BLIND HEARTS by Manda
"Corey, where are you taking me?" Tess asked for the hundredth time.
"Tess, I'm not going to tell you. You'll just have to wait until we get there."
Tess leaned back in her seat and pouted. Suddenly, she sat upright and grinned.
"You wouldn't be taking me to see a certain concert that I've been bothering you about for the last month, would you?" Tess questioned impishly.
"The thought wouldn't have occured to me," Corey replied seriously. "Now, sit back and relax. You'll find out where we're going soon enough."
....................
Arriving at their destination, Corey guided Tess through a maze of corridors and entryways. He stopped abruptly and held open a door for Tess. The room was furnished with a couch and two armchairs. In the far corner, a baby grand piano gleemed invitingly. Tess sat down on the couch and grumbled.
"I hate going to new places, Corey. The unfimilar isn't exactly appealing."
Corey grinned a wicked grin. "You're going to enjoy this unfimilar. Trust me. How have the demos been going?"
"I haven't heard anything lately," Tess sighed. "No responses. So far, your club is the only place I'm being heard." She rubbed her temples. "This is a very frusturating business."
"You're telling me," Corey laughed. "I've been trying to break it in this business for years."
"But there's a difference here," Tess interrupted. "You actually have a record deal. And you have connections. I have neither. People now are so prejudiced."
"That's not true Tess, and you know it. I have a feeling you're going to meet some very helpful people today."
"Who am I meeting?" Tess pleaded again.
Before Corey could respond, the door to the room opened. Five men walked in.
"Hey Corey!!" one of the men shouted. "I didn't know you were coming?"
"That's because I didn't tell you, Chris. Thought I'd just suprise you and see what happened."
"Well, were glad you did," another man replied as they shook hands with their friend. Tess sat uncomfortably on the couch as the men caught up on the past few months since the last time they had spoke. She stood and took a couple of tentative steps, hoping that Corey would take the hint and introduce her.
"Oh, guys. I want you to meet someone. This is my friend, Tess."
"It's nice to meet you," a dark haired man replied. "I'm J.C."
J.C. extended his hand to give Tess a handshake. She stood smiling, staring right beyond his shoulder, her head slightly turned, as if she were listening intently to his words.
"Um, J.C.," Corey said, clearing his throat. J.C. looked into Tess's eyes. The stare she returned was blank.
Oh God, J.C. thought, mentally kicking himself. She's blind, you idiot.
Recovering quickly, he took her slightly outstretched hand and shook it. She smiled again.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too," Tess replied warmly. The others shook her hand and introduced themselves. They watched as she turned her head in the direction each introduction came from.
"So, what brings you here?" Justin asked Tess, trying to break the awkwardness.
"Well, I think it's this strange creature named Corey. I'm not sure why I'm here. He didn't tell me. Just came and kidnapped me this morning, telling me I had important people to meet."
"Would we be the important people you were referring to?" Lance asked Corey.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, you are. Tess here has an amazing voice. I played you some of her demo the last time we talked but I thought it would be a good idea if she came and sang for you personally. Maybe you could put a good word in with some of the higher ups," Corey hinted, putting his arm around Tess's shoulder.
Tess shook him off. "You're crazy if you think I'm singing in front of them!" she cried. "No offense or anything boys, but I really don't want to make a fool out of myself. Besides, I don't want a handout. I'd really like to make it on my own."
"You can't do everything on your own," Corey argued. "You do too much on your own anyway. Someone's help isn't going to kill you."
Tess threw her hands in the air. "I'm not going to fight with you about this Corey. Not in front of people I just met." She slowly walked back to the couch, groping her way over to it. J.C. watched as she almost fell, then caught herself and sat down.
"Well, from what I heard on the demo, you shouldn't be having a problem," Justin encouraged. "You've got a lot of talent."
"Thank you," Tess replied. "But the point is that no one wants to sign a blind singer."
J.C. walked over to the couch and sat down next to her. "Why wouldn't they? What does being blind have to do with your voice?"
"That's what I'd like to know," Tess sighed. "It's ridiculous the amount of prejudice there is in this industry."
Chris laughed. "You know what? You haven't even begun yet. There's a whole lot more where what you're getting came from."
"That's what I'm worried about," she whispered as the others branched off into a conversation about the corrupt politics of the music business.
"What's happening isn't very fair," J.C. said.
Tess laughed out loud. "Well, life isn't fair but I guess I have to deal. I've been through worse."
There was an awkward silence. J.C. fidgeted next to her while she tried to think of something to say. Finally, it was J.C. who broke the quiet.
"Um, I don't mean to get personal, but, would you mind telling me how you went blind?"
"Well, it's kind of a long story."
"That's all right. I've got all the time in the world. If I'm not being too rude?"
"O.k. But I'm warning you right now, it's not the happiest. I was attacked one night in my apartment. Some goons about two months ago broke in and tried to rob me. When I confronted them, they hit me over the head with a glass vase. I woke up in the hospital, and I couldn't see. The doctors said the nerves in my eyes had been jolted. They said it wasn't permanant and that, in time, I might be able to see again."
"So you could see before?" J.C. asked curiously.
"Oh, yeah. And I'll be able to see again. I don't doubt that."
"How do you know?"
Tess shrugged. "I just know. I won't settle for anything less."
J.C. smiled. "Sounds like something I would say. Never less than perfection."
"Exactly," Tess agreed.
"What do you miss the most?" he asked tentatively. For a moment he wondered if that was the right thing to ask.
Tess tilted her head slightly and thought for a minute. "I guess, I miss seeing the moon. I loved walking in the moonlight and looking at the stars. Yeah, I think that's what I miss the most. But I think I'd rather be blind than deaf. I don't think survival would be an option if I couldn't hear music."
"I would have to agree with you," J.C. replied. "I haven't had to experience either so I don't have a lot of backing behind my opinion, but I definetly couldn't live without hearing music."
Tess smiled. "It's so nice to talk to you, J.C. Most people treat me like a child, as if my brain went right along with my sight. It's good to be treated like a normal human being. Corey sometimes forgets that I'm twenty-one, not twelve."
J.C. glanced in Corey's direction. He, Justin, and Chris were still in a heated debate about the corruption of the industry.
"Well, I don't think he does it intentionally," J.C. said quietly. "I think he just cares about you a lot."
"Yeah," Tess sighed. "I just wish sometimes he didn't care so much. I can take care of myself."
"You love your independence, don't you?"
"More than anything else. Next to honesty and sincerity, it's one of the most important human qualities. To me anyway."
There was a moment of silence as J.C. gazed at her. She's really beautiful. And not just physically. I love the way she thinks.
"Um, J.C. Can I ask you something?"
"Go for it," he replied.
"Well," Tess said. "I don't normally ask this of people until I know them better but I'm extremely curious. Would you mind if I read your face?"
J.C. looked at her confused for a moment. "Read my face?"
"Yes," Tess sighed. "I know it sounds silly, but it's how I can picture you. I read your face with my hands. Like this." Gently, she placed her hands on his cheeks. Moving her delicate fingers slowly, she traced along his eyes and jaw, then moved across his lips.
She gave a small smile. "Just how I remembered," she breathed. "Beautiful."
J.C. blushed and before he had time to respond, Tess had stood up and called for Corey.
"Don't you think it's time we should be going?" she asked him, attempting to walk towards where she heard him talking. She stumbled on the leg of a chair that she couldn't avoid. J.C. jumped from the couch and caught her.
"Thanks," she whispered, embarrassed.
"No problem," he replied, standing her up, his arms still around her. "Don't you have a cane?"
"No," she responded bitterly. "I'm not handicapped."
J.C.'s hands dropped to his sides. "Obviously not," he said, looking away.
"Aren't you going to come to the show?" Joey asked Tess.
"I don't have a ticket," she replied lamely.
"Oh, come on. You don't need a ticket," Chris hollered. "You've got us. We'll be your ticket. Front row."
"Thanks," Tess said again with a smile. "You guys are great."
Justin shrugged. "We try."
The men said goodbye to Corey and Tess. The pair promised to return later that evening for the concert. J.C.'s eyes followed Tess out the door until he could no longer see one part of her.
"Uh-oh," Lance said, elbowing Justin in the side playfully. "I think somebody has a crush," he teased.
J.C. looked up at him quickly, as the others laughed. He looked down at the floor, completely embarrassed. "You guys don't know what you're talking about," he said defensively.
"Oooo, touchy!!" Chris responded. "If you stared at that girl any longer, you would have gone blind."
"Not funny Chris," J.C. looked at him coldly and walked over to the piano and began to play.
....................
"I can't believe you're making me do this," Tess complained on the way to the concert.
"Who was begging me just yesterday about how badly they wanted to go to this show?" Corey questioned.
"But that was yesterday," Tess argued. "I didn't know them yesterday."
"You didn't know them, or a certain Mr. Joshua Scott Chasez?" he teased.
"Oh please," Tess said, waving her hand in his direction. "Don't start."
"You like him and you know it," Corey continued. "I don't see why you're denying it."
"Maybe because it's ridiculous and impossible?" Tess countered.
"Tess, you're more than blind, you're completely delusional. You couldn't tell that he was crazy about you?"
"No, sorry, I couldn't. If he liked me so much, I think it would have been a bit more obvious."
"He jumped up to catch you," Corey pointed out.
"Yeah, but if he didn't do it, you would have a second later. You know it, so don't lie."
"That may be true, but the point is he did it. I think you should talk to him some more."
"Since when did I start taking love advice from you, the king of ruined relationships?"
"Since I became your best friend in kindergarten," he responded confidently.
Tess laughed. After a moment of silence, "Do you really think he likes me?" she asked quietly.
Corey grinned. "Without a doubt."
....................
"J.C. would you stop pacing!!" Joey cried. He had been watching his friend burn a streak in the carpet of the dressing room for the last ten minutes. "What are you so nervous about?"
"The show, what else?" J.C. lied. He was really nervous about looking in the front row and seeing Tess's beautiful face again.
"I'll bet I could tell you what else," Justin winked. "He's worried about seeing his girl again."
J.C. stopped walking and looked at his young friend. "Justin, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have any girl."
"You might as well just stop pretending, J.C.," Chris chided. "You never were a good liar. We all know you're sweating about that girl that we met earlier this afternoon. What was her name again?"
"Tess," J.C. replied automatically. The others laughed at him as he blushed deep crimson.
"That was way too obvious, my friend," Lance said through his laughter. "You know, we're gonna be around here for a little while. Maybe you should get to know her a little better."
J.C. shook his head. "She doesn't want me."
"Right....," Justin replied. "And you don't sing lead vocals in a multi-platinum pop group. C'mon J.C., give her a chance. You never know what might happen."
J.C. looked at each of his friends in turn. Slowly, a little boy grin spread across his face.
"O.k., o.k. I'll ask her out to dinner."