Chapter 5
"And now here is Kait and the ladies singing 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!'" Ricky introduced as the curtain rose on the musical stage.
It had been three weeks since the taping of the first episode, and they were now on the twentieth. This would be their last for at least a week, so they could get other things going. Kait was the first newbie to sing for the show, and she was definitley ready. The four began to dance, and when it was time, Kait opened her mouth to lip-sync.
That was the only part of performing Kait didn't like. But Robin said that lip-synching would sound alot better on television. All Kait would do was grin and bear it, for she had no authority to argue with anybody. Plus, it was still an honor to be singing.
The audience cheered as the four struck their final pose. Kait smiled along with Christina, Britney, and Nikki as the entire cast came onto the stage. Terri and Fred said their goodbyes, and JC took the chance to give Kait a hug. Other cast members gave her a little smile or a congrats before they went to their groups. Kait stood between JC and Justin as the ending song was sung.
Now it's time to say goodbye
To all our company
M-I-C...
See you real soon!
...K-E-Y
Why? Because we like you!
M-O-U-S-E
All the groups broke as the audience came onto the stage and danced by the cast members. Kait and JC stayed close to the camera as they did their "ending rap." Also around the same camera was Nita, Matt, Ilana, Dale, and TJ. They were always told to crowd for effect.
The music faded, and Dennis yelled cut, ending the final shot. Like every other successful end, the cast cheered as they made their way back to the dressing rooms. The audience would be heading back to their seats for Bill's speech.
After hearing a "Congratulations!", or a "Great Job!" forn about every cast member, Kait headed back to her dressing room. Right before she turned to her door, an arm grabbed her and pulled her in the opposite direction. She was clueless until she reached a corner and saw JC holding her arm.
"Hey JC, whats up?" Kait asked, wondering why he had pulled her out instead of calling her later like usual.
He grinned and pulled her into a hug. "The first new member to sing on show! You did wonderful!"
Kait blushed and hugged him back. "Well, the song didn't really allow me to showcase my real vocal talent, but oh well! It was so much fun!"
"It always is, sweetie." He said, still smiling. "So what are your plans for tonight?"
"Well," Kait began. "Tonight they are having a three hour marathon leading up to the first show of the season. Christina's "boyfriend" is going to be there, and so are Justin and Brit. We are just gonna watch while eating some pizza. Would you like to join us?"
JC nodded in agreement. "Sure, sounds like fun! Tony and Kerri are probably gonna be going to a movie or something, so cool. Alot better than sitting alone in the room!"
Nodding in agreement, Kait told him to be at her room around 5:30. That gave him an hour to get ready. Kait left, waving, and JC headed to his own dressing room. He was glad he had something to do tonight. Sitting alone in his room was not fun, and he was gonna invite Kait to hang anyways. So it was set, he was occupied tonight.
As JC ran back to his dressing room, he ran into Ryan who was exiting his own. "In a hurry, JC?"
"No, just running." JC said, hiding the fact that he was just excited. "Are you in a hurry?"
"Actually, yes." Ryan gave a snicker and jerked his head to the side, brushing the loose hair from his face. "I'm kind of asking one of the lady cast members out."
Suddenly finding much intrest, JC gave Ryan his full attention. "Whose the lucky female? Christina? Nikki?"
"Actually, I am asking Kait." Ryan stated simply. "I've had a crush on her physically since day one, and since then found her very interesting. So I figure, why not give it a shot and ask her out now? Britney and Justin hooked up, so why not follow the trend?"
Shock was the first emotion JC felt. He had known that Ryan thought Kait was pretty; but he had no clue that he wanted to try a relationship with her! JC also felt an overwhelming amount of jealousy. Kait was his girl, even if they were just friends.
"Wow. Do you think she wil say yes?" JC said, trying to hide his feelings about everything.
"Well, I think she'll agree to at least one date." Ryan said. He had so much confidence that it scared JC. Knowing that he was so sure made JC wonder what Kait really thought about Ryan. Did she like him back?
"Well, good luck." JC said, no enthusiasm in his voice. But Ryan didn't seem to notice or care. He just gave a quick wave and wandered in the other direction.
JC wasn't as excited about hanging with Kait later now. What would happen to the two of them if she said yes to Ryan? They had developed a real tight knit friendship over the weeks. He greatly hoped Kait would deny Ryan's request. JC knew it wasn't right to think that, but he couldn't help it.
So JC walked to his dressing room, hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Randy, this is my roomate and fellow cast member Kait. Kait, this is Randy." Kait introduced.
Kait shook the hand of Christina's "boyfriend" Randy in welcome. Randy was the one Christina had chatted with after the taping of the first episode. Spiky blond hair was on the top of his head. It wasn't the "in" style of hair for boys those days, but it suited Randy. He also had dark brown eyes that to Kait, looked really confused.
There was a knock at the door, and the three turned to look at it. Kait offered to answer it while letting Randy get settled with Christina.
Britney and Justin stood outside, holding hands, waiting to come inside of the room, Kait smiled at the two and stepped aside to let them in. The two broke hands and walked into the room to meet Christina's guy.
Just before Kait was going to shut the door, she heard her name being called from down the hallway. JC was running towards her room like there was no tomorrow. "Hey Jace."
"Whoo! Why was I running?" JC asked himself before greeting Kait. "Hey Kait, whats going on?"
"Nothing much. But now that you're here, we have perfect attendance." She joked before leading him inside.
After five minutes of greeting everybody, Kait decided it was a good time for somebody to go out and get the pizza. Kait volunteered to go, and JC did as well. So together, they walked out of the room.
"So whats the scoop with them two?" Randy asked from his position beside Christina on the couch.
Justin, Britney and Christina all sighed at once. Randy gave them an odd look and all three shared a slight chuckle.
"Kait and JC are tough to explain." Christina said, beginning the tiny bit of info they would give him.
"They went to the first cast party together, then decided to just be friends." Britney explained. "Why they decided that, nobody knows."
"You see," Justin began. "I know for a fact that the entire cast thinks they are going to hook up before the end of this season. Everybody knows they like eachother, but they won't admit it to themselves."
Randy nodded. Though he didn't know the entire story, he felt he had the whole main idea of it down. So he sat quietly as the marathon begin.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
There was an extremley awkward silence outside of the studio. Neither Kait or JC said a word since leaving her room. It was a different setting for the usually chatty pals.
A gust of cold wind blew against her cheek and Kait shivered. JC noticed this and took off his jean jacket, offering it to her by dropping it on her shoulders. "It isn't much, but it will keep you warm."
Smiling graciously, Kait put her arms through the jacket and pulled her flowered blouse straight. Again there was a silence, until Kait decided to finally speak. "Ryan asked me out."
JC's heart rate jumped a notch. His palms began to sweat and he could hardly hide his jealousy. He hadn't even known what she answered yet. But he was definitley anxious to find out. Yet he also had to play it cool and act like he didn't care. "Really? What did you say?"
"Well," The way Kait started made JC even more nervous. "I politley declined. I told him that the age difference would make me feel uncomfortable and that he and I would be better as friends."
Mentally, JC was jumping for joy. This was great. She was still single, and in a way still his girl. "How did he take the answer?"
Kait blushed before giving him the answer. "He asked me if I would give him just one kiss. Then he would know what it was like to kiss an older woman."
Again, JC became nervous. He himself hadn't kissed Kait yet. If youngster Ryan had, it would definitley put a damper on his season. Instead of asking directly, JC gave Kait a look of curiosity. Knowing what the look meant, she grinned and told him.
"I told him to close his eyes, then I gave him a kiss on the cheek." Kait sighed. "I don't really know him and I didn't want to kiss him and have it mean absolutley nothing."
"What do you mean by that?" JC asked as he took a step closer to her.
"I mean," Kait looked down at the ground. "A kiss isn't supposed to be just a kiss. When you kiss somebody, it is something really magical. I can't, and won't, just kiss somebody for the hell of it! When I kiss a guy, he has to be somebody I know and who is really special to me. Like," Kait paused for a moment, decided then who she was describing. "A guy like you."
JC choked. "Me?"
"Well, yeah." Kait said, taking a step closer. "Honestly, I've always wanted my boyfriends to be my best friends. You are my best friend in the cast, and you know that I like you. I guess-"
Kait was unable to finish, for JC cupped her face in his hands. It was like in a movie, when the two look into eachother's eyes before slowly moving in for the kiss. Thats exactly what happened, and everything Kait wanted in a kiss was there.
At first, it was a sweet and soft touch of their lips. JC's forehead rested against hers and her eyes were still closed. "Kait?"
"Hmm?" She asked, opening her eyes slowly.
"Remember that thing we said about staying friends?"
"Yeah."
"Can we forget that?" He asked, slowly massaging her cheek.
"You read my mind." She said before slowly moving in for another kiss. *~*~*~*~*~*~*