“Do ya think she’s okay?” Justin asked, warily. I sighed.
“I dunno,” I said, truthfully. “I hope so.”
“I’m fine.” Justin, Joey, Mel, and I looked up to see Alex walk into the lounge, JC next to her.
“I’m so glad you’re back!” Mel shrieked, running up and hugging her. Alex laughed slightly and hugged her friend back. After Mel sat down, Alex nodded towards Joey and Justin and looked at me.
We gazed at each other for a moment. Nothing need to be put into words. The look was enough. Between best friends, it usually is. Her look comforted me, asking all the questions she needed to. All of them which she had been holding in since I left. Her expression was comforting. Not sympathetic, though, because she knew I could never handle sympathy and I certainly didn’t like it. Neither of us did.
Looking at her, I answered all of those questions. Nothing was too drawn out. At the moment, everything was fine. She knew it. She also knew I’d need a shoulder to cry on later, which she and the others always so generously supplied for me. After a few moments, we smiled. We were fine. Best friends ‘til the end. Nothing would ever change that.
If anything, our bond had grown stronger. We had gone through a mutual event. The passing of our fathers. Though it had happened to her a while before, she knew the painful feeling inside. She might not show it as I did, by not talking and secluding myself from everyone, but she was as human as the rest of us. Probably more in touch with reality.
The room was silent . . . until Roxie came in.
“Lexi!!” I was instantly tackled from behind in a hug. Smiling, I patted her hands, which were around my shoulders.
“I missed you, too, Rox,” I said, laughing. After prying her off, I looked around for Chris. He and Star were nowhere to be found. “Where’s Chris?”
“In Star’s dressing room,” Lance said, coming over and kissing my cheek. I smiled softly at him and squeezed JC’s hand. He squeezed back and I turned my head to look at him, who was smiling down at me.
“Why don’t we leave the two of them alone and go get a cup of coffee or something?” I suggested.
“Forget about me already?” I laughed and turned to face Claire, who was standing in the doorway.
“Claire!” Roxie shouted excitedly. She ran towards the shorter girl and scooped her up in a bear hug. Grimacing, Claire laughed and wiggled her way out of the girl’s embrace.
“Long time, no see,” Elis said, hugging me shortly. I smiled and hugged her back. She turned towards Alex and draped an arm around my shoulder.
“So, you’ve been hiding in Texas this whole time, huh?” Alex smiled sheepishly and leaned back into JC as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her.
“What made you move out into Hicksville anyway?” Mel asked, coming up and giving me a hug hello. I shrugged.
“I had to get away from these three nutcases,” I said, pointing to Elis, Alex, and Roxie, who was now sitting on Lance’s lap. Mel laughed and Elis tightened her arm around my neck, creeping me into a headlock position. There was a knock on the wall. The nine of us turned to face the doorway, where Brian stood there, looking uneasy.
“Look, I really hate to interrupt,” he said, clearing his throat, “but I have to get going. AJ’s gonna kill me if I don’t get to the studio on-time today. God knows I’ve already taken off enough time as it is.” Alex nodded and slipped out of JC’s embrace. She went up to Brian and hugged him, kissing his cheek softly.
“Thank you,” I whispered to him. Brian smiled at me.
“No problem,” he said. “Call me later, okay?” I nodded and walked back to JC, who was looking blankly at Brian. Slowly, he walked up to Brian and extended his hand towards him. Brian smiled and shook his hand. I who was practically crying in delight. When JC walked back over to me, I flung my arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he didn’t hesitate to respond.
Everyone ignored Alex and JC for the moment. Surprisingly, they didn’t make the snide comments that I knew, at least, the women usually made. The two were in bliss.
I looked at Brian. He waved goodbye to everyone and turned to walk out the door. Before he could leave, I went up to him and stepped in front of him
“Thank you,” I said, “for coming.” He smiled at me.
“No problem,” he said. “I’m glad I could help.” We gazed at each other for a moment. Then, he leaned down and kissed my cheek. “I’ll see ya around?”
“Yeah,” I whispered, almost breathless. I swallowed hard. “Yeah,” I repeated, louder this time. “I’ll be with Alex for awhile. I’m not sure when I’ll be going home.” Brian nodded and smiled, hugging me quickly.
“Doesn’t Brian have a fiance?” I whispered to Joey. He nodded and wrapped his arms around my neck from behind. I raised an eyebrow and studied Claire and Brian as they talked. “Okay, there’s just something not right about this.”