CHAPTER 6
After that day, things were different for Anya and the guys. The others were told about Ben and they all made a promise to each other that they would help her through this. Chris would take her to the park and the beach to hang out and talk. One day at the beach, they got in a fight with some kids over sand toys. Chris tried to get the kids to bury him but they took too long for him. He wanted them to hurry but their shovels were too little to hold much sand. Anya sat back and watched him argue with the kids. She loved being with Chris, there was never a dull moment when he was around.
The others had spent time with her, too, but it was the friendship she had with Justin that was most important to her. After he helped her get all of her feelings out, the two became inseparable. They would talk at lengths end about their lives. They found out that they had a lot in common. Both were from Tennessee and were sports nuts. Once, they drove to Gainesville to watch Florida take on Tennessee in basketball. They had a great time. They didn't care who won the game, just spending time together was enough for them.
Justin included Anya in most everything he did. She thought he was doing all this because he felt sorry for her. She got over that quick when he got upset with her over it.
"First off, I don't spend this much time with people I feel sorry for. I feel awful for what happened to you, but if I didn't care about you and want to be friends, I wouldn't be here. You don't have to question my wanting to be with you. You are like family to me and I stick with family no matter what."
He was so great to her and, Anya loved him for his kindness. Everyday they spent together, they grew closer, but they knew the fun would be interrupted soon. The guys were going on a promotional tour of the states for a couple of weeks. This would be the first time Anya and the guys would be away from one another.
"What am I going to do now?" She began with a hint of sadness to her voice.
"That's sweet, I'll miss you too, but don't get all teary-eyed on my now. It'll only be for three weeks and then we'll be back." Justin was afraid Anya would take his leaving hard.
"I didn't say anything about missing you, Justin. I was talking about Chris. He was suppose to take me skydiving."
Justin stood there a minute trying to figure out what she meant, then it hit him. "Oh, you are so full of it. I know you and Chris hate heights, so, don't even try to tell me that's what you'll miss." He had to laugh at her. Besides Chris, she was the biggest coward when it came to heights. She would go on the rollercoasters with the guys but had to hold one of their hands and close her eyes the whole time.
"Fine, you caught me, that's not what I was talking about." She grew serious and reached for his hand. "Justin, I'm going to miss you. I owe you so much. You have given me your friendship, which means more to me then you will know. For the first time in ages, I feel good about myself. I am strong again and ready to move on with my life. Thank you, Justin, for everything."
He closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. She responded by placing her arms around his neck and bringing him closer.
"Thank you, too, Anya. I have learned so much from you. You are a wonderful friend and in my life, that is hard to come by. There are so many people wanting me for my name. You don't. You put up with my antics. You laugh at me. You tell me straight out if I am doing something wrong. You are honest with me. Most people would go along with everything I did even if they wanted to or not, just because of whom I am. But, with you, you tell me to kiss your ass and do what you want. In a weird way, that means a lot to me."
"Kiss my ass, Justin, that means a lot to you?" She had to laugh at that. "If I would have known that, I would have thought of a few more choice words to say to probably make you really love me."
"You wish. Come on, you know what I mean." He had to join in with her laughing, his comment did sound funny.
"I know what you mean, I'm just kidding. Listen I want you to promise me you will find a few minutes each week to call me. I don't care if it's five in the morning or not, I want to know what's going on in your all-too glamorous life."
"Let me save some money and tell you that we get up, do interviews all day, come back to the hotel and go to sleep. Sometimes, they even let us eat. That's about it. Three weeks of that. Sounds great, huh?"
"Oh, poor baby has such a hard life. Traveling the world, meeting new people every day, having thousands of girls lust over you…yeah, sounds like a tough life." She always gave him a hard time about his life. He knew how lucky he was to be doing what he loved but when he would pass it off as no big deal, Anya would remind him of what he had.
The guys left a couple of days later. Anya was a little upset to see them go. Lisa had gone out with her new boyfriend, Jeff, and she was home alone that night. Jeff was Lisa's blind date from a couple of weeks ago and the two hit it off right away. She had spent the last few days with him. Anya was happy for her. Lisa had always found it hard to have a boyfriend. It sounded dumb but her height, at 6', intimidated most guys and they would shy away from her. Jeff was different. At 5'10", he looked funny next to Lisa but he loved being with a tall girl. She could care less about his height. He was so nice to her and such a comedian. Their personalities went great together. He reminded Anya of Chris.
When she would see Jeff, she thought of Chris, and when she thought of Chris, she thought of Justin. It had only been a week since they left and she missed him. She missed all the guys, but Justin was her buddy, and she hadn't heard from him all week.
She got home from work that night and noticed a package waiting for her at the door. She hadn't ordered anything and it wasn't her birthday. She read the return address and it was from Dallas, Texas. I don't know anyone in Texas. She picked it up and walked into the apartment. After she put her bag down and got something to eat, she returned to the package she placed on the table. She was examining the package when the phone rang.
"Hello"
"Hey, Anya, it's Justin how are you?"
"Justin, it's great to hear from you. I'm fine but where are you?"
"We're in California right now. We have an interview in a couple of minutes but I wanted to call to see how you've been. Sorry I haven't called before now."
She was so happy to hear from him that she forgot she hadn't talked to him in a week. "Oh, don't worry about it. I know you guys must be really busy. Anyway, what's up?"
"Besides missing you, nothing much. Hey, did you get my present yet?"
She looked at the package in front of her and it clicked, he had been in Texas a few days ago. The package must be from him. "It's sitting in front of me right now. I just got it but haven't opened it yet."
"Well, what are you waiting for, open it already, I'll hold on."
"Okay." She tore into the package and discarded the paper. She opened the box to reveal a pink elephant with wings. "Um…Justin…I don't know what to say…Thank you, I guess."
"Hey, I put a lot of thought into getting that elephant for you." He sounded upset that she didn't like his gift.
"No, its not that I don't like it, I just didn't expect such a…such a…well, a gift like this." She didn't want to make him feel bad for the gift but in reality, it was the cheesiest thing she had ever seen.
There was silence for a minute then she heard him laugh. "You don't get it do you?"
She was clueless at that point. "No, I don't. What is going on, Justin?"
"Do you remember when you told me about going to the carnival when you were younger and that you always wanted someone to win you one of those cheesy stuffed animals?"
It was all making sense now. She had told him about going with some friends when she was younger. She always saw all the girls with armfuls of stuffed animals that their boyfriends had won for them and she wanted that herself. "I can't believe you remembered but that doesn't explain how you got this elephant. I didn't think they sold stuff like this at the toy stores."
"They don't. The other day we attended a charity carnival and I decided to get you the elephant. It was the strangest animal they had. I hope you like it because it cost me $10 at the water race game. The other guys wouldn't let me win so I had to keep going until I won enough to get it for you."
"They wouldn't let you win, that is so mean of them. Remind me to thank them when I see them next." She told him, laughing.
"Hey!"
"You know I'm just kidding. Its about time someone put you in your place and didn't let you get what you wanted."
"If I didn't know you so well, I would consider that an insult, but I know you would never insult a guy that just got you the cutest pink elephant with wings you have ever seen." He was laying on the charm thick for her.
"I do love the elephant, thank you, but I will insult you if I feel like it."
That was one thing Justin liked most about Anya, she wasn't afraid to tell him what she thought. She wasn't mean about it, she just told it like it was and he liked that she wouldn't hold back because he was famous. "Listen, all kidding a side, I hope you like it and again I am sorry I haven't talked to you this week. I do miss you. The other guys are giving me a hard time because I told them I was having Anya-withdrawal symptoms. I can't wait to see you again."
Anya felt so lucky to have a friend like Justin. He had remembered everything she told him about herself and tried to make the little dreams she had come true. She knew they would remain friends for a long time. "Justin, I miss you too and can't wait to see you and the other guys. It's only two more weeks, right?" She hoped they would not be gone longer than that.
"Well, it will be a little longer but that is what I wanted to talk to you about. We have decided to shoot our next video on our week break and then we are heading over to Europe for another couple of weeks. What I wanted to know was if you would like to come to LA with us while we shoot the video? Please say yes, I know you want to."
She didn't have to think about a thing. "YES! I'd love to go. Let me call the airlines and…."
"No need. I knew you would say yes so I've already booked you a flight so everything is taken care of."
"Justin, you didn't have to do that. I can afford my own plane ticket." Anya didn't like handouts even if it was from friends.
"I know you can, but I needed to make sure that you wouldn't be able to say no. I knew if I told you I had already booked a flight, you would have to say yes. Let me do this for you, Anya, it would mean a lot to me."
How could she argue with him? He was too cute for his own good and he knew it. "Okay, thank you, Justin, again, for everything, and I really do love the elephant. I will sleep with it every night. This cheesy elephant will remind me of the cheesy friend who gave it to me."
"Hey, you know I can always call up someone else to take that ticket of yours."
"Only kidding. You know I'm only kidding…."
"I know. So, tell me what's been going on lately…." They continued to talk for a few more minutes until JC called Justin to get off the phone. Something about that interview he would be late for if he didn't get is scrawny-white butt off the phone. "Listen, Anya, I have to go now, the general is calling."
She started laughing at him. "Okay, next time, email me or something so you don't have to run up your phone bill."
"I'll do that. I'll talk to you soon and see you in LA. Bye."
"Bye, Justin." She hung up the phone and picked up the gift he had sent her. "Today turned out better than I thought it would." She hugged the elephant close to her and smiled, thinking of her dear friend and what he did for her.