Chapter 8
That night, all the guys were backstage with Mary. Suddenly, a girl wearing a pink spaghetti strap tank top and some cargos walked up.
"Hey yall! Hope ya have a great show. Oh, we haven't met. I'm Mandy Moore, one of the opening acts. What's your name?"
"I'm Mary Green. The guys invited me to come see the show. You look familiar. Do you sing that song, Candy?"
"That's me!" she said happily. (note: i just went to the n sync concert, so i'm taking stuff from that experience and putting it into the story.)
"Well, I have to go, but I'll catch you guys later!" she said as she ran to another side of the room where her dancers were.
"Having fun?" Justin said as he looked over at Mary.
"Oh, a blast! I've never even been to a concert before, much less backstage at one!"
"Guys, get to the harness prep in 2 minutes!" a voice yelled.
"Well, we have to go, but I'll miss you...." Jc said.
"I'll miss you more!"
Lance rolled his eyes. "C'mon guys!" he said as they left.
Mary smiled to herself as she took a seat on the couch. She was really falling for JC.
"Okay, everyone! Now, I know this song doesn't apply to all you beautiful ladies out there. Because, you seem to already have everything. But, I want to dedicate this song to a very special person. I think they know who they are.." JC said.(yall, he really did say all of that stuff about the beautiful ladies, and he was like 5 feet away from me when he said it!)
Mary smiled backstage as she watched the monitor that was set up. Then, "For The Girl" started to play. Although, she had never heard of N Sync, she felt like she knew the song inside and out.
Then, they ran backstage and began to put on matching red jackets to do their version of "That Thing You Do".
"Thank you..." Mary mouthed to JC.
He just smiled and ran back out onstage. She began to watch the monitor again. They did a brief summary of the 60's on the huge monitor set up above the stage. Then, the lights came on to reveal Lance on the keyboard, Justin on bass guitar, Joey on drums, Chris singing backup, and JC as the lead singer. It was wonderful. Justin was doing these really cute Elvis poses with his mouth, and Joey was wearing sunglasses.
When the concert was over, they rushed out of the venue and back to the hotel. They all ran into JC's room.
"That was the most fun I've ever had!" Mary said with her arms wrapped around JC's neck.
"Oh, we can tell....." Joey said with a wink.
.
"Hey, Chris, I'm cold, can I use your jacket?" Justin said. "Yeah, sure man, it's on the chair over there." Chris replied not thinking at all.
Justin put it on and slipped his hands in the pockets as his eyes widened.
He pulled out the small box and stared in disbelief. "Um, Chris....?....." he said with a blank expression on his face.
Chris looked over and grinned slightly. His 4 other band members stared at him.
"You're not gonna...." Jc began. Chris interrupted, "I'm asking her...."
The shocked faces turned into smiles and joyous laughter. "Way to go, Chris!" Justin said as he gave his best friend a friendly hug. "So, what does this mean for us?" JC said.
"What do you mean?" Chris asked.
"I mean, you're getting married!" Chris' face slightly fell. "That is, if she says yes...." he said.
"Oh, come on, she will!" Joey said.
"Guys, she's only 21 years old. I mean her life is just starting, and I'll be 30 in a few years. Do I really want to tie her down like that?" he said.
"He hasn't even asked her yet and already he's having second thoughts!" Justin said as he laughed.
"I'm just looking out for Shayna. I love her and I want to be with her for the rest of my life."
Mary cut in. "Chris, I don't really know you guys, and I don't even know Michelle or Shayna. But, take it from me. She might be scared at first, but she'll come around. Then again, she might want to marry you right off the bat. It's a chance you'll have to take. But, if it works, everything will be okay."
"Let's hear it for Mary!" Lance said as everyone began to clap. Jc stared at her for a minute. Those words were amazing. She was amazing. He was afraid to call it love, though. They had only known each other for about a week. He believed that love happened over a period of time, not a few days.
1 hour later....
Shayna called Justin's hotel room. They had become really close over the tour and he was always there to comfort her.
"Hello, this is Justin, how may I help you?" he said in a really funny voice.
She laughed. "Hey, Justin, this is Shayna....."
Justin smiled at the sound of her voice. Even though he loved and cared for Michelle, he still loved to hear Shayna.
"Hey, Shayna! I haven't talked to you in a while. Um, Chris went somewhere..."
"I know. I didn't get an answer when I called. I wonder where he is..."
"Ahh, he's probably out thinking or something...."
"Yeah. Gosh, Justin, how much longer is this stupid tour?"
"I do believe 9 days to be exact..."
"I can't wait!"
"Um, Shayna......how is she?" Justin said with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"She's okay. She misses you a lot. I just think with everything in her life right now, she feels like she has to make everyone happy. I've been her best friend for a long time. We've been through everything together. Blood, sweat, and tears. She can't handle everything at once. Although, she fights like hell in order to." she said as she laughed softly.
"Yeah, that's our Chelle..." Justin said as he smiled to himself.
"So, anything interesting happening over there?" Shayna asked.
"Well, we're bringing someone home. Her name's Mary and she's from Orlando originally. Her and JC are "an item", so to speak. So, she's another piece of the clique for now....."
"Well, that's good.......well, I'll let you go..."
"Ok, I'll talk to ya later, big sis..."
"Ok, bye, little bro...." she said as they both hung up.
Michelle sat in the studio. She was so tired.
"Um, Michelle, we need you to write up a thank you note to anyone you want to thank on the album. Can you do that tonight?" Dawn said.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'll get on that right now.." she said half asleep. She pulled out a piece of paper and began to write.
"Personally, I wish I could thank everyone I've ever met. But, this is only allowed to be a few short paragraphs. I want to thank my band who are the only ones who know what I really look like in the morning. (haha) I want to thank my manager, Johnny Wright, I'm sure everyone knows who that is. I want to thank God who is the sole reason I'm here today. I want to thank my best friend. Shay-Shay, I'll always be there for ya gurl! I would like to thank my dad and brothers. Daddy, even though Mama's gone, you were always the best. Thank you, I love yall! Finally, I would like to thank the light of my life. He's the most wonderful person and I'm lucky to have him in my life. Baby, you know who you are. I love you and I will forever and always care for you. Well, that should cover it. Thanks to the fans who buy my album. I'll be just as faithful to you. Thanks everyone! -Michelle"
She folded it up and placed it on Dawn's desk. She took a deep breath before getting in her car and driving towards her apartment.
The Next Day...
Mary was packing everything in her room with JC's help, of course. She opened a bag with pictures in it as JC began to look at them.
"Who's this?" JC said as he held up a picture of a baby.
Mary's happy and permantently cheerful face turned solumn and desolate. "It's uh, no one..."
"If it's uh, no one, why would you have it in your suitcase?"
"Look, JC. It's nothing. Can we move on, please?" she said as she placed a book in her bag with a fierce toss.
"Why can't you tell me?"
"JC, stop! Just stop! Do you really want to know who it is? It's my daughter, Amanda. I was 15, and had no grasp on responsibility. I had to give her up as soon as she was born because I couldn't take care of her. I ran away from home, and flew out here with a boyfriend. Boyfriend left me, and I'm stuck in London. Why haven't I left before, you ask? Because the money I get at the club is barely enough to feed myself, much less hitch a ride back to Orlando.." she said as she began to cry.
"Is that what you wanted to hear, JC? That, I haven't seen any sign of my family in over 7 years?" she said as she ran into his arms. He stroked her hair as he stood there speechless. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't hold it against her, he just couldn't believe it. He knew that he would take care of her. He just didn't know how to cope with it all.
Hmm....no comment here. Just read on, I guess....