Chapter 3
The rest of the flight couldn't have gone better. Arianna had switched seats with JC to stay away from her 'ex' and had gotten to know him very well. Little flirty comments were heard from the both of them, making the whole scandal easier than expected.
Bryce watched in amazement. His sister was one talented cookie. She was able to get that sparkle in her eyes and the blush in her cheeks when luring a male. He just sat and listened for the rest of the flight. It wasn't very long either.
Once off the plane, Bryce motioned towards the bathroom with his head. "Umm.. Josh? I am gonna go to the ladies room. I'll meet you at the baggage claim?"
"Sure. See ya there." He gave a slight wave and headed to pick up his bags. Arianna waited until he was out of sight then walked briskly towards the bathroom. Sure enough, waiting outside, was Bryce with a sly smirk on his face. "Hey there Toby." She snickered.
"Sis, you are great!" He slapped his older sibling a high-five. His face soon turned into a serious expression when the plan came into mind. "This is working better than expected though. I'll call you in a week on the cell and get some information. But for now, good luck."
"Alright B. Thanks." She kissed his cheek then walked away.
"Oh and Ri!" Bryce called. Arianna turned and gave her brother a questionable look. "Jump him. All night baby."
Arianna just shook her head and blew her brother a kiss. Quickly, she dashed towards the baggage claim. She found JC holding one suitcase and searching for another. Quietly, she stepped up behind him. "Hey there."
JC flinched at the new presence beside him, but loosened when he saw it was only Harmony. "Gosh, you scared me! That was a quick trip to go to the bathroom.."
Arianna realized that she hadn't taken the time to actually go to the bathroom to make her story believable. "Well.." She searched her head for an excuse. "It was really crowded and smelly. I figured I could hold it for a bit."
"Okay, fine with me." He just shrugged and they searched for their bags. Arianna gave herself a mental high-five for her quick save.
"This one is mine!" She said pointing to a blue suitcase with a bookbag attached. Weakly, she made an attempt to pick it up. It was heavy, and making her seem weak would make her innocent act even more believable. "Hmmph!" She cried when she was unable to retrieve it from the moving row.
"I'll get it for ya." JC leaned over and easily retrieved the bags. Arianna just smiled and thanked him politley. When she tried to pick it up however, it stayed mounted on the ground. JC smiled at her as she tried desperatley to pick up the two bags.
"Why am I so freggin weak?" She threw her hands up in the air than made one final attempt to pick up the suitcase. Again she failed, but could her a snicker from behind her. Turning, she saw JC trying to hide his laughter.
"Are you laughing at me?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips. He just shook his head and began to laugh more. "Thats it. Nobody laughs at Harmony Higgins."
"Oh? What are... you gonna... do about.. about it?" JC managed to say in between laughs. He closed his eyes and rubbed the tears of laughter that were forming.
"This." Arianna jumped on his back and softly punched his chest from behind. It didn't hurt JC, and she knew it wouldn't. It was just an innocent way of flirting.
"Okay mad woman!" JC yelled, grabbing her waving arms. "Calm down and lets get going!"
"You mean I don't get a piggypack wide?" She asked in a babyish tone. He laughed and shook his head, trying to remove her from his back. She just tightened her grip around his neck and wined. "Pwetty pwetty pwease?"
Looking down, he saw there was only two suitcases and a bookbag to carry. Not much, and Harmony was extremley light. So he sighed and gave in. "Can you carry your bookbag at least?"
"Of course I can!" She jumped off, slung the bookbag over her shoulder, then jumped right back on his back. After getting positioned, turned his head and kissed his cheek. "Thank you!"
Neither, especially Arianna, expected the feeling they got when she kissed him. Even if it was only a cheek, JC still felt a tingling sensation. Arianna felt warm and fuzzy, a sudden feeling that she had never felt before. Yet, she liked it.
Arianna kept her head on JC's shoulder, watching all the passing people. Their heads were next to eachother's, and hairs on their next rose at the feel of one another's breath. JC could tell, this was a good idea.
* * * * *
Asleep and beautiful. How is it he could trust this beautiful stranger? His gut had never been very good at judging people before. But something just told him that this girl was all she seemed to be. Sweet, Innocent, and of course- Pretty. Oh, screw pretty, she was down right gorgeous.
The Taxi came to a stop in front of his house. He cleared his throat then looked at the driver. "I'll give you extra if you can drop the bags off at the door."
"Hey, no problem!" The driver kindly got out to get the bags piled in the trunk. While he did this, JC dropped the money owed on his seat then picked Harmony up in his arms. She only stirred a bit, and wrapped her arms around his neck, cuddling against him. Such a display was confined to couples, wasn't it?
And besides, she had just broken up with her boyfriend. But yet, she didn't seem that upset about it. And he found that odd. But if thats they way she felt, then he would let her feel that way.
JC brought her into the large 2-story house and carefully walked up the stairs. The bedroom next to his would be fine. It was nice, and had a connecting door, making it easy for talks. For he enjoyed talking to Harmony, and found her a good friend already.
Once she lay comfortably on the bed, JC tucked her in then quietly exited the room, closing the door behind him.
Click
Once she hear the door shut, Arianna opened her eyes from her fake sleep. She couldn't believe her eyes. The room was bigger than any she had ever seen. Even bigger than the room in her own home. The walls were painted baby blue, one of her favorite colors, with matching bedding and original interior decorating.
While staring in amazement at the room, Arianna realized she still had to pee. So she got up from the bed and traveled the door. When she got out, she was lost in a sea of different doors. There were so many, it was amazing.
As she began to wander, she heard soft music coming from one of the doors. Once she found the door, she quietly opened it to find JC sitting at the piano, playing a tune she knew as a Madonna song. And hearing him sing it was very flattering, considering it fit the situation perfectly.
Haven't we met?
Your some kind of beautiful stranger
You could be good for me
I've had the taste for danger
If I'm smart then I'll run away
But I'm not so i'll guess I'll stay
Heaven Forbid
I take my chance on a beautiful stranger
I looked into your eyes
And my world came tumbling down
You're the devil in disquise
Thats why I'm singing this song
*Madonna- Beautiful Stranger*
JC was inturupted when Arianna broke out in applause. He jumped back in surprise, but sighed when he saw it was only her. "I found out where I know you from!"
"What do you mean?" JC asked, growing nervous. He hadn't told her about *NSync. To say the truth, he didn't like to bring it up.
"When I saw you, I thought you looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it." She sat beside him on the piano bench. "But now I remember who you are. You're that dude from the thing."
"That dude from the thing?" He asked, amused by her recent statement.
"Yeah you know.. that thing that ended. Umm.. like in the sink or something. No.. oh yeah I remember now! Nsync!"
"Yeah, I guess you could say I was a part of 'that thing'." He shrugged and looked down at the keys on the piano.
"I would have rememberd you sooner but you cut that tree on your head." She ruffeld his hair and looked at his shocked face.
"Tree? What tree?"
"That thing you use to call hair. It looks alot better now."
"You did not just make fun of my hair."
"What if I did? What chu gon do bout it?"
Before another word was said, JC attacked Arianna with his fingers. She laughed uncontrollably as he tickeled her. She had always been very ticklish, but something about his fingers made her tingle. She couldn't quite understand it.
"Aah, Josh.. lemme go please!" Arianna laughed, trying to squirm away.
"Why should I do that?" JC asked as he continued to tickle her.
"Because I have to go to the bathroom!"
"Oh." JC stopped and pointed out the door. "Right out the door and across the hall."
Arianna smiled and dashed towards the door. "Thank you so much!"
JC just smiled as she hurried to relieve herself. She was a spunky one alright, but he liked that. And he sure did like her.