Her eyes narrowed, Jordan kept her gaze on Justin and Britney as she made her way purposefully across the crowded floor toward them. 'What does she think she's doing? Ugh.' She thought to herself, her mind working overtime as she thought of the possible reasons Britney would want her to get away from Justin for awhile. Jordan grimaced and shook her head, forcing the thought from eating away at her mind. 'Be nice Jordan, the last thing you want is a spot on MTV News tomorrow night "Pop Princesses Duke It Out at Afterparty".' she told herself silently.
****
Tressa smiled brightly, thanking the bartender for the tall glass of Diet Coke that he had just handed her, as she turned back to the buzzing room. Glancing around casually, she noticed Joey and Mo dancing in the midst of the large crowd, Ashlee talking flirtatiously with a "too old for her" Rob Thomas, and Rachel standing next to Chris as the two of them pointed and laughed at JC who was still spazzing on the dance floor. Craning her neck and standing on her tiptoes, she pouted slightly 'I wish I was taller, this sucks!' she thought as she tried to find the rest of her companions within the tightly woven blanket of people. After not seeing anyone right off the bat, she was about to give up when she saw Jordan moving briskly through the hordes of celebrities, an upset look on her delicate features.
"Hey!" a chipper voice stopped Tressa mid-thought. "I've been looking for you!"
Tressa turned to greet a grinning Mandy Moore, her long blonde hair framing her child-like face. "Hi!" she said, slightly confused about why Mandy would have been seeking her out.
Sensing the confusion, Mandy smiled warmly at Tressa. "I know we've never met, but I just want to say that I admire Eternity's work, and wanted to say congratulations to you on your win tonight."
"Oh!" Tressa flushed slightly, "Thank you so much. I really enjoy your work as well." She said, her voice sincere.
"Thanks!" Mandy replied, "I wish we could talk more, but we're heading to the next party. I just saw you standing here and wanted to get the chance to tell you that" she said, before flashing a brilliant smile and walking away.
****
"Jordan!" Johnny Wright stepped into her path as she walked toward Justin, almost scaring the crap out of her.
Stopping abruptly so that she wouldn't run into a third person, Jordan tossed out one of her 1000-watt smiles. "Johnny! Hi...I was just..." she trailed off, searching desperately for something other than 'I was just going to punch out one of your clients. Hope you don't mind.' Jordan cringed as she thought of what his reaction would be to something like that, but quickly shrugged it off as he began talking animatedly.
"I've been looking for you, I've got someone who is VERY interested in meeting you Jordan." Johnny smiled down at her as he guided her toward the next room. Before stepping through the doorway, Jordan looked over her shoulder once more before curiousity got the best of her and she forgot about Justin and Britney for the time being.
Walking through the elegantly decorated room, Jordan's stomach filled with butterflies as she surveyed the crowd, trying to figure out who wanted to meet her so badly that they would go through her manager instead of approaching her themselves.
Stopping at a table, Johnny stepped aside to formally introduce Jordan to the young man who stood up meekly from the chair he'd been hiding in. "Jordan, I'm sure you remember Chad from 2gether...Chad, this is Jordan Bishop." the older man said, pleased as he noticed Chad's wide eyed gaze that had become fixed on the dark haired beauty as he smiled shyly.
"Hi! Nice to meet you," Jordan said sweetly, extending her hand toward him.
He reached out cautiously to shake it as he greeted her, "Uh...hi. Nice to meet you too. Congratulations on your award."
"Thanks! I just have to tell you that I loved your performance tonight. I'm a huge fan." she professed earnestly. Johnny smiled at the two of them before motioning that he had other business to attend to, and patting Jordan on the shoulder, left the two to converse alone.
Chad grinned slightly, "Thank you. I'm a big fan of yours as well...uh, I mean of Eternity."
Jordan blushed and flashed him a bright smile as he gestured for her to have a seat, and he resumed his spot as she proceeded to sit down next to him. "Well I just wish it would have been possible for both groups to win. You guys deserved it just as much or more than anyone."
Flustered and not sure of what to say in response, Chad changed the subject, "I...uh...heard you guys are getting ready to shoot a new video soon."
A contrast to Chad's uncertainty, Jordan bubbled over with excitement at the mention of their upcoming video. "Yeah! We're doing 'Poor Little Rich Girl'...it's the last single that we're releasing off of our debut album. MTV invited us to do 'Making of the Video', so we're really excited about that...but we're still looking for a director. Who did you guys have for your last video?"
Jordan waited patiently for Chad to answer, "Um, Nigel Dick".
Nodding, Jordan smiled politely, checking Nigel off of the list of possible directors in her mind. "So.." she said, searching for another topic of discussion to fill the void of awkward silence as a tall blonde strutted up to the table, slapping a startled Chad on the back with brotherly affection.
"Wazzup fools?" Mickey said with his slight lisp, adjusting the collar of his vest before sitting down next to Jordan.
Chad cocked his head toward Jordan as he introduced the two. "Mickey, this is Jordan Bishop from Eternity...Jordan, Mickey."
"Pleased to meet you." Jordan said, offering her hand for him to shake.
Mickey raised an eyebrow and gave her the once over before reaching out to kiss her hand gently. "The pleasure's all mine" he stated, trying to be suave as he winked at Jordan.
Her cheeks flushed, Jordan turned back to Chad as a smile creeped across her face. Mickey leaned across the table and nudged his bandmate. "What?!" Chad said, slightly exasperated, mostly frustrated at himself for not knowing what to say to the beautiful creature that sat next to him.
"Yo man, don't go freakin out on me. Aren't these famous chicks hot?" he said, pointing indiscreetly at Jordan. "I need to find me some Britney Spears now foo. Where is she? Huh? You seen her?" Mickey pressed, his lisp becoming more and more noticeable.
"Justin..." Jordan murmured, her voice barely audible to the two men sitting at the table with her.
"What?" Mickey asked, giving Chad a questioning look. "What did she say yo?"
Chad shrugged slightly, his large eyes staring at Jordan as she stood. "I'm so sorry guys, but it was really nice meeting you. Chad, give me a call sometime, maybe we can hang out or something if we ever have time off at similar times. Mickey, it was great meeting you too. I wish I could sit and talk longer, but I just remembered something. So please, excuse me?" Jordan gazed down at the men, her dark eyes apologetic.
"Nice meeting you too."
"I'll give you a call sometime...it was nice talking to you Jordan."
Jordan smiled once more, offered another sincere apology at the abruptness of her leaving and headed out back into the main room where Justin and Britney had stood earlier.
****
Jordan stood next to the doorway she had just walked through, her eyes hungrily devouring the contents of the large room as she searched for Justin. After searching the crowd, her gaze finally rested on a tangle of light brown curls that perched upon the head of a tall, slightly muscular man that leaned casually against the bar. Jordan smiled in relief and walked toward him purposefully, weaving her way through the hordes of people.