Chapter 6
oN tHe PlAnE.......
Justin sat in his seat gazing out the window. JC was sitting next to him reading a book.
"Hey man....what's wrong?" JC asked.
Justin gave him an annoyed look. "Do you really have to ask?"
"Sorry, man..."
"I wonder what she's doing right now..." Justin thought to himself.
Me and Shayna went to my apartment after the plane took off. There wasn't a smile for a long time. Our minds were on the ones we loved. And, the awful thing that tore them away: Show Business. But, I couldn't dwell on my unhappiness for long. I had to get to the studio.
"Hey, Shayna....I'm gonna go to the studio. You can hang out here if you want, but if you leave don't forget to lock the door, k?"
"Ok..." she said sadly.
"Shay-Shay.....I know it's hard. But, they'll be back. We'll just have to get along without them. There is nothing else we can do..."
"Oh, there is something....."
"What?" I asked excitedly.
"Get out the ice cream, watch some sad movies, read trashy romance novels, and think about Chris and Justin...."
"Oh..." I said kind of let down that the plan didn't involve seeing them. "Well, okay. We'll do it tonight. Gotta go...." I said as I grabbed my black bag and left.
About an hour and a half later, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"I miss you so much..." Justin said.
"That's really sweet, Justin, but I'm taken by Chris and you love Michelle..." she said as she laughed.
Justin laughed at himself. "So, where's Michelle?" he asked.
"Um, she just left for the studio...where are you guys?"
"We are quietly decending over the Pacific Ocean.." he said.
Shayna laughed. "You always know how to make me smile, Justin..."
There was a brief pause before Justin said, "I love to see you smile..."
"Well, I'm gonna go check on Chelle at the studio, but I'll talk to yall later."
"Ok, we'll call you when we get to Paris.."
"Paris?! The city of love? I don't know if Michelle will approve of that, lover boy...."
"Ah, I don't worry about it much. Well, okay...I guess I'll talk to you later..."
"Bye..." they said as they hung up.
A week later in Europe....
JC grabbed his jacket and headed out the door of his hotel room. He was thinking about stuff when suddenly he bumped into someone.
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry...." he said as he looked to see a girl with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes.
"It's okay..." she said with a smile.
"You're not European?"
She laughed. "No, I'm from Orlando, Florida.."
"No way....so am I!" he replied.
"Is that just a pick-up line to get me to go out with you?"
"No, look, I'll show you my driver's licence.."
She placed her hand on his. "No, no...I believe you. My name's Mary. What's yours?"
"Um, JC. JC Chasez. It's spelled C-h-a-s-e-z, but it's pronounced Sha-zay...." he said as he smiled.
"Oh, well, uh.......I'll be sure to remember that, JC Chasez. So, um....I guess I'll see you around sometime."
"Well, okay. What's your room number?"
"Um, I'm not comfortable with giving out my room number to complete strangers.......I'll see you around here. I'm sure of it." she said with a wink as she walked away.
Chris sat in the tour bus listening to a CD that Shayna and he had made with their voices on there. He smiled as he listened to her laugh. Although it had only been a few days, he was missing her terribly. He would do anything to just hold her at that moment. Her voice sounded so beautiful, it was killing him. Then, he shut off the CD player. He just couldn't take the pain of not having her by his side.
THAT NIGHT....
"Hello?" Shayna said.
"You're voice is so wonderful to hear right now. I miss you so much...." Chris said.
"Chris! Hi! Gosh, I'm so happy to hear your voice. I couldn't stop thinking about you. Only 3 more weeks, right?"
He laughed. "Yeah, baby. Only 3 more weeks until I can hold you in my arms and gaze into your eyes."
"You always know what to say, dontcha babe..."
"You know it! What...practice, now? But, I'm talking to....." There was a brief pause. "Uh, baby?" Chris said.
"Go to practice, sweets. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Okay. I love you so much...."
"I love you too..." Shayna replied.
Chris knew this was it. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman, and he was going to tell her.
"Shayna?"
"Yeah, Chris?"
"....nothing...well, gotta go! I love you...."
"I love you too. Bye..."
"Bye..."
And, they hung up. Chris sat on his bed in shock. He had the chance, and he blew it. He couldn't move for a second. But, JC came into the room and shook his thoughts. He grabbed a towel and water bottle and headed to his practice.
c walked into the hotel he was staying in after a concert. He had a towel wrapped around his shoulders and he was wearing nothing but a tank top and jeans. He pressed the button for the elevator and got in. When it began to close he heard a shout. "Hold the door, please!" a voice called.
Jc opened it to see Mary running towards the elevator. As she got in, JC silently gasped.
"Well, if it isn't Mr. JC...uh, Chasez, right?" she said as she laughed.
"Mary! Oh, hi! I, uh...." he looked at his tank top and blushed with a color of indecency.
"Oh, my.......um, sorry. It's like, midnight, and we just got back from a concert and I..."
"Jc, it's okay....." she said as she touched his hand. They both slowly looked up at each other and realised the bit uncomfortable situation.
"Um, you know what? You should go to the jazz club I sing at on Saturday night."
"Jazz? You're a jazz singer?"
"Yeah, I love Jazz. Lemme guess, you don't like it, right? It's okay, not many people do.."
"I love jazz! I just can't believe there's a club in Europe." JC said in disbelief.
"It was hard for me to believe too when I came to stay here. I've been trying to get back to Orlando, but..." her voice trailed. She pulled her hair back.
"Never mind. JC, I'll come pick you up 7:00, Saturday night, okay?"
"No way! A gentleman always picks up the lady..."
Mary laughed. "Ok, my room number is 546. I'll see you then..." she said as the elevator doors opened and she stepped off. Jc smiled the whole way back to his room where he went to sleep, this time, without thinking about Michelle.
"Shayna! C'mon! Just because the boys aren't here doesn't mean we can't have some fun!" I yelled.
"Ok, chick, hold it! I'm almost ready!" she yelled back.
Michelle glanced at the mirror next to the front door, giving her hair a last twist. They were headed to a hot dance club in Orlando.
Suddenly, Shayna came out. "I still don't feel right about this...." she said in frusteration.
"Oh, come on! Do they honestly expect us to sit around and cry over them. Please, I have better things to do with my time. Plus, this is my only night off from the studio that I'll get in the next 2 weeks! We are going out!"
Shayna let out a final sigh. She couldn't stop her best friend. When Michelle made up her mind, she made up her mind.
"Okay....gosh, I hope I don't do something stupid like...fall in love..." she said.
Michelle looked up at her in shock. Shayna laughed. "Gotta learn how to take a joke, Chelle......." she said as they grabbed their purses and walked out the door.
Justin sat in his room staring at the ceiling. He looked over at a picture of him and Michelle and he smiled a little, but not much. He still had to stay in Europe for 3 more weeks until he saw her again. He couldn't indulge in wanting so bad to be with someone that wasn't there. He gave the picture a final look and picked up the phone. He dialed her number.
"Hi, this is Michelle and Justin's place! We're not homw right now, but we'll get back to you soon. BYE! No, Justin, it's that button....BEEP!"
He frowned. "Where was she?" he wondered.
"Um, Michelle. Hey, it's Justin. Um, I guess you're at the studio, but just call me, okay? I love you. Bye..."
He hung up the phone and resumed his position of staring at the ceiling. Then he shot up out of bed. Michelle wasn't in the studio. She told him last night. He began to panic. He called her cell phone very quickly.
"Hello?"
"MICHELLE?" Justin said relieved and irritated at the same time. She had him so worried.
"Yeah, baby, what's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. Where, where are you?"
"Well, Shayna and I are.....going to the mall! Yeah, that's right, we're going to the mall. And, look! Here we are. Gotta go, babe..."
"Oh, well, call me when you get back ok?"
"I promise. I love you..."
"I love you too. Bye....."
"Bye..." she said as she hung up.
Shayna looked oddly at her. "The mall? Why couldn't you tell Justin where we were going?"
"Cuz, he doesn't trust me...." Michelle said as she looked out the car window....."
"What? Hun, if that boy didn't trust you, he would not be even dating you right now, much less leave you alone for a month....."
"Yeah, but with that thing with JC and the kiss....."
"Michelle, that was the past. This is the present. And, right now you have a wonderful, faithful, amazing guy in Europe dreaming about you right now. So, let's go have some fun!" she yelled as they both got out of Shayna's Saturn and went into the club.
Chris flipped the channels on the TV. He wasn't paying any attention to them. He missed Shayna so much. And, it killed him inside to not say what he truly wanted to ask her. He cut off the TV and paced the floor in desperation.
He looked out the window and saw the stars. Then, he breathed a sigh of relief. She could see the same twinking night sky he saw, and soon, they would see it together.
SO, Jc has a date! Isn't that special? And, Michelle and Shayna get reminded of the guys who love them so, and of the friendship they share. What does Chris want to say to Shayna? I'm sure we all want to know!