~Gabrielle~
I sensed there was something Ellie wasn't telling me as we sat in her room a week later, listening to Hanson. In just a few minutes, I would be meeting and shopping with Celine Dion!
Even though it had been a couple weeks since my breakup with Jeremy, I still felt terrible. In fact, I felt even worse. I had finally managed to convince Ellie and everyone else that I was over him. Only God knew how much pain I was in…
I had definitely decided that Isaac was my favorite Hanson. With his soothing voice and brilliant sense of humor and dedication, his music was one of the only things that kept me going, Ellie being the other. I wished I could tell him that.
The doorbell rang, and Ellie cut Taylor off right in the middle of "Where's the Love". "Are you ready to meet Celine?" she asked me excitedly.
"Yeah!" Ellie laughed and pulled me downstairs.
I immediately knew it was Celine. Ellie went over, hugged her and whispered something to her. Celine nodded and turned to me.
"Gabby, this is the amazing Celine Dion. Celine, my best friend, Gabrielle Anderson," Ellie introduced us proudly.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Gabrielle," Celine said, stepping forward and offering her hand.
"Oh, my…it's great to get to meet you!" I stammered. "I love your music."
"Thank you," Celine said, smiling. "Well, are we ready to shop until we drop?"
"Yeah!" Ellie said. We waved goodbye to Mia and followed Celine out the door.
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"Good Lord, we sure bought a lot of stuff!" I said, dropping my heavy bags on Ellie's floor. "Celine really didn't have to buy me anything."
"Isn't she nice?" Ellie asked. I nodded as I flipped on her stereo and "A Minute Without You" came on. I sighed, my earlier anger and sadness melting away.
That day, when we had been at the mall, my worst dream had come true. Ellie, Celine and I had run straight into Jeremy and Randi, face-to-face. I shuddered as I remembered the conversation.
"Hey, Gabby," Jeremy said, cornering me in the hallway. "How long has it been now? The longest two weeks of your life?"
"No, actually, the happiest. I got rid of you!" I shouted.
Jeremy laughed. "Oh, really? I don't believe you, Gabrielle." He stepped closer to me. "In fact, you're a liar. I know you're still madly in love with me, and who wouldn't be, since I am the most eligible bachelor of the ninth grade."
Ellie grabbed me. "Come on, Gabby. You don't have to listen to a crappy word he says."
"Just watch, Gabrielle, this isn't over!" he called as Ellie pulled me away...
"Hello?" Ellie was waving her hand in front of my face. "Oh, no…you're not thinking about him, are you?" She looked at me.
"No, I just got lost in the lyrics," I immediately lied, putting on my happy face. "Come on, let me help you with those clothes." Ellie hit "A Minute Without You" again and I pressed all my feelings down inside again.
~Ellie~
"Miss Silverman," a mocking voice called from the kitchen, "you are requested on the telephone."
"Thanks, Mom, I've got it!" I called back, grabbing the phone. "Hello?"
"Hello, Miss Silverman," a laughing voice replied.
"Oh, hi, Celine." I relaxed into my bean bag chair.
"Uh, are you done with your homework?" Celine asked.
"Well, yeah," I answered. "I had two study halls today."
"Okay, great." Celine sounded excited. I shook my head. Celine and I had always sort of known each other, but now Celine seemed so eager to be with me. I shrugged to myself. That was just fine with me! "I'll be over at your place in a little while and maybe we can go for a drive. I have some things we need to talk about."
"All righty," I responded. "I'll be ready, Mrs. Dion!"
"See you soon, Ellie." Celine laughed and hung up. I jumped up and ran into the bathroom to pull my hair up into a ponytail. I grabbed a cardigan from my closet and skipped downstairs.
"Mom," I said. "Celine's coming over to pick me up in a little while. We're going for a drive."
"You two sure seem to have a lot to talk about," my mom said.
"Well, geez, Mom! She's trying to get me to meet Hanson! We could talk forever!" My mom smiled understandingly.
"Have fun," she called as I ran outside to the honk of a horn. Swinging the door closed, I stopped in my tracks. There in the street was a white limo with Celine standing by an open door.
I walked down the path and climbed in. "This is amazing," I said, looking around the spacy "room". The limo started and Celine replied.
"Get used to it. Seems to me, you're in big with celebrities. Hit it!" The opening chords of "Speechless" came on in the background. "Get ready to be speechless, Ellie, because you and Gabby have fourth row seats and a backstage meeting with Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson!"
My jaw dropped. "Celine! I love you! I'm indebted to you FOREVER! This is my dream come true!"
"Hey, that's what I'm here about…dreams," Celine smiled.
"Gosh, I don't know how I'll make it until June," I sighed.
"It's better to be on this end, waiting and anticipating that have it over and wishing you were still waiting for it to happen," Celine commented.
"True," I said. "But you never know what will come out of it." Celine laughed. "Hey! I'm sitting in a limo with Celine Dion, one of the best singers in the world. Anything is possible."
"You're right." Celine nodded. "Anything is possible, but sometimes it takes effort on your part to make it happen."
"So, tell me how is this going to work out?" I asked excitedly.
"I've got a ticket for both you and Gabby. I'll pick you guys up and take you into Montreal with me. After the concert, you guys just wait around until the crowd clears out. Then, head on back."
"This is so amazing, Celine! I can't believe it's actually happening!" I reached over and gave her a huge hug. Celine just smiled. "So, you've met them before? What are they like? Well, of course, I know they're nice, but like how were they?" I knew I was babbling.
Celine laughed. "They are all great guys. The youngest one is a bit wacky, but hey."
"Ah, Zac," I sighed.
Celine looked up to the sky and shook her head. "They are sensitive, especially the oldest. He's very helpful and caring. Then, of course, there's Taylor, the heartthrob, and man, you can tell why. He's very good-looking, but it doesn't seem to go to his head."
"I can't wait to meet them for myself! Zac…I can't wait to meet Zac! Oh gosh!" I suddenly sat straight up. "What on earth am I going to wear?"
"I'll help you find something," Celine reassured me.
"Okay. It has to be something sort of nice, but not too nice. You know, fancy/casual. Oh…I don't know!" I fell back, exasperated.
Celine filled in. "As I always say, you want something tight enough to show you're a woman, but loose enough to prove you're a lady."
"Exactly," I smiled. "Celine, you're the best!"
"Believe me, it took years of practice, but really, you're learning."
"I have a good teacher," I commented.
