'Hello? Jason, honey, are you home?' she called out.There was no answer. She set the carton of milk he'd asked her to get, down heavily on the table. As she went to put it in the fridge, she spotted a note on the door
R, Gone to the pub with the lads. Be back late. Don't wait up. Love Jason
She held back an annoyed yell. This was the 4th time this week he'd done this. Sometimes she wondered if he cared about her at all. She glanced down at the silver ring with tiny diamond embadded in it that she wore on her left ring finger. The wedding was only 2 weeks away, yet she seemed to be doing all the work, while he seemed to spend most of his time in the pub. As she made her way to the bedroom, she thought about everthing that had happened. At 19 she knew she was young to be marrying, but that was a minor detail. Jason was 25, and had met her only 4 months ago.He'd proposed a week ago, and that was why the wedding was so rushed. Then again, maybe he'd only proposed so he could sleep with her. She'd told him she didn't believe in sex before marriage, which wasn't strictly true. It was just that she didn't want to sleep with him yet. She pulled off the jeans and sweatshirt she'd worn to the play rehearsal sh'ed been attending, and put on a pair of leggings and a cropped top, she wore to go jogging. Then she pulled her long, straight, dirty blond hair back into a pony-tail and picked up her walkman. As she knelt by the door to put on her trainers, she heard faint screams. Puzzled, she opened the door and looked out. The road was empty. Then out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a group of guys, running for their lives, in her direction. A few moments, she saw the problem. There was a herd of screaming girls running after them. Quickly she ran out in front of the guys, and waved towards her front door.
'Hey, go in there!' she yelled to them.
Without slowing down, they charged up the stairs and into the house. She followed, shutting the door behind her. 'Quick, get upstairs and hide' she ordered the 5 panting guys. They did as she said, and almost as soon as they'd gone, the girls started pounding on the door. A few moments later, the guys heard talking, and then the girls left.
'OK, you can come down now' she called up to them. They all crept down the stairs slowly, and then stood facing her. As they stood there, they took the oppurtunity to take a closer look at their rescuer. The leggings and top revealed a toned body and tanned skin. She also had a slender figure, accentuated by her clothing. Bright blue eyes sparkled from her face, and her hair was the color of sand.
'Uh, thanx' one of them, tall and dark haired said. She smiled. 'That's OK.' she replied.
'Can I ask a question?' another asked. He was quite short, a bit taller than herself, she noted and his blue eyes had a friendly, laughing look in them. 'You just did' she told him. He grinned at her. 'What did you do to make them go away?' he said. She paused. 'Hang on' she said.
Then she threw an old frock over her head, and turned her back on them. She picked something up and put it to her face. When she turned back to face them, she was a little old lady. 'When they asked if you were here, I said I'd never even heard of you.' she told them, in an old lady's voice. Then she pulled the mask and dress off. 'Which wasn't difficult, because I really don't know who you are. I assume you're famous, right?' she added, returning to normal.
The 5 guys exchanged glances. 'You don't know us?' one asked. She shook her head. 'don't tell me you're so up yourselves that you expect everyone to know you.' she said. The short one with the blue eyes grinned. 'Nope, but our management is' he said. She smiled. 'Sorry if that was a bit rude. I'm quite blunt though, so don't let me hurt your feelings or anything.' She glanced at them all. 'Look. Go sit down, I'll bring some sodas, and we can talk.' she said.
A few moments later, all were sitting with a drink. 'So fill me in on you guys then' she said. 'Who are you individually?' The tall, dark haired one spoke first. 'I'm Kevin'
'I'm Brian' the shorter, blue eyed one said. 'I'm Nick' another blue eyed one, with blond curtains said. 'I'm AJ' This guy was definately an individual, Ria guessed. He even wore sunglasses in the house! 'And I'm Howie' the last one said.
'OK, so, Kevin, Brian, Nick, AJ and Howie, right? she repeated. They nodded. 'Good. I'm not so hot on names, so it may take me a while. Anyway, I'm Ria, and welcome to my home. So why were you being chased?' she asked. 'Oh, hang on. The girls mentioned, um. Dang it, what was it?' she mumbled to herself. 'Oh yeah. The Backstreet Boys. I guess that must be you, right?' They nodded again.
They carried on talking for a long time, and Ria learnt everything about the guys, and they learnt everything about her, including the wedding. Nick was the most surprised about this, mainly because she was only a year older than himself. When he mentioned this, she agreed, and in that way told them about her doubts. As they carried on talking, they lost track of time, and it was only the front door opening that interrupted them.
'Oh, shit! That's Jason' she exclaimed. All the guys noticed the fear that crept across her face. However, it only lingered for a second before she hid it behind a mask. She looked at her watch. 2:14am. 'You guys will have to stay here. You can't leave now.' she told them.
'But we'll be in your way' Kevin protested. She shook her head. 'You are not leaving. I've lived here long enough to know that if you want to stay healthy, you don't go out after pubs closing time.' she said. 'I'll be right back. I'll go talk to Jason.' Then she left.
While she was gone, they heard raised voices and when she re-appeared, her cheek was red and she had tears in her eyes. 'I'll take you to a hotel. Unless you're supposed to be somewhere' she said quietly, car keys in her hand. 'We have a hotel. We can direct you.' Howie told her. The 6 of them piled into her small car and she set off. 'I'm sorry if itz a squash, but I wasn't gonna leave you with Jason' she said.'He's only like this when he's drunk, though' she added, as though she felt she was being unfaithful. 'Itz fine, really' Brian told her from the back seat.
20 mins. later they pulled up outside the hotel, and the guys got out. 'Thanks for the lift' Nick said with a goofy grin. She laughed. She liked Nick, but she didn't know why. She stepped out of the car and hugged him. He was surprised for a moment, and then hugged her back. 'Thanks for running into my house.' she whispered.
'You guys,' she said when she stepped back 'I want you to come to the wedding. If you're free. Itz in 2 weeks, on the Wednesday.' Kevin stepped forward. 'What about Jason?' he asked. She narrowed her eyes. 'He'll hust have to cope with it.' she said. 'Here, have my phone number and address, and then you can let me know. And you can visit if you like. Jason's hardly ever in in the evenings so......'
* * * * *
A week later, Brian was round at her house, helping her with wedding dreses. He had been introduced to Jason, and although he had been very civil and friendly, there was something about him that made Brian uneasy around him.
'Uh-uh Brian. You can go downstairs while I change.I would say outside, but I don't trust you. You'll probably peek thru the heyhole.'she said with a laugh, pushing him outside. 'All I need is a glimpse and I'll be happy.' he exclaimed in a dramatic tone, dropping to one knee. Rolling her eyes, she pulled down one side of her t-shirt, revealing her shoulder. 'There's your glimpse, now go.' she said with a grin. Laughing, he stood up, and made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. Once there, he sat down and took a biscuit out of the tin in front of him. As he munched, he began humming a tune. After a few hums, he got out his dictaphone and bagan recording the tune.
'Brian!' Ria yelled from above. 'Coming!' he replied, placing the dictaphone on the table. 'By the way,' he said, climbing the stairs, 'I've got your wedding pressies with me.' She walked out of the room. 'Oh, what are they? Can I have them now? 'she asked, getting like an excited child. 'No. You can wait 'till next Wednesday' he told her. 'So why d'you bring them?' she asked. 'Because I came her straight from picking them up'
*****
Downstairs, Jason entered the kitchen and picked up the phone. He had a quick conversation with someone, and then hung up and walked out. Because he was out of the room he didn't hear the dictaphone click off as it ran out of tape.
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