the corner as he heard a shrill of laughter. He found Rose and Lance browsing her yearbook. “See for yourself”.
Ali peeked over his shoulder and laughed. “Oh Lord. And she was the one who told me not to try anything with her and him. They’d make a cute couple, don’t you think?”
She looked to see JC staring right into her eyes. He kissed her softly. Ali thought she was about to faint, but she stayed up. “I think we would”, he said. She leaned back and put her head on his shoulder.
But now what? “So what’s going to happen now?” She asked. “The fans would have a fit if something were to come out of all of this, And I don’t want to be getting none of this ‘stay away from JC, he’s mine’ junk”.
“Yeah. I know. I’ll make sure you won’t. They didn’t really do that to Danielle when she and Lance were seeing each other.”
“Oh yes they did. Everyone I talked to was having a cow. Besides, you have a bit higher standing in the group than Lance.”
But I’m also human. I have nothing to hide. I’ve always said that if I found someone with similar interests, even if they were a fan, I’d be interested in dating them.”
He has a point. “You’re leaving tonight for another show. Is this just going to be a one time thing?”
JC squeezed her hand. “Not if I can help it. Which reminds me. I’ll be right back. Close your eyes.”
Ali closed her eyes. What’s he doing? She felt him leap off the couch and then jump back seconds later. Suddenly she felt something go around her neck. “Ok, now open”, he said. She looked to see a Leo charm, just like the one he had, around her neck. “You won’t forget me.”
“JC, this is so sweet…”
He put a finger to her lips. “Just write your number on this and we’ll keep in touch.”
“Oh that would be so cool.” Then she remembered someone. “But what about Rose?”
“She can come with you. I wouldn’t want to leave her out, especially since it seems like her and Lance are getting buddy-buddy in the other room”.
“This is too good to be true. But if this is a dream, I don’t ever want to wake up.” She leaned back on JC and the two dozed off.
Within seconds, Rose and Lance walked in. “Alright you two, break it up”, Rose said, jolting the couple awake. Then she smirked. “No hanky panky. I’m enforcing the ‘six inches’ rule right here, right now”.
“Six inch rule? Give me a break. You and Lance were probably all over each other whenever JC and I weren’t looking.”
Rose blushed. “We behaved ourselves.” Then she and Lance burst out laughing. “I told him that he better keep in touch if he wants me to keep those yearbook pictures out of the public eye.”
Ali looked at Lance. “You better keep your word. She’ll do it if you don’t. For real.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not psycho like some people.” With that comment, Ali threw a pillow at her and the group started wrestling.
“What the heck is going on here?” Joey, Chris, and Justin came in amidst the chaos. JC responded by nailing Chris in the stomach with a stuffed animal. “Alright, that’s it!” Chris said with a laugh. “This is war!” He and the other two guys dived in and the group initiated a full-fledged game of rough-house.
The excitement was broken up when House, the guys’ main bodyguard, came in and said “Guys, break it up. You have a show tomorrow night in Ft. Lauderdale and you’re going to need your beauty sleep”.
“Not all of us”. JC said and the group cracked up.
“Whatever. Wrap it up”. House said, without amusement, as he went back out to the bus.
Justin rolled his eyes. “That guy is either a teddy bear or a beast.” The rest of them laughed. JC and Ali walked up to the bus with the rest of the group. As he went to hug her goodbye, he tilted her chin up to him and kissed her. The guys saw and started cheering. “You go JC!” He waved his hand at the guys and looked back at Ali. “I promise on that necklace that I will call you whenever we get to a new city. Maybe I’ll even get to fly you in a few times”.
“That would be great. I’m going to hold you to that.” Ali was on cloud nine. She said goodbye to the rest of the guys and she and Rose watched the bus ride off to the next city.
* * * * *