One Last Good-Bye

Since it was my very first fan fiction story, I decided to use names that were familiar to me (my nickname is Anjel). I'm sure you can tell I'm an amateur after reading this. Well, if you have any questions or comments, just click 'ME!' up above. Hope you enjoy your stay here. SUMMARY: A young girl named Arlene graduates high school with honors but can't be proud of herself because of the loss her family in an accident. Her only brother, Erik flies in from Florida to cheer her on and takes her back to Florida where she'll live temporally until she figures out what to do in her life. There she meets very special neighbors that will help her get through the tragedy, until she falls into that same position. RATED: PG 13 (meaning, if you cannot accept the fact that there is a bit of profanity here, then please go back.) Chapter 1 I sat alone in the lobby, waiting for an answer. Waiting for a sign. Chills coming up and down my back, knowing that I hated being at a place like this. Suddenly, the door slowly opened. Out came a man in a white coat with a name tag saying, “Dr. Malcolm.” I stood up slowly. He began walking closer to me. With his face trying to hide his depressed expression, he said, “Arlene, I’m sorry but your mother and your sister didn’t make it. We tried everything we could, but we lost the battle. I’m sorry. As for your father, he is in critical condition. He has requested to see you.” As tears fell from my eyes, Dr. Malcolm escorted me to my dad’s room. I tried my best to hold it in and be strong for my father. “Room 502” is what the door said. I slowly pushed open the door when I saw a body lying still on the stiff hospital bed. Tubes sticking out and an oxygen mask, I quietly walked to the bed. I sat in the seat next to the bed and grabbed his right hand. “Daddy, don’t leave me, too” I said as I pulled his hand to my forehead while more tears fell form my eyes. His head turns slowly to face me. He looked so helpless. How was I going to tell him he lost his wife and youngest daughter? It was just too hard for me not to break down and cry, but I held it in. As he pulled down the oxygen mask, he whispered, “How are the others? Are they O.K.?” Tears ran down my face as I told him the bad news. “Daddy, they tried everything they could.” I said trying to control my shaky voice. You could automatically see his broken heart being torn and tortured. “I need water, Hun. Can you get me a glass?” he said in a weak whisper. I got up from my seat and walked to the counter where a pitcher and a glass were displayed. As I poured the water, I suddenly heard my father breathing very deeply and in such a fast pace. I turned around as fast as I can and dropped the glass on the floor. I ran to the bed to see my father struggling for his life. I didn’t want to let him go, but I had no choice. I took his hand while more and more tears fell from my eyes and said, “I love you, daddy. Always and forever.” “I love you, Arlene. You always made me proud. Never forget that.” He said in a much weaker voice. BEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!! ……….. As I kissed my father’s hand, the doctor and his nurses ran through the door, trying to do their job. I walked out of that room with nothing but fear in my heart. That night changed my life forever. No mother-daughter conversations. No little sister to irritate me. And now, no father to give me away at a wedding. Nothing but fear… *back at home* As I woke up, I realized it was not a dream, or should I say a nightmare. I could still feel the wetness on my pillows. I had that hospital odor all over my clothes. It was time for another day of school, unfortunately it was almost the end on my senior year. Knowing that I will be graduating the very next day, it was so hard for me to realize my parents nor my sister will never see me in my cap and gown. Will never see me move the tassel from one side of my cap to the other. Will never see me give my valedictorian speech to my fellow classmates. As the day ended, my brother, who I haven’t seen in eight years, flew to California to see me graduate and take me back home to my home state of Florida, where I was raised for the first ten years of my life. I saw a taxi pull up on the driveway and walked out to the front. Out came a man wearing a white-collar shirt and black suit pants. He carried a duffel bag along with a medium-sized suitcase from the truck of the car. As we locked eyes with each other, he dropped everything he had and ran right to me. “Are you O.K.?” he said with concern while hugging me tightly. “Yeah.” I said as I pulled away. “C’mon, let’s get you inside. He grabbed his bag and suitcase and walked into the house. He followed me upstairs to where he would spend the night. He noticed the two-door bedroom and decided to check it out. “Hey, lil’ sis. Who’s room is this?” as he was about to reach the knob. I turned back at him and noticed what he was reaching for. Trying to hold everything together, I bit my lips tightly, but I failed. Tears of sadness fell as he opened the doors. “It was mommy and daddy’s room,” I said as I plopped to the carpet and broke down. “Arlene, its O.K. don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” He said while his arms were wrapped around my back. *later that night* “So, sis, how does it feel to be Valedictorian?” he said with a smile on his face. “How does it feel to be a 30 year-old doctor named Erik who makes thousands and thousands of dollars and is STILL single?” I said with a sarcastic voice. “Geez. I didn’t mean to offend you, lil’ girl” he said with such a sarcastic voice. (see the resemblance) “I don’t think I want to go to school tomorrow,” I said. “Heeeeellllllllllllllooooooo!!!!!!! You’re graduating TOMORROW. You’re the Valedictorian.” He said as if it was the most important thing in my life. “It’s not worth it anymore. Who’s gonna give me the ‘pat on the back,’ or a ‘job well done,’ or ‘I’m proud of you.’” I said with no hope. “I am,” Erik said proudly, “ all that and much, much more.” I smiled back and decided to go to bed. “Night. You know how much I love to sleep and all,” I said as I walked up the stairs. I could see a little light coming from underneath my sister’s door. As I held in my tears I walked in. There, the bed’s comforters were still sagging on the floor with her favorite stuffed animal on her baby blue pillows. The stars on the ceiling glowed ever so brightly as her sun-moon lamp lit the room up. I could smell her raspberry mist throughout the entire room. I switched the lamp off and slowly walked out. Taking a deep breath of relief, I walked towards my room and changed into my white and orange checkered pajamas. It was around 10:45 p.m. when the entire house turned pitch black. Suddenly, the doorknob turned and the door slowly opened wide. I pulled the covers over me when I realized that it was just plain ol’ Erik. “Night, sis.” He said out loud. “Ohh, geez, Erik. You freaked me out.” I said in such a nervous voice. “Sorry… well, night.” He said as he started to close the door. “Night!” I yelled aloud. Chapter 3 Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm clock beeped. It was 7:45 a.m. and it was time for me to get ready. Realizing that today, I will stand in front of the entire school district, I tried to relax and calm down. That unfortunately was difficult for my knees were shaking while butterflies flew throughout my entire body. Around 8:30 a.m., I came walking down the stairs in a light gray blouse with black suit pants and a black over jacket. My hair had two clips, one on each side of my head, as my bangs were curled and dangling in front of my face. I smelled something coming from the kitchen. It smelled like breakfast. Good breakfast. I entered the kitchen to see my brother actually cooking. “What the hell are you doing?” I said in such a confused tone. “What does it look like?” he said sarcastically. “Oh my gosh. Are you actually cooking?” I said. “Well, something’s gotta keep me occupied while I’m off work. Besides, a guy’s gotta learn to cook when he’s lives all alone.” He said trying to support his cooking skills. “Well, I have to go now,” I said as I picked up my bag and index cards, which were lying on the table. “I’ll be the one with the big sign saying ‘My sister’s the Valedictorian’” Erik said without much hesitation. “Oh geez.” I said as I shook my head side to side. “Oh yeah. Are you done packing your bags? You know we’re leaving Saturday morning. And ummm … today’s THURSDAY!” he said in a high tone voice. “Well, I still have tomorrow, so don’t worry. See ya.” I said walking out the door. I pulled out of the driveway and made a right turn. After the third stop sign, I turned right again and continued driving. As I pulled up into the school parking lot, I noticed several families walking across the black top to the field where the chairs were set up for the ceremony. *ceremony* I held my speech in my hand as the principal had a speech of her own. Principal Stratton walked up to the podium and proceeded to her speech. I fixed my cap and noticed all the happy parents awaiting for their son or daughter to come upstage and receive their diploma. Those smiling faces. Those hands in the air waving to their loved ones brought tears to my eyes. Wondering how I could go much further without my parents by my side. “…and this year’s Valedictorian is Miss Arlene Jacobs” is what saved me as I drowned in my sorrows onstage. The audience applauded as I got up from my seat and slowly walked to the podium. “Ladies and gentlemen. Staff and students. Family and friends. I am here to honor not only this year’s senior class, but also 654 students who have achieved so much during these past four years here in Oak High. All of us have had our rough times, from getting our first “F” to losing a football game. We all have much more to live for. I am thankful to be raised in such a loving house with a more loving family.” After family came out of my mouth, the index cards suddenly looked blurry to my eyes as more and more tears piled up. “… I want to congratulate all of you for your outstanding achievement. Thank you.” Everyone stood up and clapped their hands as loud as they can as I took my seat onstage waiting for the diploma ceremony. Chapter 4 I slowly took my gown off as the ceremony had ended. Purchasing my tassel, I held onto it as they handed me my Valedictorian strap along with a plaque as to honor my achievement of having the highest GPA in the history of Oak High. “C’mon, smile. This is supposed to be the most happiest day of your entire life.” My brother said with much atheism. Since he caught a ride with his best bud, Casey, he decided to ride with me. “Man, I never thought Casey would be a computer technician.” He said with a shocked expression. I just sat in the passenger seat looking out of the window. It was nearly 2:00 p.m. and all my friends were going to a party at the Embassy. “Oh yeah, I was looking around your room and found an envelope.” Erik said. “Yeah, so what?” I said with an attitude. “Why didn’t you tell me that you have a scholarship to Harvard?!” He said. “There’s no point. I have nothing to show for it.” I said back. “Hey, don’t throw your life away like that.” He said. “Hey, you’re not my father. Remember. My father’s DEAD.” I said snapping at him. The car came to a sudden stop. I hit my head on the dashboard. “What the hell did you just say to me?!” he said with the most disturbing face. “You heard me,” backfiring at him. “Look, I’m not your father but I am your brother and the only one who cares for you as much as Mom or Dad.” He said soon followed by him breaking down in the car. He started the car and continued to drive home. No other words were spoken from that point. Never said a word to each other during lunch or dinner. The house was as quiet as a library. At around 10:30 p.m., all lights were turned off. Lying on my bed, all I could think about was how hurt Erik must have felt after that conversation. I reached under my pillow and pulled out picture frame. Within that frame was a family portrait taken at Griffith Park. I can still feel the sun hitting us as we ate our sandwiches. I stared at it for at least 20 minutes as more and more tears ran down my cheeks. I laid it gently under my pillow and turned the lamp off. Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm clock was still set at 7:45 a.m., and I had a lot of packing to do. We decided not to sell the house and leave it the way it is. On my bed laid two huge suitcases, which were half packed with my personal possessions. Still no words were spoken in the household. The only thing running through my mind was my decision about college. Should I take that scholarship to Harvard or the one to UCLA? Should I live permanently in Florida with my brother and take college courses there. Nothing was decided. Nothing at all. The day was soon turning into night as I finished packing two duffel bags. It was nearly 9:00 p.m., as our flight leaves at 11:00 a.m. the next day, so I decided to hit the sac. I lay in my bed, wanting to talk to Eric. And yet, it was too difficult to. Before turning the light off, I looked around my room, noticing the cluttered bags next to my door, the picture frames throughout my entire room, filled with pictures of family and friends. Remembering the memories I had with my little sister, a smile appeared on my face with tears following. I turned the light off and laid my head on the pillow as I dreamed of how it would be if my family were still around. Chapter 5 Beep! Beep! Beep! “This alarm clock is getting on my nerves,” I said to myself as I hit the clock. I took a shower and fixed myself up. Wearing cuffed jeans with a white tank top, covered by a black leather jacket, I walked slowly down the stairs. Carrying the two huge suitcases down the stairs, I notice the shuttle had arrived. Erik soon came barging in. I could see he looked up at me on top of the stairs as he entered the kitchen. I was on the last step on the staircase when he grabbed the two suitcases from out of my hands and carried them out to the shuttle. I went back up to get the two duffel bags. I put a silver JanSport backpack on along with a black baseball cap that read “D.Q.”. Remembering the day I received that hat brought back more memories. My friends custom made that hat in honor for my dancing achievements I’ve done in the past. The letters “D.Q.”, which was in orange thread, stood for “Dancing Queen.” Putting it on backwards, I picked my bags up and headed towards the door. It was nearly 9:00 a.m. when the shuttle started to honk its horn. I headed down stairs where my boots were waiting for my feet. Sticking my feet into each boot, Erik walked by and grabbed the two duffel bags. I headed to the front door and then realized I forgot my most priceless possession: my picture frame underneath my pillow. I ran back up stairs and into my bedroom. I walked towards my bed and reached underneath the pillow. As I pulled it out, I looked at it for a moment and stick it into my backpack. Running back downstairs, I walked into the kitchen to get a bottle of water and grabbed my W.W.J.D. lanyard and headed towards the front door again. As I reached from behind me to close the door, I took one look back into the living room and sighed. Locking the door, I walked to the driveway. Parked outside the gate was a blue shuttle. Inside sat the driver in the driver’s seat (duh) and in front was passenger seat was Erik. I slid open the back door and walked in. Taking one strap of my backpack off, I sat down and slid the door closed. The shuttle started and I looked back at the house that I’ve lived in for the past eight years. *airport* The shuttled parked in front of the entrance of the airport and helped us carry our luggage to a nearby luggage cart. Still, no words were spoken to each other. It was 9:45 a.m. as we entered the airport. Both of us lined up to our luggage onto the jet. After about 20 minutes in line, we reached the desk. I headed to the nearby souvenir store to buy a magazine of some sort, as my brother followed from behind. It was less than 30 minutes until the plane headed off the concrete surface. They soon let passengers take their seats so Erik and I headed to the ticket line. With no words, Erik handed me a first class ticket and we enter the hallway to the jet soon after that. The stewardess escorted us to our seats. I took the seat next to the window as my brother took the seat next to mine. Throughout the entire trip, all I did was stare outside of the window as my head leaned on my left arm, which was held up by my armrest. The stewardess announced that it would be less than 30 minutes ‘til we arrived in Florida when Erik tried to start a conversation. With my head turned away from him, he said, “The neighbors next door and a couple of their friends will be picking us up. They’re really great guys but they’ll never leave the house. The two guestrooms upstairs and the three downstairs are their personal rooms now. So I’m warning you.” Soon followed a laugh, but nothing came out of my mouth but air. The plane landed and we headed out of the plane. Waiting patiently for the luggage belt to bring our luggage to us, Erik continued, “Hey, did you know the guys are in a singing group. The group is named *NSYNC.” Waiting for me to turn my head to him and say “Really??” he continued again, “Isn’t that cool?!” The luggage came and I started packing them on the cart without answering Erik. Chapter 2 Chapter 6 It was around 5:00 p.m. here in Florida. I looked through the clear automatic sliding doors to see two cars parking outside. “Hey, there they are.” Erik said. As we walked through the sliding doors, the guys greeted Erik. I believe there were five of them. The two cars they brought were some sort of Expedition and a Mercedes. I pushed the cart towards the cars and a guy with very curling hair came up to me. The first thing that popped into my head was {He must be Goldilock’s long-lost twin brother} Soon after, another guy walked towards me. He looked Italian but I just remembered him as {big nose}, I thought to myself. He carried two suitcases into the Expedition as the curly haired boy carried two more to the Mercedes. One guy was too busy talking to my brother as he was holding his little dog, which looked like a pug. The other two guys were with three teenage girls signing pieces of paper. One had somewhat light blond hair as the other one had dark brown hair with light brown highlights. I had different nicknames for each guy. Goldilocks or curly hair; big nose; guy with dog; light blond; lion as I noticed his somewhat strange necklace. Light blond and lion soon left the girls as my brother called them. “Hey, guys. I want you to meet my little sister, Arlene.” He said putting his hands on each of my shoulders. I just stood there. “Arlene, this is Joey, Justin, Chris, JC, and Lance.” as he went down the line. “Hi.” They all said. Waiting for a reply I walked in between Chris and JC to the car door. I pulled the door open, jumped in and closed the door. “She’s sure talkative.” Chris remarked. “Hey, she’s been through a lot.” JC said. “Let her get used to you guys.” Erik said. “It’s not everyday she moves across the U.S.” “Hey, is she seeing anyone right now?” Joey asked. “Shut up, Joey. You have to date every girl you see, don’t you?!” Lance said with frustration. “She hasn’t had a boyfriend in like two years.” Erik remarked. “So look, but don’t touch.” They all laughed and walked toward the cars. Joey drove the Expedition while Lance was in the front passenger seat and Chris was in the back seat playing around with his puppy. Justin drove the Mercedes. Erik sat in the front, while I was behind Justin and left of JC. I just sat there, looking out of the window. The car started and rolled out of the airport. As the car passed building after building, I could feel eyes constantly looking at me. In the corner of my eye, I could see JC’s head turning towards me and then back to the right, while Justin’s eyes kept looking up into the mirror. *in the expedition* “Hey, Arlene’s pretty cute.” Lance remarked. “Yeah. I guess the cute genes skipped Erik.” Chris said. They all laughed. *at the house* Both cars parked in front of the house. I looked out through the window and remembered everything about the house. Even if I was only 10 years old, I can still remember where I fell off my bike. I opened the door and heard the trunk pop open. As I walked to the back of the car, I noticed that Justin and Erik were already there. Pulling each suitcase out, I reached for both duffel bags and headed to the house. I was just wondering around the front yard when Erik yelled out, “Arlene, c’mon.” I walked up the stairs and entered the house as though I have never seen the house before. Chapter 7 The first room I saw was the one I entered. It was the living room. There was a Victorian vibe in that room, although there were many pictures of the family all over the room. On the mantle of the fireplace were more pictures frames filled with Jacob family. I dropped my duffel bags in front of the door and walked towards the mantle. I picked up the frame on the right. It was my family in Christmas of ’89. The one next to it was Easter of ’86. The next two were pictures of me with Erik and Rachel at Disney World. I miss her so much but I held it in. Suddenly I heard a loud thump. THUMP! ! ! I turned around and noticed Justin on the floor. The rest of the guys ran to see what they heard. “What happened?” JC said concerned. “I was carrying those two big suitcases and tripped over those duffel bags.” Justin said as he pointed at the bags. “Obviously.” Lance said followed by a chuckle. Justin looked at me and gave me this look that made me want to laugh. Erik helped Justin up, while Joey and Lance gathered up the luggage. I just stood there staring at Justin as he cleaned himself. The other guys walked back to the cars to get the rest of the baggage, while Erik started a nice barbecue in the back yard. I noticed the stairs and decided to look around. As I climbed the staircase, I could feel Justin’s eyes following me up the stairs. My right hand was dragging along the banister as I looked at the walls filled with more pictures of my family. Everything looked so familiar. Now I could actually point out which room is which with the doors closed. The two-door bedroom was of course my parents’ room as the room next to it was my sister’s. I could detect the little dog hanging on her door. She would always touch it before entering her room, as if it would protect her from danger. Only wishing she had done the same thing back in California, she still would have been able to ride my shoulders to make a slam dunk while we play basketball. If only… I walked across the hallway where my room was. It still had my elephant hanging on the door holding a sign saying “Arlene”. As I opened the door, I suddenly was in a hypnotic state. I felt like I was 10 years old again. My bed still had my baby blue, lavender, and light green checkered sheets with matching pillowcases. In the far right corner, my signed basketball was still in its clear box along with my Orlando Magic jersey hanging below. I remember when my brother took me to my first Orlando Magic’s game and scheduled a one-on-one game with the world famous Shaq. On the right of my bed was a drawer covered with a baby blue lamp, light green clock, and a lavender frame with yet another picture of my family. The opposite side of the bed was a desk with a computer I used to play solitary on. I wasn’t much of a “girlie girl”. I was kind of sporty/active like. In my closest were a couple baseball jerseys, basketball jerseys, and even hockey jerseys. The bookshelf next to the computer desk had books in the two bottom shelves, several picture frames, statues from the company of Precious Moments, and souvenirs from several amusement parks surrounding Florida on the next three, and on the very top of the shelf were all my dancing trophies, plaques, and metals. Leaning next to my bed were my two favorite dwarfs: Sleepy and Dopey. As I picked Sleepy up, I recalled my daily routine with them. Before I went off to school, after I came back to school, and before I go to sleep, I’d kiss both of their noses. Following my memories of both dwarfs, I kissed each nose, wondering if it would make me feel any better. A loud call soon interrupted my trance. “Hey, I can’t find the meat!” Joey yelled from the kitchen. I ran back downstairs and looked around to find my way through the house. I entered the kitchen, noticing Joey’s butt sticking out of the refrigerator as he searched for the meat. Across from the kitchen was the family room. I decided to check it out, but soon noticed Lance and Justin playing video games, while JC played around with the piano as Chris played with the dog. The dog ran up to me and I grabbed it in between its legs. As I picked it up, I read its collar. “Busta” the license read. Everyone’s heads turned towards me as I gently placed Busta down onto the carpet. I turned and noticed the back yard. Walking towards the sliding doors, I slid them open and stepped out of the house. I grew an astonished face as I noticed how huge the back yard was. I’ve always thought the back yard was so small, but now, it seemed to be gigantic. There was a pool on the left side of the yard, which was surrounded by a gate. Yet, in front of the pool was a spa, which was covered by a rooftop along with a bar and stools. On the right of the pool was a basketball court where the entire family would play a round up game of b-ball, as I recall it. All the way in the far right corner stood a tree, I called Swinger. Hanging from the branch was the old tire swing I used to ride during the spring and summers. I remember my dad pushing me and spinning me. Chapter 8 *inside the house* “Ah ha! I beat ya again.” Justin teasing Lance. “You’re cheating, dude. You’re using the powers.” Lance complained. “Dat’s not true. Ya did dat, too.” Justin backfired. “Once.” Lance said. “You did that throughout the entire game.” “Did not!” Justin said. “Did too!” Lance replied. “Did not!” Justin said. “Did too!” Lance said. “Shut up, you guys. Damn, you’re acting so childishly.” JC remarks their behavior. “He started it.” Justin said pointing to Lance. “Did not!” Lance said. “Did too!” Justin responded. “Dang, I even act more grown up than you two.” Chris interrupted. Both guys laughed out loud. JC continued converting all their songs into jazz. “Joey!” Chris yelled, “Are you still looking for the meat?” “Yeah. Can’t seem to find it.” He replied. “Try one of those drawers.” Chris suggested. “Hey! I found it!” Joey said with glee. “Bring it out here!” Erik said as he put on his apron, which read ‘Kiss the Chef!’ Joey walked outside with the burger patties, hot dogs, and slices of boneless chicken. “Here ya go.” Joey said. “Thanks.” Erik replied. Joey walked back into the house to join the other guys. “Where’s Arlene?” Justin questioned. “Oh, she’s outside on the tire swing.” Joey replied. “Man, I never thought Erik’s sister would be hot.” Justin uttered. “Yeah. We were just talking about that on the way here in Joey’s car.” Lance said. “The cute genes skipped Erik and went onto Arlene.” Chris remarked. “I heard that!” Erik said from a far. They all chuckled. “Do you think she’ll go out with me?” Justin asked. “I don’t she’s interested in any of us.” JC said as he closed the piano. “I saw her staring at Justin.” Chris said. “Really??” Justin quickly jumped in. “No. Why would she wanna do that? We don’t even wanna look at you?” Chris said jokingly. “Very funny.” Justin said as he threw a pillow at Chris. Chapter 9 *backyard* I sat in that tire swing for about 20 minutes reminiscing. That was until I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Hi.” Greeted Justin. I spun the tire around and noticed Justin standing there. I looked at him for a moment and then looked down. “Ya hungry?” he asked. “Erik’s making burgers.” I stood up and walked into the house. Couple minutes later, Justin took the same route and was teased by his buds. “Ahh! She rejected you without using a single word.” Lance tormented. “She made a world’s record of rejecting you the fastest.” Chris teased. “Ha, ha. Very funny.” Justin answered. I walked into the living room to pick up my duffel bags and headed to my room to unpack. Dropping off my bags, I walked back downstairs to get my two suitcases. “Ugghhh.” I sighed trying to carry them up the stairs. I was on the third step when I leaned back. “Uhhh … uhh!” I yelled. Justin heard me and followed my voice. “Gotcha!” he said as he caught me from the stairs. “You O.K.?” “Yeah, I guess so.” As I answered in a quiet whisper. Those were the first words I’d ever said since I arrived there. “Wow! You can talk.” Justin said jokingly. I just smiled and picked up a suitcase as he picked up the other. We both climbed up the stairs to my bedroom. I opened the door and let Justin in. “Wow!” he said as he dropped the suitcase and ran to the far right corner. “You met Shaquille O’Neal?!” “Yeah. You haven’t seen that before?” I said confused. “I thought you guys come here all the time.” “We do, but Erik never lets us go into your parents’, sister’s, or even your bedroom.” He answered. When he said parents I just plopped onto the carpet of my room and put my head in between my knees. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to be offended in any way.” He said as he plopped next to me and grabbed my shoulders just like Erik did when I first met the five strangers. I brought my head up and said, “It’s O.K. I know you didn’t mean it. I just miss them so much.” Justin pulled me closer to hug me as he said, “Don’t worry. You have your brother and us.” I suddenly pulled away when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The door opened. “Hey, foods done.” Joey said as he was eating a veggie burger. “We better get down there before Joey finishes everything else.” Justin suggested. “Ha, ha.” Joey laughed sarcastically. All three of us walked down the stairs and headed to the backyard. The patio lights were turned on, for it was around 6:45 p.m. The table was fixed with lots of goodies such as burgers, hot dogs, salad, chips, and much, much more. Erik introduced me to the two new people joining us at the barbecue. “Arlene, I want you to meet Lynn Harless and her son, Jonathan. She’s Justin’s mom.” Erik announced. “Lynn, this is my little sister, Arlene.” We shook hands and said our hellos. Erik escorted me to the table. “I have something special for you tonight.” As he reached a plate covered with a metal dome. He pulled off the dome, which revealed my favorite food. “Chicken! Boneless, too!” he yelled out loud. “Thanks, bro.” I said taking the plate. I headed to the spa and reached for one of those wooden stools. I ate my supper on the counter of the bar as I looked up at the dark blue sky. “Is this stool taken?” A familiar stranger said. Chapter 10 “Sure.” I said. “Hey, how come you got chicken?!” Justin complained. “That’s spose to be on mah plate.” “Erik made it for me since it’s my favorite, but he made too much. Want any?” I offered. “Nah, I was just playin’ around, but it’s my fav. too.” He replied. “So why are you sittin’ all alone here?” “I dunno.” I replied still looking up. Soon after, JC and Lance walked over to see what was going on. “Hey, guys. Whatcha doin’?” JC questioned. “Just eating. Why?” Justin answered. “Oh, it seemed like you guys were getting your groove on.” Lance stated. I suddenly got up from my stool and headed tot he trash can. “Nice goin’, Lance.” JC declared. “What? What?” Lance said confused. Justin got up from his seat and walked towards me. As soon as he reached the trash can, I walked inside the house and into the family room. Justin soon followed. “I’m sorry if Lance offended you in any way.” Justin said trying to apologize. “You have to apologize for your friends, too?” as I got frustrated from him following me. I sat on the piano bench and uncovered it. “So, what’re you doin’ now?” he asked. “I’m snow boarding. What does it look like I’m doing?!” as I snapped at him. I soon slammed the piano cover and stormed out of the family room, running up the stairs to my room. SLAM!!!!! I slammed the door and plopped on my bed. I don’t know what came over me. I just couldn’t stand all that attention, especially someone following me. *downstairs* Meanwhile, Justin walked out of the house to the backyard with a confused look on him. “Hey, what happened?” JC asked. “Nothing.” Justin replied as he walked towards his mom. “Justin, have you met Arlene? What an adorable young girl she is.” Lynn said. “Justin … Justin … is there something wrong?” “No, mom, but I think it’s getting late. Maybe you should take Jonathan home?” he suggested. “My, my … look at the time,” she said as she looked at her watch, “Jonathan’s even yawning. Are you coming with us?” “No, I’ll probably stay the night, like I usually do.” Justin answered. “I think JC and the rest of the guys are, too.” “Ohhh, O.K. then.” She said as she kissed him on the cheek. She walked up to Erik while holding Jonathan’s hand. “Erik, thank you for inviting us and hope things go well with Arlene.” She said, “Well, it’s getting late so, I better take Jonathan home. Thank you again.” “It’s been a pleasure.” As he shook her hand. Erik escorted them to the front door, while Joey and Lance started to clean up in the back. Justin walked back to the family room and just sat there. Leaning back, all he thought about was . Chapter 11 *upstairs* I grabbed my backpack from the back of my door and placed it on my bed. Unzipping my backpack, the first visible thing I saw was the picture frame. Pulling it from out of the bag, I sat on the bed staring at it. “I don’t know how I can stand it here.” I thought to myself. Then I got back up on my feet and unpacked the bags that were on the floor. It took me about an hour to unpack. After, I decided to change for bed. Seeing it was 11:45 p.m., I thought everyone had left. I needed a glass of water, so I walked down the stairs wearing a gray baseball jersey with navy blue sleeves and gray drawstrings. I didn’t notice the lights were still on in the family room as I passed by, but I did notice the light coming from underneath the two guest room doors. Pouring myself a glass of water, I walked out of the kitchen and passed that same hallway. Even though curiosity killed the cat, I walked in the direction of the door and reached for the knob. I pushed the door open. There, I saw a man taking off his undershirt. Hearing the door open, he turned around and said, “Who is it?” I recognized his face. “Oh my gosh!” I said as I threw the glass of water up, “I am so sorry, Justin.” I ran out of the room and into the room across it. I slammed the door shut and then opened it to reveal a little crack between the door-frame and the door. I saw Justin get out of his room shirtless looking around and then I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Arlene?? What are you doing here?” the voice said. “And why are you sweating? Did you have nightmare or something?” Dragging my hand all over the wall, I found the light switch and switched it on. I was face to face with JC, who was wearing his undershirt and sport shorts. “Arlene?? Something wrong??” he said concerned. I looked at him from head to toe seeing. I thought to myself. “I… I… I have to go… ummm… ummm..” as I opened the door and ran out of the room. I left him in a stage of confusion. I ran up to my room, jumped onto the bed, and pulled the covers from under me as thought ran through my head. {What a body JC had, but not as good as Justin’s. He sure was built. No wonder girls gawk at him. Hmmm… wonder if I had a chance with him?} “What am I thinking?!” I said out loud as I sat up from my bed. I shook my head thinking it was foolish of me to think I would ever have the chance to date that so-called “heart-throb.” I laid my head down and fell asleep. Chapter 12 *Sunday morning* I got up from my bed as I rubbed my eyes. I strolled downstairs as if nothing happened the day before. Something was cooking in the kitchen. As I entered the kitchen, I noticed four heads. Chris, Lance, and Joey were eating french toast as my brother was making waffles. “Good mornin’ Miss.” Lance said in his southern accent. “So, how was your first night back in your home state?” Chris asked as he tore a piece of the toast. “It was fine.” I said looking around to see if Justin or JC were anywhere to be seen. “That’s good to hear.” Chris replied as he threw the piece of toast to Busta. “Here ya go.” Joey said pulling the chair out. I approached the chair and soon sat in it. As he pushed me in, a hand carrying a plate of waffles came into the scene. “Your fav. and mine. Waffles.” Erik said placing the plate in front of me. “O.K., why are you doing this?” I questioned Erik. “Can’t a brother cook his sister’s favorite breakfast for her?” he said as he raised his arms up shaking his head side to side. I could see that he was hiding something from me. “Yes, but not you.” I replied. “O.K., you got me. Last night, I got a phone call from my boss saying that they need me down in South Africa.” He said as he ended the sentence looking down. “This week?! Can’t another doctor do that?!” I suggested. “Arlene, you know I can’t do that.” He exclaimed. “Fine! My first week in a new place that you forced me to come to and stay with you, and you won’t even be here. Thanks a lot!!” I snapped as I threw my napkin on the table and stormed out of the kitchen. “Hey, Erik. You made the right choice.” Lance stated. “I hope you’re right.” Erik replied. *upstairs* “He’s leaving me, just like my parents. Just like my sister.” I said to myself while I teared-up. “I should have stayed back in California where I would have been alone without spending a penny. Instead, I came along and had to meet Erik’s singing group friends.” I decided to relieve my stress by taking a hot bath. It was around 12:15 p.m. when I got out of the bathtub. Looking through my closest, I pulled out a pair of baggy overalls with a black tank top. As soon as my hair dried, I put it up into a ponytail and walked downstairs. I was halfway down the stairs when I heard the front door close. I stopped to wait for the car to start. The car started and drove away, so at that point, I thought I was alone. I walked into the kitchen realizing everyone had left. I looked out the kitchen window and no one was around. The only thing I saw was a basketball and a football, so I decided to play a round. I slid the door open and walked towards the basketball, which was near the court. Picking up the ball, I started to dribble it while walking to the free-throw line. Every time I threw the ball, it ended up being a “swish!” I guess Oak High did have a reason to make me Captain of the girls’ basketball team. *in the house* “Uhhhhggggg…” as Justin stretched and yawned. He moved his jaw up and down trying to taste his saliva. He got up as he scratched the top of his head. Looking at the clock, he said, “Damn. It’s 12:23 already.” As he was about to open the door, the door bashed him in the head. “OUCH! DAMN IT!” Justin yelled while rubbing his forehead. “Sorry, man. Didn’t mean to do that.” JC said, trying to defend himself. Justin glared at JC and then headed to the kitchen for some cereal. JC followed. “Hey, I wonder where the rest of the guys are.” JC said. Justin just looked up at him and then back at his cereal. Both heard an irritating sound. Bounce! Bounce! Bounce!… Bounce! Bounce! Bounce!… (sorry, I’m not that good at writing sounds) Justin recognized that it was a basketball and turned his head to face the backyard. He watched me make each shot. He picked up his empty bowl and placed it in the sink. Walking to the sliding doors, he just stood there and observed. “She’s pretty good.” JC said from behind. “Yeah, I guess.” Justin said amazed by how many shots I made. “I bet she can ball you up anytime.” JC said laughing. “Shut up!” Justin backfired. Chapter 13 Both walked out and strolled to the court. After I threw the ball, it rolled to a pair of feet. They were Justin’s feet. I could tell by the sneakers (:::hehe:::). “Here ya go,” as Justin handed me the ball. “Thanks.” I said as I grabbed it biting my bottom lip hoping he wouldn’t remember what happened last night. I walked away and heard a voice in the back. “Hey, wanna play one-on-one?” the voice asked. I turned back around to see that Justin asked. “Your ball or mine?” I said. JC acted like the referee. We played ‘til one of our scores reached 21. It was around 1:30 p.m. and we had played around three games or so. I beat him all three times. “I thought you were some sort of basketball player. I read you wanted to be in the NBA or something.” I said teasing him. “Oh, so ya have heard ‘bout us?” Justin said trying to brag his stardom with such an adorable smile. “Maybe.” I said with what looked to be a somewhat sneaky smile. I walked into the house and bumped into Erik as I turned the corner. “Where’d you go?” I asked. “Oh, ummm… well… ummm… I went to get some shots that were required before I headed to South Africa.” He said. “with Chris. Joey and Lance went home.” I tried to hide my true feelings about him leaving and asked, “So, when are you leaving?” “Tomorrow morning.” He answered. “Oh.” I replied as I walked up to my room. In the corner of my eye, I could see Erik following me up the stairs, but then turned a left to his room. Closing the door behind me, I just sat there in my director’s chair. It was nearly 2:30 p.m. and a knock came on my door. “Come in.” I exclaimed. “Hey.” As Erik greeted. “Me and the guys are planning to go to the Hard Rock Café for late lunch. Why don’t you come along?” he offered. I thought for a while then replied, “Let me change my clothes then.” “O.K., we’ll be waiting downstairs.” He announced. “O.K.” I responded. As he closed the door, I reached for my white pedals and orange ¾ shirt. I slipped on my white-orange Etnies and brushed my hair down. Walking out of my room to the top of the stairs, there I see all the guys waiting in the living room talking. “Chris, don’t bring Busta, man.” JC complained. “And why not?! I’ve taken him to Hard Rock before.” Chris backfired. “Let him relax here in the backyard.” Suggested Erik. “Will he be safe?” Chris concerned. “No, he’ll be poked to death by the ducks who just happen to fly around this neighborhood,” Justin stated. Chris started biting his nails out of nervousness. “Yo, Chris, I was juss messin’. He’ll be safe here.” Justin confirmed. “Fine then, let me say my good-byes, O.K.” Chris said taking Busta to the backyard. I started walking down the stairs and was suddenly stared at. “Well, are we goin’ or what?” I said trying to break the ice. “Yeah, we’re taking Erik’s black Explorer.” JC confirmed. “We’re gonna meet Lance and Joey there.” “O.K. Let’s hit the road.” Erik announced. Chapter 14 Erik locked the house up and we all headed to the car, which was parked in the garage. He started the car and put it in reverse. As the car pulled out of the driveway, the garage door began to close. Erik was of course the driver as JC got “shot-gun.” I sat behind Erik as Chris was at the right of me. On Chris’ right was Justin who was looking out of the window. Throughout the entire ride, Chris continually using his legs as drums as he moved his head side to side like Stevie Wonder. “You done packing for South Africa?” JC asked Erik. “Almost.” Erik answered. “It’s a beautiful place, man.” JC complimented. “Well, you sure acted like a baby before we even bought the tickets.” Chris said aloud and stopped his irritating pounding. “Why’s that?” I asked. “Don’t wanna talk about it.” JC stated. “I do.” Justin popped in the conversation. “Ya see. B’fore da trip, we all had ta get three shots, right. Well, young ‘lil JC hated needles, so he put off da appointment for ‘bout a week, ‘til we had ta drag him in. We dragged him into da room and sat him down on dat bed, right.” “Uh huh,” I said to make sure he knows I paying attention. “Well, da nurse came in, so young ‘lil JC thought it was “shot time.” In da corner of his eye, he could see da nurse pulling something out of da drawer. As soon as she slammed da drawer door, JC ran out of da room screamin’ his lungs out. It was da funniest thing eva. We all yelled out, ‘It’s just the ear thermometer.’ As we all fell on the floor crackin’ up, man.” After the story telling, we all started cracking up in the car, except for one. JC. He just sat there saying, “It’s not that funny. It’s not funny at all.” Soon after, we made it to the Hard Rock. Erik parked the car as the rest of us headed towards the restaurant. As we were about to climb the steps, several girls ran up to the guys screaming and asking for their autographes. Suddenly, more and more girls ran up to see what was going on. The guys were bombarded by girls from ages 10 to 17. I was standing alone in front of the restaurant. Justin noticed me standing alone and struggles his way through the crowd. The some girls followed him. “Sorry ‘bout dat.” He said as he climbed up the stairs. “We didn’t mean for dis ta happen.” “It’s O.K. It wasn’t your fault.” I said. “Justin! Justin! Can I have your autograph?!” a girl asked. “Me, too!” another girl said. “Yeah, I want one, too.” The girl behind the other two said. “I’m gonna go eat now.” Justin said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the restaurant. “Do you think that was Justin’s girlfriend?” one of the girls asked. “That bitch better not. He’s my man.” This 16-year-old said aloud. “She is pretty.” An 11-year-old next to her stated. “She probably is since he grabbed her hand.” Chapter 15 *Hard Rock Café* “Hi, can we have a table for…” Justin paused to count on his finders, “for seven, please.” He asked. The waitress led up us the stairs to a round table. “Here ya go.” The waitress stated. Justin looked at her tag, “Thanks, ummm… Judy.” Judy bowed her head and handed us seven menus as she left the table. “Madame.” He said as he pulled my chair out while moving using his hand to escort me to it. “Thank you, Monsieur.” I thanked as I bowed my head to him. “I knew those three years of French would pay off.” We both laughed. Justin pulled the chair to the right of me and sat down. “So, have you been here before?” he questioned. “A couple times.” I answered. “How was it in California? I heard you were the Valedictorian.” Justin said. “It’s O.K. there, I guess. And being Valedictorian isn’t that much to brag about.” I replied. “Hey guys.” A voice from the back. We both turned our heads and saw the rest of the guys. “Damn, I had to pull these guys away from that crowd.” Erik announced. “Well, except for Joey. He was talkin’ with this chick.” “Figures.” Justin remarked. “So, what happened outside?” “When I parked the car, I saw Joey car’s coming into the lot so I waited, but then I saw JC and Chris being frenzied by a group of girls, so I ran to the Expedition. I warned Lance and Joey about the fans. I waited for them to get out of the car, bt because of Joey’s stupid red hair, we got bombarded, too.” Erik explained. “Stupid!? Whatcha talkin’ about stupid!? My hair looks way better than yours.” Joey backfired. “Don’t make me kick your butt again, Mr. Fatone.” Erik warned. Joey soon shut his mouth. “Then what?” I asked. “I was the first one to get out of the crowd so I pulled Lance and JC out since they were nearby. Damn, all I could see were flashes of light. Never thought 16-year-olds were so strong.” Erik stated. “Anywayz, I reached for Chris and Joey. I got Chris out, but like I said before, Joey was flirtin’ his ass off.” “Damn, how do you guys manage all these chaotic fans?” I asked. “I dunno.” Lance said raising his shoulders up. The rest of the guys sat down as Judy came walking toward us. “Have you decided what you want?” Judy asked. Erik went first. “I’d like the cheeseburger; no pickles, no tomatoes; with fries and a coke.” “Same here, but add the tomatoes and change mine to a dr. pepper.” Lance requested. “Yeah, can I have a cheeseburger; no onions; fries; and a coke.” Chris said. “Same thing he’s got but you can leave the onions.” Joey asked. “I’ll have the chicken plate; ranch dressing; fries; and a coke.” Justin said next. “Cheeseburger with everything; onion rings; fires; and a water.” JC said. “Uh huh. Now what would you like Miss?” as she looked at me. “Can I have the grilled boneless chicken; ranch dressing; fries; and ice water?” I asked. “Sure. Coming right up.” Judy said as she left our table. As we were eating, I couldn’t help but notice people gawking at us. I didn’t like it one bit, but there was no way for me to stop them so I managed. “Damn, how can you just eat while everyone else is staring at you?” I asked Justin. “Got used to it, I guess.” He replied. *after lunch* “Boy, am I stuffed.” Joey said rubbing his belly. “Me too.” Lance raising his hand. “I think I could go for some desert.” JC announced. “My treat.” Erik stated. “For free?! I’ll have a sundae.” Chris yelling across the room. “Yeah, me too.” Justin said. “You gonna get one, Arlene?” “Nah, I don’t think I should.” I replied. Judy came and took an order for four sundaes and two shakes; one chocolate, the other strawberry. As she returned from the kitchen, she placed the strawberry shake in front of Lance and the chocolate in front of Erik. The four sundaes were for JC, Justin, Chris, and Joey. “You sure you don’t want any?” Justin offered. “No, it’s O.K.” I said. “You sure about that.” As he circled a spoon full of ice cream in front of me. “It’s very tasty.” “No, really.” I said getting frustrated. “Are you positive?” he asked bringing it close to my mouth. “Fine!” I yelled as I opened my mouth and scooped the spoon dry. “Happy!” I said with a mouth full of ice cream. Everyone started laughing. Justin picked up a napkin and wiped a piece of vanilla ice cream off my right cheek. “There.” He said. “Although, I should have licked it off.” I just blushed. Chapter 16 It was around 4:15 p.m. when we left the restaurant. Of course, we got bombarded in front but we managed. Well, they did, at the least. The same three girls who saw Justin grab my hand stopped me from reaching the car. “So, you dating Justin?” the 16-year-old girl said rudely. “Why would you think that?” I asked innocently. “Well, he seems like he’s really into you, using the term wisely.” That same girl replied. I just stood there thinking. “Well, are you? Are you? ‘Cause if you are, you best take care of my man, ‘cause if you don’t, you’re askin’ for it.” She said rudely again. I just walked away. “Bitch!” she yelled aloud. I just continued to walk to the car. “Hey, what happened?” JC asked behind Justin. “Oh, a couple of fans thought I was Justin’s girlfriend and were…” and I mumbled . “Really??” JC said. He thought to himself {I bet Justin wished it was only true}. “They didn’t hurt you or anything, did they?” Justin said concerned. “No… no biggie.” “Hey, Erik, I’m gonna catch a movie with Joey and Lance, k.” Chris said aloud. “Ohh, O.K. then.” Erik agreed. Joey’s car pulled out of the lot and drove off. We all sat in our original places, but nothing was in between Justin and me. “Hey, guys. I have to go pick something up at the office for the trip, so do you want me to drop you off or you guys wanna come along?” Erik asked. “Your office is in the hospital, so you can drop me off.” JC said nervously. Erik parked in front of the house and I decided to stay home, too. Justin chose to stay and we all walked out of the car. Erik drove off as we entered the house. I headed to the back yard as JC turned a right to the bathroom. Justin followed went to the kitchen to wash his hands. Picking up the basketball where it was last placed, I shot it and missed. “Ah ha…” Justin teased. “Shut up! You can do better.” I said. “Is that a challenge?!” Justin said grabbing the ball. “You’re on.” I agreed. Chapter 17 “Hey, whatcha guys doin’?” JC asked. “Playin’ one on one. Wanna be referee again?” I asked. “Sure, but who’s ball is it?” questioned JC. “Dunno.” We both said shrugging our shoulders. “O.K. then. Call it …” as JC flicked up a quarter. “Heads or tails.” “Tails.” I yelled aloud. JC caught the coin. “Heads!” he yelled. “Justin, your ball.” “Ah ha!” Justin teased again. He checked it out and started to dribble it. Passing it behind his back from his left to his right and back to his left, I went for the kill. As I stole the ball from him a remark came from the back. “Oooo… a girl balled you up, man.” “Shut up, JC!” Justin yelled back. I ran back to the three-point line and threw the ball. “swish!” “Who’s laughing now?!” I said. “Apparently JC.” Justin remarked as we both saw JC laughing his heart out. “She just stole the ball from you. Haha! And she made it too. Haha!” JC yelled out loud. The game started at 5:10 p.m. and ended at 5:35 p.m. when I made the final shot. “Well, well, well… 21 to 18.” I teased Justin. Then threw the ball right to his chest. THUMP! It hit him hard. “Oh, now it’s on.” Justin said as he threw the ball to the ground. Ring! Ring! Ring! “I’ll get it.” JC said running into the house. I watched JC run into the house and heard a yell. “Ahhhhhh!!!!!” Justin yelled as he ran right to me. He tackled and pinned me down to the grass. “Gotcha now!” Justin said. I couldn’t help but laugh. That got me weaker and weaker. “O.K… O.K… you got me.” I said giving up. We just smiled at each other. The smile faded away as he looked into my eyes. He was getting closer and closer. The moment was right. The sunset color shined over us as the breeze blew my hair. As he was about to lay his lips on mine, I could hear the grass being stepped on. We both closed our eyes. Suddenly I heard licking. “Yuck!!!” Justin said pulling away from me. “Busta!!!!” I just sat up laughing. “Ha hahahaha!!!!” I tried covering my mouth to lower my laughter down. Justin helped me up. Wiping his ear off with drool, he said, “Well, that ruined everything.” We both just laughed. Walking into the house a voice called out, “Hey, what happened?” JC asked watching Justin clean his ear. “Nothing.” Justin glared. We walked into the family room and watched some television. I tuned it to MTV where we watched three guys sing “Tearin’ Up My Heart.” “Hey, that middle dude looks like you.” I said as I looked at Justin. “He even sings like you, too.” Remarked JC. We both chuckled and finished watching the show. “Thanks everyone for watching Say What? Karaoke. This is David Holmes and we’ll see you tomorrow.” The host announced. We decided to watch a little more t.v. FANatic was the next show. “Hey, look!” JC pointed. “Our fanatics are on.” While watching I stated, “So, Justin. Where are your glass sneakers?” (you’ll only get it if you’ve watched NSYNC FANatic #2) “Hey, good one.” JC said as he laughed. Throughout the entire show all I thought about was At the end I asked, “Hey, I want the Happy Birthday song sung to me?” I laughed soon after that. They hid their real voices and sung with little kiddie voices. I just couldn’t stop laughing. “You guys want anything to snack on?” JC offered while getting off his seat. “Just get me a mineral water and a banana.” I said. “Me, too” Justin said. “K.” JC said as he left the room. Chapter 18 Justin changed the channel. Titanic was almost done. Just 30 minutes left. JC came back in with three mineral waters and a bowl of fruit. The movie ended. JC and Justin ran in front of the t.v. and reacted the “promise” scene. “Rose, promise me you’ll never let go.” JC said holding Justin’s hand. “I promise Jack. I promise.” Justin said in a girlie voice. “I’ll never let go.” Soon after that, Justin let go and weeped. They both took a bow as I gave them a standing ovation. We were still waiting for Erik. It was around 7:00 p.m. JC grabbed the remote off the coffee table and surfed a little. He ended up watching “Dirty Dancing.” I couldn’t stand it. I ran to the stairs and sat there. Justin followed me. “What’s wrong?” He sounded concerned. I just sat there. Putting my head between my kneecaps, hoping he would leave me alone. “C’mon Arlene. You have to stop hiding your feelings.” Justin said trying to help. “Just leave me alone.” I snapped as I ran to my room slamming the door. “Yo, dude. What happened?” JC asked. “I dunno.” Justin said. “but I don’t wanna leave her alone like that.” “Wanna just stay here the night again.” JC suggested. “I guess so.” Justin agreed. They used their usual rooms to spend the night. I stayed up there for a couple hours crying. Never thought the memory would come back but it did. It’s so hard for me not to think about it. I tried everything I could to stop thinking about it, but the only solution was the thing I hated but loved to do; dance. Thinking they’d had left since it was in the middle of the night, I headed down the steps in my ordinary pajamas (baseball jersey and sweats). Hoping the house was left the way I left it when I moved to California at the age of 10, I remembered the basement. It wasn’t an ordinary basement. Ever since my first competition in performing, my parents decided a dance studio/recording studio would be the best thing for me, especially for practicing. I walked down the stairs and turned a left into the hallway where I intruded Justin’s and JC’s rooms. After passing their rooms, I made a right that led me to a door. I opened it and behind it was a staircase. Walking down it immediately directed me to the basement where everything still looked new. The floor was polished, the mirror-wall was clear, the instruments were untouched, and the recording studio wasn’t used. I walked towards the stereo and placed a CD in it. I believe it was Boyz II Men’s “Evolution”. As I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, I stretched out to “Baby C’mon.” Now, it was for the faster stuff. I really gave it my all when “Can’t Let Her Go” played. *upstairs* Hearing the bass from the basement, Justin got up from his bed scratching his head with confusion. Walking out of his room, the bass turned into a melody. He walks across the hall to JC’s room. Justin switches the light on. Chapter 19 “Yo dude. Turn the light off.” JC complained while covering his eyes. “Hey, do you that music.” Justin asked. “What are you talkin’ about.” JC said shaking his head. Justin opened the door. “That!” pointing outside. “Hey, sounds like Boyz II Men. Where’s it comin’ from?” JC asked. “I dunno. That’s why I asked you.” Justin said. They got up and walked outside their bedrooms. Justin, wearing sweats and a white undershirt follows the music. JC, behind him, was wearing his sport shorts with also an undershirt. They opened the door, which revealed a staircase. The music got louder and louder as they walked down the steps. ‘I can’t let her go, I can’t let her go ‘Cause I need the love she gives to me. I can’t let her go, I can’t let her go And she knows that we were meant to be “I Can’t Let Her Go” continued to play. Justin and JC tiptoed down the stairs. They noticed someone giving it their all dancing to this song. They observed from behind the banister. As I spun, they recognized my face. “Hey, I never thought Arlene knew how to dance.” JC said in shock. “You know how Erik has two left feet.” “Yeah. Well, I saw a lot of trophies in her room, but I thought they were all academic awards. Damn, she’s good.” Justin said in a whisper. As the song ended, I grabbed my water and unwind the top. I was about to drink it when I heard voices behind me. Soon, I heard footsteps coming towards me. I saw two shadows on the floor from the lights above. A hand was reaching for my shoulder. I spun around and threw my water at them. Realizing it was JC and Justin, I picked up my towel and dried their faces. “I am so sorry. I just thought you guys would have left and…” I said in shock. “We probably scared you, didn’t we.” JC asked. “Well, yeah, but…” I said. “We just heard the music from below so we wanted to check it out.” Justin interrupted. “Wow. This place is awesome.” JC soon said. “You guys have never been down here before?” I asked. “We never even knew there was a basement.” Justin said raising his arms up. “That’s strange.” I replied. “You even have a recording studio!” JC said while touching everything in that room. I just started laughing. You could just see the amazement in his eyes. “I have to say, you’re a really good dancer.” Justin complimented my dancing. “Thanks.” I said blushing. “Dang! You’re even better than Justin.” JC said through the microphone in the studio. “Whoa! How cool is this.” “Well, thank you, but you shouldn’t be comparing me and a ‘heartthrob’.” I replied. Justin started to blush. Then a knock came. KNOCK! KNOCK! A man walked in with a couple of bags. “Why you guys still up. Thought you would have been asleep already?” Erik said walking down the steps. “We were.” Justin replied. Erik started laughing. “What’s so funny?” I asked. Erik pointed at the studio. “JC’s enjoying himself, isn’t he?” Erik said. JC spoke into the microphone. “What?!” he said sounding confused. It was around 11:45 p.m. so we walked out of the basement and headed towards our rooms for some rest. My brother only had a couple hours of sleep before he headed to the airport. I was of course knocked out after dancing so much. Chapter 20 *next morning* Beep! Beep! Beep! “Stupid alarm clock.” I mumbled. I got up from my bed and headed downstairs. It was so quite in the house. I decided to check to see if JC and Justin were still around. It was 9:10 a.m. Opening each door, I noticed the beds were made. “They probably took Erik to the airport.” I told myself. I walked to the kitchen to get a banana and plopped on the couch in the family room. I decided to watch some cartoons for the fun of it. I watched my favorite, “The Chipmunks” for a couple hours. It was 11:30 a.m. and yet no sign of JC or Justin. I knew Erik’s plane left at 6:21a.m. “They probably went home.” I thought to myself. As I got up and walked to the living, I noticed that the house was such a mess. Lying on the couch, watching television wasn’t my way of using my time wisely, so I decided to clean up the house. I put my hair in a messy bun and organized the newspapers on the coffee table. I recognized Erik’s jacket thrown on the recliner in the corner so I walked towards it and swung it over my shoulder. As I swung it over, a rolled up newspaper flew across the room. Wondering what it was, I walked across the room and picked it up. *next door* “Justin, what are you doing?” Chris asked. “I didn’t bug you about what you did at the movies, did I?!” Justin snapped. “Geez. I guess someone forgot to eat their cereal.” Chris said rolling his eyes. JC, who was sitting next to Chris giggled. Then Justin started to smile. “O.K., if you must know, I makin’ a fruit salad for Arlene. I figured she’d like it and maybe go out with me tonight. What’d ya think?” Justin asked for their opinion. “Hmmm, might work.” JC said throwing a piece of strawberry in his mouth. Justin walked out of the house with a tray carrying two decorative bowls filled with cut fruits. In between the two bowls was a little vase holding an orange tulip. He walked slowly towards the driveway and to the front door. *inside* As I unrolled the newspaper, I noticed the front page picture. How could Erik just keep this in the house. How could he just carry it throughout the entire flight in his pocket. Tears fell from my eyes as I rushed towards the door and threw the paper out as far and as hard as I can. SMACK! The newspaper smacked Justin right on the face. I was too angry to notice where it landed. I just ran to the stairs and sat there crying. “OUCH!” Justin yelled. “Damn, she’s got a good arm.” He laid the tray down on the ground and picked up the paper. Reading the cover story, he ran into the house and noticed my head in between my knees crying. “Arlene, are you O.K.?” Justin said concerned. I brought my head up. “Did you see the front page?” “Yeah.” Justin answered. “What do you think?!” I snapped. “Arlene, you need to stop holding things inside or you’ll just blow up. One minute you’re all happy, the next minute you shut everyone out. Tell me the whole story?” Justin asked. “It’s just too hard.” I said trying to wipe my tears. “Take all the time you need.” Justin replied sitting down while wiping a tear with his thumb from my face. Chapter 21 “It all started when on a rainy night.” I started. “I was getting ready for my very last performance with my high school entertainment class. You see, we did musicals, plays, and concerts together. We decided to do “Dirty Dancing” and I got the lead. I was Baby. Well, my family’s seen all my performances and I wanted them to see this one. They thought it was too dangerous ‘cause it was pouring outside and my dad was really sick. I begged and begged them to come and they finally gave in. The show started at 8:00 p.m. and I left the house at around 6:30. They were right. It was pouring severely but I made it to the theater. The show was around two and a half-hours. After I made that lift, I took a bow and headed to my dressing room. I saw a bouquet of roses on the dresser and sat down. That’s when it really started.” I started to cry as Justin offered his shoulder for me to cry on. “O.K.” I said as I took a deep breath. “The stage manager, who was also my best bud, Jason came in. He had such a proud face. I guess from achieving the lift. I asked him, ‘hey, did you find my family?’ and that’s when his face broke down. He said, ‘Arlene, there’s something I have to tell you.’ And I said ‘what?’ ‘there was a car accident.’ He replied. I was afraid to ask but he continued. ‘your family was in one of those cars and…’ ‘are they O.K.’ I interrupted.” More tears fell from my eyes. “Jason then said, ‘they were sent to Luther hospital.’ So I grabbed a coat and ran out of the theater to my car. As I arrived at the hospital, I was quickly sent to the lobby. I waited and waited and waited. It was around 11:15 p.m. when Dr. Malcolm entered the room. I could predict what he was about to say by the look on his face. My mom and sister didn’t make. As for my dad, he was in critical condition. I had the chance to spend the last moments of my father’s life next to his bed, holding his hand close to my heart. That was until he left this world.” I cried more and more. “IF IT WASN’T FOR ME, THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN HERE TODAY. THEY WOULD HAVE SEEN ME RECEIVE MY DIPLOMA. THEY WOULD HAVE HEARD MY VALEDICTORIAN SPEECH.” I yelled out loud while my tears made a river down the staircase. Justin grabbed me and held me tight. “It’s not your fault. Don’t say that. It wasn’t your fault.” He said as he tried to comfort me. I just pulled away and ran up to my room crying. He tried to catch me but I slammed the door right on his face. Hearing the ‘THUMP!’ I opened the door. I saw Justin rubbing his forehead. As he walked in, he said, “O.K., I need to see where I’m going.” I made a little giggle. “Hey, how long you staying here in Florida? You know, so I can be prepared with the slamming doors, thrown papers, and luggage trips (I use that term wisely).” He said bopping his head side to side with a smile. “I don’t know. I have three choices. #1-go back to California and attend UCLA. #2-take my scholarship to Harvard. #3-stay here and attend college.” I replied. “I like the last choice A LOT.” Justin said with a smile. I smiled back. “Although, that scholarship to Harvard sounds pretty good.” “Yeah, well, at least you got a future.” I said. “Excuse me!” Justin replied. “Look who’s talking. Damn, girl! Your dancing skills are hella good. Ever thought of following that dream?” I just sat there. The doorbell rang. We both looked at each other and ran down the stairs. It was JC and Chris. “Mmmm. These fruits are great!” Chris said talking with his mouth full. They both came in and walked into the family room. “Hey, what’d ya guys doin’ today?” JC asked. “Nothing.” I replied. “Me’en either.” Justin said. “Joey called up and wants to go clubbing. You guys in?” JC asked again. “Who’s going?” Justin asked. “Me, Joey, Lance, Steve, and Chris.” JC answered while looking at Chris to make sure. “What do ya say, Arlene?” Justin asked me. “You promise I won’t get trampled by fans again.” I requested. “Cross my heart and hope to sing.” He said trying to make a joke. We all just stared with serious expressions. “Forget it. You guys aren’t any fun.” Chapter 22 *later that day* It was 6:30 p.m. and I had just gotten out of the shower. They were gonna pick me up at 8:00, so I did my hair first. After blow drying it, I straightened it (since my hair was naturally curled) and added glitter and several clips in my hair. I decided to wear a black spaghetti strap, which had a red dragon down the right side. The top also came with a skirt, which reached my knees. As the top, the skirt also had the red dragon on the right side. I wore the same shoes I wore when I arrived here, which were those black boots. I was ready to party. At 7:56 p.m., the doorbell rang. I walked down to answer it. Behind that door was none other than the heartthrob himself, Justin. “WOW!” he said as he left his jaw hanging there. “Ummm… you better close that before a bug gets in there.” I laughed and closed it. “You look gorgeous.” He said. “Why, thank you.” I replied. Him, on the hand, looked very hot. Wearing baggy khakis along with a navy blue shirt, which was half buttoned. I especially admired his undershirt, which was quite obvious to notice. But he wore a black leather jacket, which completed his outfit. He pulled out something from be hind him. “Here. This is for you.” He pulled out one single rose. “Awww… thank you. I never thought I would receive one rose. I usually get a dozen or two.” I said with sarcasm; then started to laugh. “Justin, stop flirting!” JC yelled from the car. “We need to get going.” I locked the door shut. As I held the rose, I walked towards the car and Justin followed from behind. JC drove to Joey’s house, where we would meet up with Joey and Lance. Joey drove one car holding Lance, Chris, and Steve as JC drove another holding me and Justin. When we made it to the club, they decided to park behind the club. I felt like I was in Titanic when Justin opened my door and helped me out of the car with his hand. “Madam, shall we go in.” he said in a not so good French accent. “We shall.” I replied. From behind, I heard a yell. “WHOA! Who’s that chick?!” Joey yelled out. I turned around to see what he was looking at. “OMIGOSH!! It’s Arlene. Damn! I knew she was a fox, but I didn’t know she was a FOX!” The other guys just looked at him with confusion. I started to blush. We made it to the entrance, but were soon stopped by several girls. We were about to enter a the club when a couple of girls walked in between Justin and me and started a conversation. “Hi Justin.” As one girl placed her hand on Justin’s chest. “Remember me? I went to your concert and you smiled at me.” “Ummm…” he said as he didn’t know what to say because of the distracting hand on his body. “Hey, why are with this chick when you can be with me?” another girl said as she pushed me away. “She doesn’t even look decent.” The last girl of the trio announced. I began to walk into the club doors as they were held by two big bodyguards. “Arlene! Wait!” Justin yelled as he looked at the girls with a mad expression and pushed them aside. He ran right behind me. “I am so sorry for that. I don’t even know them.” He tried to explain. I just looked down as I walked toward an empty table. As I sat down, I laid the rose down while watching Joey already starting to mingle with the ladies. Lance and Steve bumped into some friends as Chris and JC got a drink. “Hey, you want anything to drink?” Justin asked. Chapter 23 “Ummm… water’s fine. Thank you.” I replied. He walked toward Chris and JC, who were kicking back. “Things goin’ with you and Arlene?” JC asked. “I dunno. You tell me.” as he got two drinks from the bartender and headed back to the table. “Here ya go.” As he set the glass in front of me. He sat down and looked at me as I watched people shake their stuff. I turned my head and noticed his eyes on me. “What?” I said. “You wanna dance?” he asked as he offered his hand. “I think I should just sit here.” I replied. “Oh c’mon. Show everyone your skills on the floor.” He tried to convince me. I looked at his hand and then his face. I couldn’t reject those blue eyes and that gorgeous smile. I took his hand as he pulled me to the floor. We had a little booty shakin’ goin’ on when another interruption came along. “Hi, Justy.” The same girl from outside of the club said as she walked in between us again. She started to dance with him when he replied, “Ummm… excuse me…” as he didn’t know her name. “Jessica.” She replied. “Ohhh, well Jessica. As you can see, I am dancing with my date, Arlene.” As he pointed to me. he continued. “With you standing in between us, I cannot continue our date, so with much gratitude, could you please stop your interruptions and let us conclude our date.” He grabbed my hand and walked out the club doors. Meanwhile, the girl just stood there as her friends teased her the entire night. “Hey, you wanna see something cool?” he asked. “Yeah, but what about the others.” I said concerned. “They can catch a ride with Joey.” He replied as he opened the door for me. Justin started the car and headed out the lot. “So, where we goin’?” I asked. “You’ll see.” He said as he turned up the radio. Busta Rymes’ “Gimme Some More” played. I started to sing along. Justin on the other hand stared with amazement. “Wow! I can’t even do that.” He said. “How the heck can you rap like Busta?” “I have no clue.” I said laughing. He continued to drive for about 15 minutes; then parked in a deserted area. “You comin’ our what?” as he got out of the car. I hopped out of the car still carrying the rose in my hand. He climbed up a hill of steps that were made from dirt. Justin helped me climb a couple steps but then I managed to make it the rest of the way. I made it to the top when Justin went from behind me and covered my eyes. “Guess who?” he said as he tried to change his voice. “Hmmm… by the exotic cologne that’s just driving me insane and by the strong yet firm grip you have on my eyes, it’s gotta be JC.” I said teasing. “Excuse me, but I’m way stronger than JC.” Justin said taking his hands off my eyes, “and I smell better than him, too.” I turned around and laughed. He grabbed me from the waist and told me to walk straight ahead. There, a cliff stood overlooking the ocean as the moon lit the waves running across the shore. Chapter 24 “Justin, this is so beautiful.” I said with amazement. “I know.” He said in a whisper, “I come here when I wanna be alone or just think. I just thought you should know about it, too.” I pulled away and walked closer to the edge, watching the stars light up the bark blue sky. I turned back to him. “But this is your special place. Why would you wanna show it to me?” I asked in confusion. “Because, the first time I met you, I knew you were the one. I felt like I could trust you with all my heart and showing you this place could show you how much I care for you.” He said walking closer and closer to me. I started to rub my arms because of the cold winds blowing. As he hugged me from behind, he could feel the goosebumps all over my arms. Taking off his jacket, he wrapped it around me. “Better.” He said holding me tighter. I looked up at him with a smile. The moment was right. I looked into his eyes as he looked into mine. Our lips were getting closer and closer. As I closed my eyes, I could feel his gentle lips on mine. There we were, standing on a cliff, holding each other close, having our first kiss. There wasn’t word that could define what I felt being in the arms of Justin. Our heads slowly moved away from each other. Still in each other’s arms, we stood there for quite sometime. Then I decided to break the ice. “Hey.” I said in a low voice. “Yeah.” He replied. “I’m in the mood for some chocolate.” I said. “So am I.” He replied back. We let go of each other and headed to the car. Just before Justin hopped into the car, I grabbed him from behind. Turning his around, I gave him a long, passionate kiss. “Whoa! What was that for?” he said in shock. “Do you even have to ask?” I said giggling. We both hopped into the car and drove to the nearest 7-11. As we were driving, I was looking through the car department. (you know, the little drawer in the front where you’re suppose to keep papers of your car and such.) I pulled out a CD and popped it into the player. “What are you doin’?” he asked. “I wanna hear your talent. Hmmm… number 5 seems good.” I said to myself. “Hmmm… ‘God Must Have Spent (A Little More Time On You)’. Damn who thinks up these longs titles?” I said laughing. The song started out with Justin singing. “Is that you?” I said pointing to the player. “Yeah.” He answered back. “Wow. Your voice is very serene.” I complimented. “Thank you.” He said as he bowed his head. We continued to listen to the song. “This song is so beautiful. Lemme put it on repeat.” I said reaching for the button. “Yeah, it’s my favorite on the CD.” He announced. It was nearly 1:00 a.m. when we found a 7-11. Before I was able to reach for the handle of the car, Justin reached over to me and gave me a much more passionate kiss. Pulling his lips away from mine he said, “Need any money?” I just stood there shaking my head to “no”. He just laughed and came out of the car. I opened the door and hopped out, too. For some strange reason, I just couldn’t stop smiling. But soon that huge smile came out to be a frightened one. Justin looked at me and then to what I was staring at. Inside the store, a man was holding about five customers at gunpoint. Realizing the cops’ siren from afar, he ran out of the building carrying a brown bag. I just stood there in shock as Justin continually yelled out, “Arlene! Get in the car NOW! Arlene! Get in the car!” I was too scared to even move. As the man noticed me staring, he stared back and ran to his car. The car drove out of the lot and headed east. We thought it was over so we decided to head back into the car, when all of a sudden, the same car drove by and shot his gun three times. By the second shot, Justin and I squatted to the ground. The man soon left the scene. As I was holding my stomach, I called out, “Justin! Justin!” Chapter 25 Running to the other side of the car, Justin realized that I had been shot. As he slid across the concrete from behind me, he held me tight while reaching for his cell in his back pocket. “Arlene, everything’s gonna be O.K.” he said comforting me. “Don’t worry, I’m here for you.” Calling the police, he demanded for an ambulance right away. Before I knew it, I was lying on a stretcher holding onto Justin’s hand. As I heard the siren on the ambulance, I could see my life flashing before my eyes. We made it to the emergency room. The thing I hated the most was letting go of Justin’s hand. As they pulled me into a room, I could see Justin being left behind. *after operation* As Justin and the others waited in the lobby, a young man wearing a white trench coat with a clipboard walked in. Justin stood up and asked, “Is Arlene O.K.?” “Arlene is in critical condition. The bullet has ruined her liver and has left her with internal bleeding. She has requested to see a Mr. Justin Timberlake. Are you him?” the doctor asked. “Yes.” He answered. “Follow me.” the doctor said. Justin turned back at the others. “Hey, can one of you guy call up Erik and give him the 411, please?” “Sure thing, bro.” Chris said reaching for his cell. The doctor escorted him to a room down the hall. He opened the door and bowed his head to show Justin to come in. As Justin walked in, the doctor closed the door. Justin walked closer to the bed where I was lying on helplessly. I turned my head to notice Justin standing there. “Hi.” I said trying to forget what has happened to me. “Hey, so how ya feelin’?” he asked. “O.K. I guess. Where are the others?” I asked. “They’re in the lobby.” He answered. “Ohh… O.K.” I replied. Justin sat in the chair next to my bed looking down. “Is there something wrong?” I asked concern. As he brought his head back up, it was filled with tears running down his face. “Arlene, I don’t want you to go. Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me.” He grabbed my hand and raised it to his face. “Please don’t go.” he said again. “I love you.” “Justin, look at me. You have given me something I thought I would never get back. These past three days have been the best. If I had never meet you, I don’t think I could have experienced what we had. Love can come in different forms and we experienced ‘instant love’. I love you, too and you’ll always have a place in my heart. Remember that.” I said. It was time… and both of us knew it. As I slowly closed my eyes, the strength of my hand in Justin’s had weakened. My headed gradually moved its side as one noise changed everything around me. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!…………………… Justin, still holding onto my hand, kissed it gently. “Good-bye, Arlene.” He said letting go of my hand as he walked out of the room.