CHAPTER 28
"Kris, you CANNOT marry him. You're what, 25?" Jasmine berated her friend. "And your point would be….?" Kristen didn't understand it. It wasn't like people hadn't gotten married younger. "Kris.." as Jasmine launched into another of her loooonnngg lectures on what was right, Kristen did her very best to tune her out. Jasmine would be a great mother one day. She already had the stern lectures and responsibility thing down cold. But Kristen could only take this for so long. "JAS! STOP! For one thing, you're what, 3 years younger than me? And for another, YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER!!!!" Kristen quickly turned to walk away. "But Kris, I'm only trying to help…" "THEN JUST STAY OUT OF MY LIFE! It's not up to YOU to decide anything that I do!" she yelled. "OK, what just happened here?" Jasmine looked, bewildered, after her friend.
Joey woke up and immediately looked around. Where had Amber gone? He hoped she was alright, where ever she was. He turned around and looked at the big white building, but instead of going inside, he headed for the parking lot, where he met a very happy Katy and Lance. "Hey, guys…"he trailed off. Why on Earth would Katy be so happy if…" "Amee and Justin are doing so good, we decided to go ahead and take off for awhile." Lance said, his arm draped over Katy's shoulder. "Amee's alive?" Joey asked, startled. Both of them looked at him with that WELL-DUH expression on their face. "Of course. Do you think that WE would even think about leaving if either one of us was on danger?" Katy inquired. I've got to go find Amber then, the thought suddenly came into his brain. "Well, bye guys. Catch ya later!" he yelled, as he ran down to hail the closest taxi.
"NO! Justin, don't leave!! Come back! JUSTIN!!!" Amee screamed at the television like screen in front of her. It slowly blacked out and then disappeared in the background. She had heard everything, but where was everyone else? She dimly remembered couple of people, but no one in particular. Tears streaming down her face, both in frustration and in the realization of what Justin had just said, only strengthened her resolve to go back. "JUST LET ME GO!!" she screamed. Please, please, please, just let me go back…. She thought to herself, as she sank down on the floor.
Amber was eating her breakfast and looking out of the window. Her thoughts, as usual, were centered around Amee. Everything reminded her of something they had done together, or of something that she had said. She mournfully stared out the window. Not able to take it anymore, she stood up and quickly paid for her meal. She got into her car, and almost subconsciously began driving towards Amee's house. She walked in the door, and gazed around the huge mansion. "Hey, Amber!" Joey's voice came up from behind her.
Joey finally stopped to take a breath. He had racked his brain trying to think of all of the places she could be. And had completely missed the obvious. "Amber, I have the best news!" She looked at him, almost through him, and he saw how emotionally dead she was. It wasn't surprising, considering all of the things she had been through. Her eyes were no longer dancing, and her mouth looked like it had never known a smile. "Amber, Amee's not dead! She never was! AMEE'S ALIVE!!" he practically yelled, even though she was right in front of him. The news took a while to sink in, but when it did, her eyes grew wide. "Really?" she asked, and her eyes flickered with hope. "REALLY?" Her lips began to tilt up into a smile. Then it was like a dam burst. She began to laugh and cry at the same time. "SHE'S ALIVE!!!" Amber began dancing around, unable to contain the joy that she felt. Amee's alive, Amee's alive, the thought kept in time with her steps. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Joey watching her, smile on his face as well. She stopped right in front of him, and on impulse, gave him a hug. "Thank you for telling me." She whispered, not ready to let go of him just yet. His eyes looked tenderly down on her, and her eyes gazed straight back. "It was no problem," he said softly. "You've been my live saver, Joey. For the past couple of days, you have kept me from completely going over the edge. Thank you for saving me from myself. Thank you for just being YOU." She couldn't hold back the flood of emotions anymore. With the both of them standing there, together, it seemed like the perfect moment. She reached up, and without an ounce of a second thought, gave him a brain-blasting kiss.
CHAPTER 29
Chris set down his coffee and sat back against the blue cushioned seats in his booth. He wasn't hungry or thirsty, really, he just needed to think. He hadn't meant to propose to Kristen right then and there, but it had still popped out of his mouth. He had this annoying habit of saying whatever happened to be on his mind, and that time was no exception. Not that he didn't love her, or that he didn't mean it-he knew that he would marry her someday. They had been in love for so long that they both knew marriage would be inevitable. But he couldn't help wondering about the things like how Kristen would like being alone for more than half of the year. He didn't want her to have to suffer the consequences of HIS job. Suddenly, an angelic voice lured him out of his thoughts. "Chris?" As his eyes focused, he found himself face to face with Kristen.
"Jace? Jace!" Jasmine called out to him from across the room. JC's eyes found hers and he walked over. "What is it?" He asked, smiling. Jasmine just answered "Can we talk?" "Sure. Is everything ok?" he asked, concerned. "No. We NEED to talk." She emphasized, still kind of shaken from the conversation she had just had. "Let's go then." He replied, and they walked out of the building. Whoever had even breathed wrong around her was going to get a hell of a punishment. No one hurts Jasmine, he thought as he protectively draped his arm around her shoulder.
Amee's eyes slowly slid open in the bright room. Sunlight was pouring in, but slowly her eyes focused. Then someone gasped. "Miss?" the nurses' voice squeaked. Amee's voice, since it had gone unused for so long, was almost unheard. "Justin…" she trailed off, for the nurse had already left to track down the doctors. Amee softly groaned. She couldn't move, and there was a tube down her throat that was extremely painful. As one of the doctors came into the room, it hit her. She was back. A smile slowly lit up her face. "Ok, Amee, all I need you to do is perform some simple tests, alright?" She nodded her head. She would have done anything at that moment, she was so thankful that she wasn't where she had just been.
"Mr.Timberlake?" The nurse aroused him from his sleep. "What?" he groggily answered. "Good news. You can go home tomorrow." She flatly said. Justin knew that he should have been happy, but how could he be? He was leaving behind someone that he shouldn't have had to. Just then, there was a commotion outside of his opened door. "Dr. Andre! Dr. Andre! The patient in room 637 has woken up! Hurry!" AMEE WAS AWAKE? The thought hit him like a sledgehammer. Without even thinking twice, he dashed out of his room, and into hers.
"Chris, hello? Anyone home?" Kristen impatiently sat down across from him and waited for his response. Slowly, he came out of his trance and smiled at her. "Hey, Kris." He said realizing for the first time that it was going to be real confusing having the same name. "What were you thinking about?" she inquired of him. "Oh- uhm- well, I was just thinking about- how grueling the upcoming tour schedule will be." He finished. Kristen just looked at him. "Really?" she arched an eyebrow. "Because I was just talking to Jasmine about our engagement." Chris's eyes grew wide. "Oh, no. What did she say?" he finally got out. "What did you think she said? She went on about how stupid, irresponsible, and young we were, among other things." Kristen rolled her eyes. "But we'll show her, right?" she grinned while Chris stifled a groan. This was going to be soo hard to say. But it was now or never.
"Jasmine, WHAT'S WRONG?" JC asked, unable to control himself any longer. "It's Chris and Kristen." She answered. "They're engaged." JC stopped dead in his tracks. "WHAT?!?!" he yelled. "Shhh.. Not so loud." Jasmine hissed. "When did you find out about this?" He toned it down. "Just a little while ago. Kristen told me. I tried to talk to her, but-" Suddenly her cell phone beeped. "Hello?" she said into it. "This is she. Mhm-hmm.. Yeah. REALLY!" she screamed "OMG. Thank you so much! Yeah, I'll be there tomorrow. BYE!!" As she hung up the phone, she found herself looking into JC's puzzled eyes. Her spirits sank almost as soon as they had risen. How would JC take this?
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