Chapter Nine
"Stupid people," Justin complained, throwing his backpack in the corner of the room. He turned to look at his friends. "They were complete asses until I told them my name. I hate it when I have to do that," he said, sinking into the couch and sighing, putting his feet up. "I'm surprised that they even let me in the freaking building."
Joey rolled his eyes. "Just tell us if you managed to do it," he said.
He turned to look at his friend and nodded. "Yes, I managed to do it. They weren't going to let me until I pulled out my driver's license and showed them that yes, I'm Justin Timberlake, and yes, I wanted to rent the place." Hs hands pushed through his hair furiously. "It's sad to think that a name will get you everything in this town."
"That's why we sent you," Chris said, from where he was playing around with the stereo. "What are we putting on the tape, anyway? I think we have more than enough discs here," he added, pointing to the three high stacks of shining CD cases.
Lance started to shuffle through them. "I think we have a little bit of everything here," he said softly, passing some of them over to Chris to look at. "Country, rock, pop...where did we get some of these? Hanson?" he asked, holding up an orange disc.
Justin's face colored. "Don't ask, man. Just don't ask."
For a moment, everyone was frozen before three heads nodded very slowly. "Okay, well, we have to throw in some country songs for Brooke. You get to pick those ones out, Lance. Uh...stay away from 'Not A Moment Too Soon' by Tim McGraw. That was Brooke and Tim's song." Lance nodded. "What else should we put on there? Oh, I know one that'll kill her when she hears it. 'Obvious', Christina Aguilera."
"Chris, she doesn't listen to Christina Aguilera," Joey said, picking up some of the discs. He flipped them over and looked at the track listings. "She wouldn't know any of her songs."
"No, but she could relate to the lyrics. Just think about them. 'Do you see my hands, they tremble. Wonder why I can't look you in the eye', or something like that. It'll work. The lyrics will hit both of them, because it's what they're going through. Don't put all romantic stuff on there. Some of those songs about searching for the right person."
A nod came from the couch. "Did you guys pick up everything?" Justin asked.
Quickly, a smile went over Lance's face. "Do you know how hard it was to convince Austin to get the information? We got it and all. It's going to be delivered the right day to the right place. You did get the other place, didn't you?"
It was almost like they were speaking in code, even though it wouldn't matter if they talked like that or not. JC was working in the studio, and Brooklyn was still in Tennessee. "Her tour just kicked off. The first concert was two nights ago in Tennessee. Right now, they're coming towards Florida. They'll be in town or at least around Orlando for about two weeks. When she gets here, she'll stay at JC's place, and we can work on everything while she's hear."
The sound of plastic being crinkled came from where Chris was sitting. He balled up the plastic covering from the new cassette and threw it on the table. The cassette went into the tape deck, and he reached for some of the cases, looking for some of the right songs. "I already said that I would make sure that everything gets delivered that day. Joe, you're taking Brooke out for lunch that day, and Justin, you and JC are going to be doing...something. Lance will get into the apartment and make sure that everything is set up in there."
"Oh, hey, I forgot to tell you that I did manage to rent the thing. It's going to be delivered at the same time, and it'll be waiting in the room safe. We'll have to make sure that Brooke will have the combination for it. Who knew that this was going to be so hard?"
"It's not hard. Oh, here's a good one for Brooke," Lance said, passing the case over. "Track three. There's not much that we have to do now. Just make sure that the two of them are separated that afternoon and later that night. Can we make sure that she doesn't have a phone in her room? Is it possible to ask them to take it out, because the last thing we need is for her to call Jace and ask what's going on. Besides everything that we did, all we have to make sure is that the area is set up for that night, and make sure that they got all the details right. She owes us so big for this."
"Definitely. Oh, hey, when you got the thing, did you make sure that it was the right color?" Lance asked, looking up.
Justin shook his head. "They didn't have the right color, so I went midnight blue instead. It'll still work, and it looks better in that color anyway. The rest of the stuff...let's just hope that she has the right...uh...things."
Just because he had been sent for information didn't mean that he was enjoying this. Again, Chris felt like he was an incompetent dentist. He just didn't want to talk. Or maybe he did. He turned his head to look at his friend, staring at a blank television screen. He looked like he was trying to make his way through something, and that something seemed to be very interesting to Chris. Interesting, because he had a pretty good idea of what he was thinking of. "Have you talked to Brooke lately?" he asked. It was a nice way to start on the subject, he figured.
JC finally turned to look back at him. "New York? I really haven't had a chance to get ahold of her." Another frown covered his face. That seemed to be happening a lot lately. "Why, have you?"
Chris nodded, just to see his reaction. It wasn't pretty. "Yeah, I called her a few days ago, but she didn't have much time to talk. I just wanted to check up on her. It's weird, not seeing her as much as usual now. We were around her so much and now that she's not with us...I don't know. I guess I just miss her." Did that sound too obvious, he thought. Maybe it was too eager. No, it wasn't eager. He tried to make it sound like he was trying to be innocent instead of obvious, but the effect was lost on JC. He wasn't paying attention to much at the moment.
"Hmm."
Yup, there was the one word responses again (was that even a word?). Pulling out the last syllable as long as possible. It was a disinterested tone, but he knew that he was more than interested. He just didn't want to show it at the moment. How could he touch the subject if JC didn't want to talk about it? That was the problem. Even if he started talking about what crackers he liked the most, JC would give him the same response.
"Yeah, she told me that she can't wait to come up here. I didn't know that she was going to be staying at your place. She was putting up such a big fuss about wanting to stay in a hotel. How did you ever talk her down from that?" Chris asked, hoping that he would at least answer a question with more than one word.
"Hmm."
Finally, he gave up and rolled his eyes. "She also told me that she's moving to China, changing her name to Helga, and shaving her head. Oh, she was also proposed to by Big Bird and Elmo, but she's waiting until the Cookie Monster asks her out. After all, she still believes that's her soul mate. Did I tell you that she sent me a picture of her dress? Bright fire engine red to walk down the aisle in. She'll look gorgeous in that, I'm sure."
There was a slight pause. Chris crossed his fingers underneath the table and said a silent prayer. This was it. He was finally going to say something. "Hmm."
"Man, what is your problem? You've been giving me these 'Hmm' things for the past hour, and you know what, it's not that great. Why don't you answer...you didn't even hear me telling you about Brooklyn's connection to Sesame Street. Normally, you perk up the minute that you hear her name. Now, you don't hear it at all. Are you trying to tell me something, here, Jace? Something that you don't want to just come out and say. This is ridiculous, and I'm this close to leaving and letting you pay the bill," he added, staring at him.
Suddenly, a devilish grin spread on JC's face. "Don't get me wrong, Chris. I heard every single word that you said. I just didn't want to comment on it, because then you would read too deeply into it. I heard you talking about her bright fire engine red wedding dress, and you're right, she would look gorgeous in it, because she looks gorgeous in every single thing that she wears."
Well, it was better, at least. "You think she looks gorgeous in everything that she wears?"
"We've covered this before. Do we really have to talk about this tonight. I thought we were supposed to be going out for dinner, not talking about your crush on New York."
His eyes narrowed. "Yeah, well, you've been....wait a second! Did you just say that I have a crush on Brooklyn? No, wait, you've got it all wrong here, Jace. We know that YOU have a crush on her, not ME. We just...well, it seemed like you weren't noticing her lately, and we wanted you too. I mean, Brooke is fantastic for you. The two of you get along so well, and everyone is betting on you getting together." What the hell was he doing? The next thing he knew, he was going to break down and tell him everything that they had planned for the couple. That would be great, he realized. 'Oh, by the way, Jace, we've decided that we're going to set you up so many times with Brooke and make it seem like I have a thing for her, no matter how many times that I deny it, just so that you'll get all jealous and ask her out. Remember, I want an invitation to your wedding, which we already planned while we were at it.' That would be a great thing to tell him. "JC, you've been acting...different lately. It's like you don't WANT to notice her when she's around, but the second that she disappears, you practically gush over her. You've got everyone so confused, it's not even funny. We don't know where you're coming from, but just answer me a simple question, all right? Do you like Brooklyn in more than a friendly way?"
His head nodded. The movement alone surprised Chris, and it must have shown on his face. "You guys knew, you said so yourself. Sure, I had a crush on her, and I might still. So? She's an attractive woman. You know that yourself."
"Well...yeah, but..."
"But you never thought that I would come right out and say it? Give me a break, Chris. SHE seems to be the only person that hasn't noticed, but that's fine. I mean, she doesn't want a relationship right now, so what's the point of pushing it? Besides, I can't have a relationship with her, no matter how much you, or I, or she might want it."
Idiot, idiot, idiot, Chris wanted to say. He wanted to say it loudly and make sure that JC heard, because that was the way he was acting. It all could have been much easier, and the guys wouldn't have to have gotten involved in this if he had just confessed to her, and let her do what she wanted. But, no, they got pulled into this thing, and they were more than willing to help, when they had one very reluctant person in the mix. "And why would that be, Jace? Enlighten me. Why couldn't you have a relationship no matter who wanted it. What, you have another girlfriend on the side or something?"
He shook his head slowly. "No, of course not. It's just...I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't, and I'm going to leave it at that. What, you haven't done something like that before?"
"Sure. I once made a promise that I wouldn't leave one of my girlfriends, but promises were meant to be broken." Chris smiled brightly. "I broke mine, what's the big deal with breaking yours?"
"It's not so much that breaking it would be a problem. It's the fact that I would be acting dishonest to myself. I like New York, okay? I mean, really like her. She's amazing. Her personality is like nothing that I've ever seen before, and she's like a breath of fresh air whenever she’s around me. Before I met her, it was like I wasn't breathing, and now I'm addicted to it. I feel like the luckiest guy on the face of this Earth when she looks at me, let alone smiles at me. I can't help but watch her when she goes by, even if it does make me sound like a stalker. Damn it, I've stared at a picture of her for hours on end before, and you want to know why? Because I've never felt this deeply for a person before and it almost scares me. I just...can't get enough of her, and that's the problem."
If Chris was confused to why JC never said something, he was more than confused as to why he wouldn't get involved with Brooklyn. "Just what is this promise and when did you make it, because I want to know when my best friend turned into one of the biggest idiots in the world."
For a moment, JC thought he was sitting with Brooklyn because of the sarcasm, and didn't say anything for a moment. When he saw that it was Chris, and only him, he did answer. "It happened after the big thing with Tim. It was when I flew out there at the end of the tour to see her. Mia had just left, and I went to go and check on her in her room. I was going to go and wake her up to take her somewhere, and when she was laying there...Chris, it hurt me to know that she would never see me the same way that I see her, or that she would never feel what I do towards her. So, I promised myself that I would never look at her in that light again. I promised that I would be her friend, and no more."
"I don't think you understand. You can be her friend even if you guys have a relationship. Besides, how do you know that she doesn't feel the same way for you now? I mean, she's had plenty of time to get over Tim, and she's had more than enough time to fall in love with you."
JC shook his head slowly. "Love is not the issue here. It's such a strong word, that it shouldn't even be used in this conversation. Yes, I love New York. In the way that one friend loves another, and she feels the same way. That's all her love for me could ever be."
He smirked. "Wow, it rhymes. You should make a song out of that." He stopped long enough to sip his drink, iced tea. "Okay, maybe love is the wrong word. Lust, however...that can be used in any conversation towards anyone, and I'm using it to describe you and Brooke. I've been around you two enough to see the sexual tension between you. It's always there. And the way that you look at her, like it's some sort of cat and mouse game." Unwillingly, Mia's words from the party flashed back to him when he thought about what she had said. Cat and mouse game. That described it pretty well. "You guys are good together, why can't you just see that?"
"And why aren't you attacking New York over this instead of me?" he asked suddenly, leaning back in his chair. His eyes narrowed a little. Chris knew that the weaker person in this was Brooklyn, yet he never said a word about talking to her about it. It was a little unfair to think that he was only ganging up on one of them.
His hand waved in the air. "Please, I already did that, but getting her to admit something is like talking to a brick wall. It doesn't answer you." JC nodded; he knew how stubborn she could be. He knew that all too well. "I've talked to her, Justin has talked to her, Lance has talked to her, Joey has talked to her. I'm pretty sure that Austin and Mia have, too. Everyone is for you guys. Hell, Mia put down money on you guys at Vegas, which reminds me that I still have to do that. Four to one odds where she went. A hundred would pay back four hundred, since I know that you guys will end up together."
He practically choked on his water when he heard that. Four to one odds? Slowly, the glass went back down on the table. "You'd be wasting your money, but I should consider putting some money down. I know that we won't end up together, so what's the point of betting on the fact that we will. Nothing will happen between us, because I don't want anything to happen between us."
"What if Brooke wants something to happen between you two? Did you ever think of that?"
If this wasn't going to be one of the hardest moments of his life. For a moment, he thought his voice gave out on him, but he finally found it to answer him. "Then she'll be sorely disappointed, Chris. I'm sorry, but it's true."
His eyes rolled, but he couldn't stop himself from hitting his fist on the table. It caused the dirty plates and cutlery to jump at the sound, and for other people to look at them. "I don't know where I should continue to call you an idiot, or if I should start to call you a prick. Damn it, if this is something that she would want, why wouldn't you go along with it? Don't you want to see her happy?"
"I don't know where you get off asking me that, because you should know the answer. Of course I want her to be happy. I never want her to be unhappy, and unfortunately, I had to see what that was like. When you see someone that you care deeply about unhappy, you know how bad it can really be. I could do nothing for her then, and I wish that I could. I can't believe that you would ask me if I want her to be happy. Of course I do."
"Who's saying that she can't be happy with you, then. JC, open your damned eyes and look around. Brooklyn cares a lot about you. It's only a matter of time before she sees that and goes for what she wants." Yeah, like she is now, he thought but didn't say it. "You're the one that can't be believed right now, because this goes against everything that you're saying. You want her to be happy, and if she'll be happy with her, you won't let that happen, therefore making her unhappy. What is your problem? Do you think that she's going to leave you for another guy? That's not her."
For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to look at his friend. Instead, he looked everywhere else. The patrons of the restaurant, the napkin that was being twisted into a rope, and then untwisted whenever he felt the need to do that. It was a mass of wrinkles now. He even studied the single bread crumb on the leg of his pants before sighing. "I know it's not, but...you wouldn't understand."
Chris felt like giving up. It seemed that just when he got somewhere with one of them, it would go back to square one all over again. He was beginning to feel too old for all of this, but it was for their own good. Only if they saw that. Only if they saw it the same way that he did. "So tell me. What don't I understand?"
"You don't understand...don't understand the fact that...if I ever had her, I wouldn't want her to go anywhere. I'd want to make sure that it would last, and I can't do that. I can't do that because I don't think that I'm good enough for her, and she knows it. She deserves everything she can get in this world, she deserves to have the best guy she can have, and I can't give her that. We'll always be at opposite ends of the Earth touring, we'll always have different schedules...it wouldn't be worth the hurt that it would put her through to start the relationship. I don't want her to worry about that."
"That touring bit is a bunch of bull, and you know it, Chasez." JC looked up, surprised to hear the heat behind the words that Chris said. "You know that it's nothing but a bunch of bull, but you won't let yourself believe it. The real argument is that you don't think that you're good enough for a woman like Brooklyn, but really you are. She's good enough for her, and you're good enough for her. You just don't want to admit it. You're coming up with ridiculous excuses so that you don't have to come out and say, 'Brooklyn, I really like you. I don't where it could take us, but I just wanted you to know.' That's why you're such an idiot and such a prick." They were both silent before Chris shook his head. "No, that's not it, is it? You're afraid," he said the words slowly, as if trying to understand them himself. "You're afraid of what it could bring the two of you. You're afraid that she could love you back just as much, or that she wouldn't love you, because then you wouldn't be in control. And we all know that you're a control freak, but you don't want her to know that you're so afraid of her."
His voice was small when he answered. Chris had to listen incredibly hard to hear it over what everyone else was saying in the restaurant. "She intimidates me."
"Why?"
At first, he shrugged, but he knew that it wasn't a good enough answer for his friend. "I seriously don't know. Maybe it's the pull that she had on me. Lately, it's like she really wants me to fall for her, but she doesn't know that I already have, and it's killing me. I think...in a way...even if it's an unconscious movement, she does want me to fall for her, but I can't do that."
"Because of your promise."
"Because of my promise."
Chris closed his eyes for a moment. Why did they have to be so damned stubborn? "Once again, welcome to the wonderful world of bullshit." He hissed the world so that the child sitting at the table beside him wouldn't hear it and have to ask his mother what it meant. He would have a perfect reputation if that one ever got out. "Maybe she does want you to fall for her, and you know what? I would call her the smartest woman on the face of this Earth if she was trying that. Maybe some of what I was trying to tell her finally made its way through her thick skull and she's actually thinking about it. That would be nice, you know, because I drilled it into her head so much that I was almost sick of the words myself."
Again, silence overcame them before, "So in other words, whatever she could be feeling...it's fake."
"No, you're not listening to me. It's not fake. God, I asked you to open up your eyes, but how about cleaning out your ears. She likes you. I know she does. Granted, she may not have come out with the words and said it to my face, but I'm damned sure that she does, and you're ignoring her. That's what so sad about this. She really does like you, and now you're pushing her off to the side and ignoring everything that she's doing, because of a stupid promise that you made to yourself." Well, he told the truth, at least. Brooklyn hadn't said the words to his face about liking JC, but he did hear them over the phone. JC didn't have to know about that little part.
Before, he couldn't find his voice. Now, it answered back almost immediately and with some anger in it. "Don't you think that I wake up every single morning and regret the morning that I promised myself that. Don't you think that I hate myself for it. There's nothing that I can do about it, though, and that's what sucks. I wish I could. From the moment that I met New York, I couldn't help but think about what a relationship would be like with her. She had a boyfriend at the time that turned into her fiancé. Her fiancé turned into her greatest enemy, both physically and mentally, and she ran to me for help. She saw me as a helpful FRIEND and that's what kills me. She sees me as a friend." His head shook and he found it hard to hide his emotions. "Look, Chris, I appreciate what you're trying to do for me, but this...this is a little much, and you don't have to. Nothing could ever make me think differently."
I do have to do this, he wanted to shout out. Unfortunately, he had made a promise of his own, to Brooklyn. That he would never say anything. He was having the same thought that JC had before. Promises were a bitch. "So you have been noticing her more lately, right?"
"Yes, I have been, and...God, she has been looking so beautiful lately. More so than usual. I can't help watching her like some dirty forty year old that can't get any action and has to watch porno in the living room late at night because he doesn't want his wife finding out. It scares me that I want her so badly, but there's nothing that I'll do about it. She can throw herself at me, flirt relentlessly, and nothing could ever change my mind."
There was something that Chris noticed in his eyes, and it gave him a little bit of hope. The wall that JC had built up about his feelings about Brooke was beginning to fall down, and he thought that he saw the opening. That opening could have been the only thing that he needed. He just had to squeeze himself through, but he never said that he was a contortionist. "But you're starting to think that your mind can be changed. I can see it, Jace, no matter how you try to hide it. I know you better than you think. I can see that you're beginning to break under the pressure, and maybe that's all Brooke needs to get in. Maybe that's all she ever needed, but she never knew that."
His eyes slammed shut as he spoke. "You're wrong. I can't let that happen."
"Why not? No more excuses. Why not."
"I don't want to hurt her, and I know that I would at some point."
"She would forgive you."
"I'm afraid of what the fans would do to her."
"They love her as it is. They're supporting you guys one hundred perfect, despite a few that think she's a slut, but then they can't really be our fans if they think that about one of our friends."
"Personal choice, yes they can. I'm afraid of what the tabloids would do to the two of us."
"Some would tear you apart, the others would think that it's about time. You don't listen to what they say anyway."
"I'm afraid of what she would think of me."
"If she saw you as you really are? Sorry, but she already sees you that way."
JC shook his head. It was like a contest between the two of them, and they were answering as quickly as possible, as if trying to get in before the buzzer sounded. And the tones that they used....his was practically dead, Chris' was dry. He didn't like how it sounded. "I'm afraid of what would happen to me if I let myself fall too hard for her. I'm afraid that I would lose my love for music, because I want everything to be about her. I'm afraid that I could lose you guys, because everything would be about her. I'm afraid to lose MYSELF because everything would be about her."
Chris sighed. "And that's the way it should be. Everything should be about her, and on her end, everything would be about you. You could never lose your love for music, and neither could she. You would never lose us, no matter what happened, and at this point, neither could she. As for losing yourself...you can't say that you're completely in love until you lose yourself in her, and you know that you would. You already have. I don't know what else I can say to you, JC, because I know that you're barely listening to me. I'm not trying to push you into something that you don't want, but you want this, and you know it."
"I know," he whispered. "But I don't think I can have her."
"You can. You just have to try and if you want, we'd be more than willing to help you guys. You know that you want our help."
His head came up and he stared at Chris anxiously. He felt like he was seven years old, being told that they could go to the zoo that day. "You guys would really help me if I wanted that?"
Grinning from across the table, Chris nodded. He couldn't believe how well this was going. It may mean extra work for them, he realized, but in the end, it would be worth it. Without a doubt, it would be worth it. "Of course we would. What are friends for?"
"I'll think about it, but don't you dare do anything before I tell you too," JC warned him.
Again, Chris wondered if it mattered that his fingers were crossed or not.
Her eyes turned to look out the window, watching the road seem to melt by. The first rush of tour was done. Thirteen concerts in fifteen days, and her throat was absolutely killing her. That would explain the steaming mug of tea in her hand, her fingers curled around the handle.
Brooklyn's mind wasn't on the road, though. It was on the night that her and JC has spent under the stars. What happened between them. She sighed and brought the mug up to her lips, sipping the honey laced drink before she allowed herself to relive the moment in her mind.
"What do you really look for in a girl? I mean, you read the responses in articles and everything, but you never really expand on the answer. So, tell me," she said, turning to look at him. He seemed to be surprised by the question, but scratched the side of his face where two days worth of stubble had collected. Damn him for looking so incredible, she thought to herself as she wrapped her arms around her knees and stared at him with her chin resting on the top of her knees.
His eyes turned towards the fire for a moment. "Hit me with the hard stuff, why don’t you?" he joked as he looked over at her. "I guess it's an innocent enough question. We never really talked about that, did we?" Her head shook, one lock of honey brown hair falling into her face. She pushed it away impatiently. "Okay, well...what DO I look for in a woman? I guess...honesty would be a good place to start out. Enough pride in herself, but it can't cross into arrogance. She has to be loyal to a fault, and I suppose that it wouldn't hurt if she loved me."
Laughing, she pushed JC. "Uh huh, sure. What about appearance wise? Anything specific? Black hair, blue eyes...anything like that?"
"No. I mean, I prefer it if she's shorter than me, but that's not much of a problem." She chuckled softly. "It wouldn't hurt if she looked like you, though," he added, winking at her.
There was no doubt that her face colored. "Whatever, Chasez. Don't give me that."
"It wasn't a line. I'm serious. You're gorgeous, New York. I just wish that you'd realize it every now and then.
Those words had made her feel like the most special person. It had warmed her heart, and at the same time, told her that their plan was working. There was still something that was bothering her, and she couldn't let go of that, no matter how hard she tried.
She picked up the cordless phone beside her on the small couch and dialed the numbers to Chris' house from memory, waiting to hear him pick up. Instead, she got his answering machine, and she frowned. "Hey, it's just me, Brooke. Call me back sometimes, okay? The road gets a little boring around now, and I need to talk to you about something anyway. Love you." She hung up and sighed again, turning back to the window.
Her forehead pressed against the glass as she thought. He was obviously out and she didn't want a disturb whatever he was doing by calling his cell phone. It was probably important, whatever it was. Finally, she picked up the phone again and dialed another number. When the person picked up, she almost shouted with joy. "Hey, what's up? It's me, Brooke."
"I can tell by the Caller ID, Brooke. What's going on?" Joey asked her, laughing.
She slipped back on the couch and closed her eyes. "Not much. I called Chris but he wasn't home."
There was a slight pause. "Oh," he said. "Yeah, he went out with JC for lunch. I think he was going to try and talk to him about you. He already did that once, awhile ago, and he was going to do a follow up now."
Surprisingly, she groaned loudly. "That's the last thing that I wanted to hear. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I...I don't know. I don't think that this is what I want anymore. Wait, before you say anything, it's not the fact that I don't want anything to happen between me and JC, because I do, but...the way we're going about it...I feel dishonest. It almost makes me feel dirty in a way."
"Don't do this now, Brooke. We've gotten so far already, and...did Chris even tell you? Man, he's noticing you and he's noticing you big time. Don't do this right now."
Her shoulders moved in a shrug, even though he couldn't see her. "I know, Joey, but I can't help it. That's just my point. Would he have noticed me if we hadn't done this? Maybe not, and that's what so bad about it. I don't want a relationship built on a false beginning, you have to understand that. I just...I can't do this," she whispered. Lately, Brooklyn had been doing so well. She hadn't cried at all in the past little while and now she was so close to tears, it wasn't funny. She wasn't like this. This wasn't Brooklyn. Crying had never been her thing. It seemed that JC brought out that side in her. Maybe it was good, maybe it was bad, she really didn't know, but she didn't like to cry. It made her feel so weak and incompetent whenever she cried.
Joey was quiet for a moment. "Why though, Brooke. I mean, you were so into it."
"I know, but...it's like I said. I'm sorry, but I can't do it this way. Maybe...maybe at a different time, or maybe if he would have been willing in this, it wouldn't be so bad, but it isn't a different time, and he isn't willing in this. I have no other choice. I feel like crap because I asked you all to help me with this, and now...now I'm asking you to leave it alone, but I can't help it. I can't help myself." She was quiet for a second, and then let out a loud, "Ow!"
"What did you do to yourself?" Joey asked.
"Stupid me. The bus went over a pot hole and I was holding a mug of tea in my hand. Most of it is on my hand right now. Can you hold on a second, please?" she asked, not waiting for an answer. The phone dropped on the couch and she put the mug on the table, praying that they didn't hit anther pot hole. She walked towards the kitchen sink and turned on the cold water, gasping when she put her hand underneath. Waiting until her hand was tingling and her skin was beginning to turn pink, she turned off the water and wrapped her hand in a towel, still grumbling to herself as she came back to the couch and sat down, picking up the phone again. "Sorry about that. I swear, I can be such an idiot sometimes," she said with a short laugh.
He waited until the moment of laughter had passed her by before speaking again. "Yeah, I suppose. Like now, right, Brooke?" he asked her. "Come on, have you really thought this through?"
"I've thought about this for a long time now, and I feel like...like a vengeful slut. Sorry, I watched My Best Friend's Wedding this morning, and the phrase doesn't apply, but....I just don't like how we're going about this. This is dirty. It's wrong. It's not what I wanted. Maybe, in a way, it's what I wanted, but I should just let things happen if they're ever going to happen."
As he sighed, she rubbed her eyes. They were burning with tears again. Thank God he couldn't hear them over the phone. "Okay, I understand that. Look, when you come into town, would you mind meeting me for lunch? I want to talk to you about this. I promise to ask Chris to stop everything right now. I'll call him as soon as we hang up, but will you? Meet me for lunch, I mean."
Her eyes turned towards the small calendar on the wall beside her. "I'm supposed to get into Orlando at ten thirty in the morning, give or take a half hour. If you don't mind picking me up to drop my stuff off before we go, I'll be more than happy to meet you for lunch."
"I can do that. Just call me with the details before, okay?"
"Okay, and thank you, Joey."
Getting Brooklyn and JC apart long enough to work on their plan was harder than they thought. The main problem was getting JC not to pick her up when the buses stopped. She had already cleared it with Joe, her manager, and Mia, saying that she was going to stay with JC when she was in town, but to stop him from going was like trying to stop a crazy man. Which he was close to, thinking about Brooklyn all the time.
The bus, not noticeable as Brooklyn’s with its generic navy blue and maroon colors, pulled into the parking lot of a local hotel for the band and everyone, followed by three more. Joey smiled from where he was leaning against his car, watching security come out and make sure that the area was fine for Brooklyn. He watched her step off and roll her eyes towards them, pulling her hands through her still damp hair. A backpack was resting on one of her shoulders when she turned around and saw him.
"Well, hello there, stranger," she called, waving to him before she dropped the bag and started running in his direction. One security guard tried to stop her by grabbing her around the waist but she easily dodged him and threw her arms around Joey's neck, laughing. "I was wondering if you were going to be here when we got here. Sorry that we were a little late," she said, finally pulling back to look at him. With a smile, she kissed his cheek before completely letting go. "I just have to wait for them to get my bags off of my bus, and then we are so out of here. I am so glad to be off of that piece of crap. It feels like ages since I've slept in a real bed."
He grinned, looking down at her as she also leaned against his car, sighing and closing her eyes. "Are you sure that you didn't mean that you wouldn't mind sleeping in JC's bed, and not a REAL bed?" he asked, pushing her.
Her eyes opened and she smirked up at him. "Don't mention that for right now, please. That's what lunch is for," she said, finally smiling again. "Besides, I don't really want to talk about it, but I said that I would. That's what sucks about this whole thing."
"You know that you want details about everything that's been happening with JC lately."
"Chris has been calling me off and on and telling me some things, but I asked him to stop. I don't want to think about how we went about it. It's stupid...oh, I guess they need some help. I'll be right back," she said, jogging back to the bus.
As he watched her, he took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Chris' number, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground. "Hey, Brooke just showed up. They're unloading everything now."
A laugh sounded from the other end. "Okay. I'll page Justin and tell him that we're going to head over to the hotel room and make sure that everything is set up. Remember, keep her busy until at least three o'clock. Is everything set up on your end?"
Joey leaned into the open passenger side window and stared at the dash. "Yeah, I made sure. If she notices, I'm so dead, but I don't think she will. The gauge is over on my side, anyway. I can barely see it from the passenger side. Are you sure that we should still be doing this? I mean, she's telling us that she wants us to quit what we're doing."
"Look, it doesn't matter. We're not helping her out. Now, we're helping JC. There's a difference there. This time, we're working against Brooke. This is getting more and more screwed up every single minute. Like I said, keep her busy until three. When you need the ride, call Lance and he'll call the place when the right time comes. Then, a taxi will take the two of you to the hotel, you tell her what we came up with, and when she goes in, take off. Simple as that, isn't it?" Chris asked.
He was quiet for a long moment. "Sure...real simple. I got it. I have to go help Brooke load everything in. Call you when I'm done with everything." He clicked off his phone and slipped it back into his pocket, watching two security guards, carrying Brooklyn's bags for her while she fought with them.
"Really, it's not like I have a piano tied to my ass. I'm sure that I could carry me own bags. It's not like I'm going to strain something. Do you see a piano tied to my ass?" She turned around to show him. "See? It's not there, unless it's extremely tiny, and if it was that size, I wouldn't have to worry about it. I mean, really, there's nothing wrong with me."
One of the guards looked at Brooklyn with a sense of respect. Joey saw that instantly. "Look, Brooke, it's our job."
She sarcastically clapped her hands. "Bravo, you can rhyme. I know that, Scottie-Pie," she said, stopping to pinch his cheek. He blushed when she did that, and she giggled. It was uncommon to see such a big guy blush. "You seem to forget that I hate it when someone does something for me that I could very well do myself. It's called being independent. Maybe you should look up the meaning in the dictionary. Oh, wait, I forgot that between the both of you, you share a total of three brain cells. Oops, my bad," she said, grabbing onto his arm that was holding her backpack.
The guard that she had identified as Scott lifted his arm as she was holding onto it, ultimately bringing her off the ground. Her feet swung from side to side as she squealed, laughing hard. "This isn't funny, guys. I want to carry my own bags. Would you just...Scott, I think I'm going to puke if you don't let me back down. This is just a little too high for me," she said, looking down.
"You're feet aren't a foot off the ground, Brooke. There is no way that you can be freaked of this."
"My feet may not be a foot off the ground, but you're swinging me around and I don't think that breakfast that we had was too good on my stomach. I swear, I'm like this close...what are you doing?" she asked him, as he dropped her bags into the waiting trunk and swung her over his shoulder. Her hair fell in front of her face, which was beginning to turn red.
Scott turned to look at Joey. "Are you Brooke's ride?"
"Unfortunately," he said with a smile, opening up the passenger side door. "You can toss her in if you want. I'll make sure that she gets to where she's supposed to go."
"You guys are making me feel so much better. I am like THIS CLOSE to losing all of that crappy food all over your back, Scottie." With a grunt, she landed into the passenger seat, as she brushed her hair out of her face. "Thanks, guys. What would I ever do without you?" she asked with a sweet smile, slamming the door shut behind her. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her sunglasses and slipped them over her eyes, looking straight ahead.
Joey thanked the guards before looking away. "How am I supposed to keep her occupied for a few hours?" he asked himself before going around to let himself in.
Chapter Ten
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