Okay! This may not be as long as ya'll want, but it's jam-packed everybody. Oh yeah, and if you think it's gonna run smooth from here...hahahahaha. Nahhhh, that'd make it boring, wouldn't it? ; ) Enjoy!)
(Around noon at the hotel)
Kathryn got up from her comfortable spot on her chair, and stretched. Mouse scurried off her lap, irritated at having his spot taken away. He meowed and jumped onto a bed, snuggling into a lavishly fluffy pillow. Kathryn's 5 foot, 6 inch frame bent down and touched her toes. Upon hearing her back crack, Kathryn winced. She'd been sitting for quite a while. Kathryn had just finished reading her book, a Stephen King novel. She was sure that she'd probably have a nightmare or two from it later on, but she couldn't seem to put it down. Either way, she hadn't counted on finishing it so soon. What could she do, now?
Glancing at her watch, she noticed it was noon. She had to be at soundcheck at 4:30. That meant she had around 4 hours and 15 minutes to fill if she wanted to be punctual. She had finished her book, Mouse was asleep, and she wasn't in the swimming mood. Come to think of it, she was in the eating mood. Usually she ate lunch at around noon time. In fact, the schedule sheet that had been given to crewmembers "strongly reccommended" eating at noon, since they would usually be off around them. The schedule on the sheet was generally accurate, so Kathryn decided to follow it. After all, most crew members did.
Gathering her hair into a ponytail she grabbed her black purse and considered where to eat. She recalled seeing a quaint restaurant near the hotel, called the Mississippi Diner. It had shown on the window they served Chinese food, Italian food, and "Traditional home-style Mississippi food". Deciding to go there, she grabbed her music (in case she decided to look around the town and had to hurry to the soundcheck), and tucked her cell phone into her purse.
She entered the quiet hallway, and heard a rapid small click beside her. Looking around curiously, she noticed nothing. "Kathryn, you're getting way too paranoid," she told herself. She started walking quickly to the elevator, when suddenly a flash of baby blue flew before her eyes. She bumped into the blur, and tripped and fell. Her music scattered all over the floor.
Shaking her head to rid the stars, Kathryn hurriedly tried to scoop up her music, and heard a voice above her say, "Here."
The person whom she assumed she bumped into, handed her the rest of her music. Tucking a little bit of her hair behind her ears, she looked a little closer at the person. Inwardly, she groaned. Great. She knocked down another *N Sync member. Seeing the curly locks, she noticed that this was Justin.
Kathryn gave him a strained smile. "Um, thanks. I appreciate it. Sorry for bumping into you." said Kathryn, starting to walk away.
Justin flashed his white teeth at her. Perfect. She had no idea that he had ran in front of her on purpose. He had insisted to the guys that she seemed like one of those, "follow the schedule" girls. He knew, of course, that the crew member sheet reccommended eating at noon. Falling into step with her, he said "Yeah, no problem. I think it was my fault, too. So where are you going?" he inquired.
"That Mississippi Diner place I saw on my way here." said Kathryn, wondering why he was walking with her.
"That's awesome!" said Justin enthusiastically. "I was just going there myself! Now I don't have to eat by myself. We can eat together!" Justin clapped his hands together joyfully, looking as if he had just gotten everything on his Christmas list.
Fantastic. How was Kathryn supposed to refuse when he looked so thrilled? "Yeah, that's great!" said Kathryn weakly. She could have smacked herself. She was such a pushover sometimes.
"Wow! That's great! Now we can get to know each other, and talk and talk, and TALK!" Kathryn nodded, forcing a smile onto her face. Justin grinned to himself. That was a cinch. Almost nobody except his mom could refuse the, "Wow, you made my day!" look. Things were going a lot easier than expected...
Looking out of the peephole in the door, Chris saw Justin purposely bump into Kathryn. Seeing as Justin followed the plan exactly as they outlined, he pumped his fist in the air. Right on the money! That "Wow, you made my day look" always worked. Kathryn didn't refuse him, thankfully. If she did, then their plan would've been down the drain. "So?" said Joey from behind Chris, curiously.
"She said yeah, and they're going to the Mississippi Diner." said Chris, turning around, with a huge grin. He bounced up and down joyfully.
"Oh, that's great! They serve french toast all day!" said Lance, happily.
"And, Italian food, regular stuff, and Chinese food." said JC with a satisfied look.
"Who cares about what they serve?!" said Chris, sounding a little annoyed. "Remember...this is all part of Mission: Kathryn."
"Oh, yeah." said Lance sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "But you know, I mean, we wanna have good food, and all, and french toast is my favorite, especially the Mississippi way..." he trailed off.
Joey smacked his lips. "Hey, Jace man? Did you say Italian? Suddenly, I'm hungry, guys. Can we go now?" he asked.
Chris shook his head, in thought. Then a bright look crossed his face. He nodded his head up and down quickly. "Yeah, they'll be there in a little bit. I think it'll take a few seconds to get a seat, since Justin is there. By the time we get there, let's hope their orders are taken. Then, she can't back out. After that, we can move into whatever booth that Justin and Kathryn are sitting in...with Kathryn on the inside! How's she supposed to get out then?" asked Chris, smiling contentedly.
Joey shook his head in wonderment. "Wow. I think cutting off those dreads freed a few brain cells; you weren't this smart before..." trailed off Joey. A burst of laughter from JC and Lance sounded through out the room.
Chris scowled. "Yeah, yeah." His face brightened, and he grinned. He bounced up and down, happily. "Let's go! C'mon guys! Let's go!!!!!"
"For a minute there I thought he was really calm." said Lance, with a mock sigh. "Ah, well." They walked out the door, chuckling, to the diner.
"So, Kathryn, excited about the tour and all?" inquired Justin, probably on his billionth question. He had asked question after question. He knew her age, 21, her birthplace, Connecticut, her ZODIAC sign for God's sake! (Which was Leo).
"Yeah." said Kathryn, sipping her Coke slowly, twirling her straw around. She discreetly checked her watch. Against what her mind told her, she was starting to like this Justin kid. He was funny, charming, and absoulutely nice. He would make a great friend...
No, Kathryn told herself. You don't want to make friends with these guys. You're not the type that would be friends with superstars. Besides, after the tour ends, you'll just be nothing to them. It's better alone. You have fewer worries alone, she thought, struggling to convince herself.
The two were waiting for their food. Kathryn had ordered some chow mein and rice. She loved Chinese and Italian food. It was hard to decide between the two, since the diner carried both, but Chinese won out.
"So, you really like Chinese food?" questioned Justin.
"Yeah." said Kathryn, with a smile. He was so eager and inquisitive, it was hard not to like him. With a sigh, she told herself to stop. The further she stayed away from them, the better she'd be. Finally, their food came. Kathryn, nodded with a smile to the young waitress. The waitress gave her a cold look, and smiled warmly at Justin. She batted her eyelashes.
"Is there anything I can get you Mr.Timberlake?" she said flirtatiously.
"Well not for me, ma'am, but I don't know about Kathryn, there." he said gesturing to Kathryn.
The waitress looked her up and down. "Is she your girlfriend?" she asked Justin, rudely.
Justin shook his head. "No, we don't really know each other very well...yet." replied Justin, accentuating the yet pointedly, looking at Kathryn.
"Oh, I see. Is there anything I can get you miss?" asked the waitress, warming up considerably to Kathryn. Shaking her head, still a little startled by the woman's behavior, Kathryn started picking at her food.
"So," continued Justin, asking his questions, "Ya' like Chinese food a lot?"
"Mmm," said Kathryn between mouthfuls, "Yeah." She reached for the soy sauce across the table, and put some on her noodles. The noodles slipped on her fork, and messily went into her mouth. She patted at her mouth with the white linen napkin, not feeling anything. She put her napkin down, catching Justin's eye. His blue eyes were twinkling, and his hand was over his mouth trying unsuccessfully to stifle laughter. "What?" said Kathryn a little nervously. What was so funny? A billion thoughts ran through her head. Was he making fun of her? Was she doing something wrong?
"Nothing." said Justin in between a few gasps.
"No, really, what?" asked Kathryn, more confused.
"You...you..." he gestured to his cheek, and rubbed it, letting out a burst of laughter.
Kathryn dug into her purse and took out her compact mirror. Quickly flipping it open, she looked at her cheek. "Oh my God." A big brown smear of soy sauce decorated the side of her cheek. Feeling red overtake her face, she couldn't help but smile; Justin's laughter was so full of mirth.
Putting a little water on her napkin, she rubbed it off. She then looked at Justin, who had settled down, still chuckling a little. Since she didn't really wear make-up, she didn't have to worry about her face, now that the soy sauce was off. Starting to snicker a little, she struggled to stay quiet, and finished wiping her cheek off.
Justin continued to ask her questions. "So, how long have you played piano?"; "You a big fan of ours?"; "Do you like our music?"; "Like Italian food?"...the list went on.
She ate a little more of her noodles, looking at Justin's face. Right on the side of his mouth was a glop of ketchup sitting there. It was very noticeable, and she started to giggle. Then seeing him look confused with the ketchup on his mouth she started to chuckle, and finally broke out into full-fledged laughter.
"Huh?" said Justin, confused. He patted the side of his mouth, freezing when his hands touched the glop of ketchup. His hand slowly left his mouth, and he stared at the red on it. Hurriedly, he grabbed a napkin and wiped away the red smear. Kathryn giggled a little more, as he continued to wipe it off. "It wasn't that funny!" said Justin, his lips trying to twitch into a smile.
"Yeah, it was." said Kathryn, lightly, her eyes dancing. Inside, Justin was cheering with joy. This was their easiest mission ever! Give her a few hours, and she'd be buddy-buddy with them, unless he was wrong. She was already laughing with him.
"Hey guys!" said Joey, popping out in front of the two, suddenly. The two jumped the slightest bit, surprised by his sudden entrance.
"Hey!" said Justin, enthusiastically.
Quietly, Kathryn said, "Hi." She continued to eat quicker, her food almost done.
Lance, Chris, and JC came up behind him. They had a few bags in their hands. They started to talk at once. Finally, Chris said, "Sorry we weren't here sooner. LANCE over there, HAD to buy some stuff for his bunk at that dinky little store thing."
"It wasn't DINKY!" protested Lance. "It was just a Mississippi-style store!"
Chris whispered to Kathryn and Justin, "Translation...dinky. But don't say that to Lance, he's a little protective over Mississippi."
The boys crammed into the booth, Lance and JC moving in with Kathryn, and Chris and Joey moving in with Justin. Kathryn was on the inside of the booth, with her plate over in front of JC. He was in the middle, with Lance on the outside and Kathryn on his other side. He looked at her plate and at her. "Oh. Um, sorry. This is yours, right?" Kathryn nodded. "Oh. Uh, here." he said, pulling the plate over to her. "You like Chinese too?" he asked.
"Yeah, I love it." she replied.
Chris jumped into the conversation, "Yeah! It's great! We should all go out one day and eat some Chinese food together! Wouldn't that be great Kathryn?! We should all get to know each other, and everything!"
Kathryn gave a small smile to Chris hurriedly, and barely nodded her head, and continued to eat her noodles. The men continued to talk, inviting her into the conversation numerous times, and directed a few questions her way every now and then. "So, Kathryn, how long you been playing the piano?"
Quietly, Kathryn answered, "16 years."
The men's eyes bugged out. "16?!" asked Lance, incredulously.
The men looked at each other in surprise. That was a long time! "So, you've been playing since 5 years old?" asked JC, impressed.
Kathryn nodded, her eyes fixed on the table. She could hear the guy's murmers of amazement. It's a good thing that those men showed up, when they did. She was starting to laugh and beginning to be open with Justin. It's good that she caught herself. Now, how was she to get out of here? They guys looked comfortable and were chatting, and she was sitting on the inside.
Justin was confused. Just a few minutes ago, she was starting to open up, if he didn't know any better! Now, she wasn't making eye contact, and she was barely talking. This plan was going to be a whole lot harder than he expected.
"Um, I have to use the ladies room." said Kathryn, inwardly pleased with her excuse.
The men nodded, JC and Lance sliding out of the booth to let Kathryn out. Kathryn walked briskly to the ladies room, and sighed when she got in. Phew. She needed to talk to someone. Checking the time, and seeing that it was 1:15, she pulled out her cell phone, dialing Nana's number. The phone was picked up after 1 ring. "Hello?" came Nana's comforting voice on the line.
"Nana?" said Kathryn.
"Oh, hi dear! What's wrong?" she asked concerned. Nana had always seemed to have a 6th sense for what people were feeling.
"Um, nothin..." started Kathryn, but thought better of it. "Actually, I'm in a ladies restroom in the Mississippi Diner, and I just got away from eating with *N Sync. The Justin Timberlake one invited me to eat with him, and the rest showed up later. I finally escaped into here."
Nana's mouth was open in shock, and for a minute she couldn't speak. "Why can't you eat with them?!" she asked, with a little shock entering her voice. "Did they do anything to you?" she then questioned, sounding a little angry.
"No, nothing like that. In fact, they were really very nice to me, asking me a great many questions, trying to actually...get to know me. Nana, you know why I couldn't." said Kathryn, matter-of-factly.
"No, explain it to me again." said Nana, although she knew. It was time something was to be done. She knew she would hate to do this, but Kathryn needed this.
"Well, Nana, first of all, I'm not the type to be friends with superstars. Second, they'd forget all about me after the tour ends. And third, I've never really had any good friends. I'm not the friend TPYE, Nana." Kathryn said blushing, as she realized once again she really never had any real friends, save Mouse, and he wasn't exactly human.
"Kathryn, listen to me here. Why aren't you the type to be friends with superstars? Do you think you're better than them? Or are you inferior to them? I always have considered you the confident type, with determination. Besides, what does them being SUPERSTARS have to do with anything?! How does that make those boys any different? And, why would those boys forget about you after the tour? What does that mean? Does a friend ever FORGET another friend? I have no clue how that idea came to you."
Here Nana cringed, and almost couldn't go on. She was sounding nothing like herself. She'd never been harsh with Kathryn throughout her entire life, and here, she was forcing herself to be like this. Nana went on, after a deep breath. "And finally. Kathryn, you've never had any friends, fine then. Your age, I mean. That's because you've been so determined, and focused since such an early age. Kathryn, you're 21 now. You're going to be 22 on the 27th of July. You're a pianist on the No Strings Attached tour. You can RELAX now. Are you going to snub those boys, avoid them, and not have any friends for the rest of your life? There's an opportunity right in front of you, and these boys obviously want to get to know you. Kathryn you know I love you to death, and don't get mad at me for this. Dear, I want the best for you. It's your decision now, honey. Not mine, not anybody else's. Your's. Goodbye, dear." And with that, Nana hung up.
Kathryn slowly brought the phone down from her ear, and looked at it, with disbelief, confusion, hurt, written all over her face.
Nana sat down in her chair numbly, and heaved a sigh. She could imagine Kathryn's shocked, hurt expression all the way from Connecticut. Saying all that, had hurt Nana a bit, and Nana could hope...only hope...that Kathryn would take the words to heart...and maybe the next time Kathryn called, she would have 5 new friends.