Chapter Twenty-Six
To my girl, who FINALLY e-mailed me (lol). SUPER CHICK, the real Mia that's just waiting to come out....this and Twenty-Seven are so for you!
"YOU. YOU owe me so big," JC said, tossing a small plastic bag at her. "Send me out to the wolves to get attacked by rabid Brooklyn Turner fans...they're worse than my fans," he mumbled before bending down to kiss her.
Her eyes flashed towards him comically, and a smile started to grow on her face. "Oh, really? I owe you, do I?" she asked a low voice. He nodded with a grin, watching her face. "Really. And that's why the big, bad pop super star, who said last night that he would do ANYTHING for me...sent his bodyguard down to the store next door to buy one lemon and one lime when you would have been more than capable to put on a hat and glasses, some clothes that don't look like yours, and buy it yourself. If anything, I owe your BODYGUARD and not YOU."
After she finished talking, she turned around and took the lemon and lime out of the bag, walking into the tiny kitchenette, before turning on the tap and washing them carefully. He watched in silence, as she turned off the tap and put them on the small glass cutting board that was in there. "New York?"
"Yes?" she asked in a sing-song voice, without turning around. Picking up a knife, she started to cut the lime into slices before cutting them in half. "Is there something that you wanted, JC? You're not talking." The playful tone never left her voice, and she looked at him from the corner of her eye.
"I...uh...you know...um...well...THERE'S A BUNCH OF REPORTERS OUTSIDE!" he finally let out, as she moved onto the lemon.
Brooklyn turned around, one of her braided pig tails flying over her shoulder. "Yes, I realized that, and that's the reason that I sent you down," she told him cryptically.
"You wanted me to get attacked by a bunch of reporters and photographers? Thanks a lot!" His words were heavily laced with sarcasm, and she couldn't help giggling at them.
Her eyes rolled as she licked some lemon juice off her finger. "Honey, I KNEW that they were out there, and I KNEW what you said last night, so I wanted to see what you were going to do. I know that you can't go out into a crowd like that, but I also wanted to see if there was something to that cute head of yours besides hair."
Finally catching on, he laughed before coming closer to see what she was doing. Unconsciously, his arms went around her waist, and he rested his chin on her shoulder, watching her hands as they expertly cut the rest of the lemon and taking out the few seeds.
When she was done, she started to reach towards the cabinets, where there were a few glasses and coffee mugs. She tried everything from jumping (which was hard to do with JC holding onto her), to standing on her toes, but she couldn't reach the glass at all. "Why do they always put these on the top shelf? Sure, kids can't get them, but what about us short people?"
"You're not THAT short. Is the coffee finished brewing?" he asked, taking one arm from around her and easily getting one of the glasses to put in front of her.
"It's done. Thank you. If you want a mug, it looks like you're going to have to do it yourself," she warned him, before opening up the can of Pepsi in front of her. She poured it into the glass and added a slice of lemon and a slice of lime. "Uh...you're going to have to let go so that I can get the ice."
Rolling his eyes, he moved her towards the tiny fridge and turned her around so that he could get the ice out. An evil grin appeared on his face, which she couldn't see. He dug out four cubes from the ice she had put in there the day before and bent down so that his mouth was right beside her ear. "Hey, New York," he started in a low voice. From his vantage point, he could see the smile that was starting on her face, and he could tell by the way that his arm around her stomach moved that she was about to sigh. He held back a chuckle. "This is for asking me to go out into the depths of hell out there." Swiftly, before she knew what was happening, he dropped one of the cubes down the back of her shirt and let go of her.
As soon as it hit the warm skin of her back, she gasped and tried to bend away from it, but it didn't work. He was waiting for it, and it finally came. "Oh...my...GOD!" she shouted, trying to take the ice out of her shirt. Nothing she did worked, and it didn't help when JC stepped forward.
"Don't worry, I'll get it out," he said in a soothing voice, before he put his hand on her back...and held the ice in place. She screamed again and tried to get away, while laughing, but he moved every time with her. Until the ice was completely melted, did he let go of her. "Look at that, you got my hand wet."
She hit him lightly and grinned. "Put the ice in my glass...and answer the door, while I change my shirt, please," she said him when they both heard a sharp knock. He rolled his eyes and dropped the extra ice in her glass before wiping off his hand and walking to the door.
"Just a second," he called, taking a deep breath and getting himself prepped for the hell that was about the begin. He probably would have been better to go through the mass of reporters. At least they wouldn't find him. With a resigned sigh, he opened up the door and started to laugh when everyone outside started to clap. "Yeah, I got the same response last night, too. Come on," he said, opening the door wider to let everyone in.
A long string of people entered the room, and instantly, the remaining members of NSYNC jumped onto the two beds in the room, getting comfortable. Brooklyn opened up the bathroom door and walked out, straightening her shirt. Her eyes flew up when she could feel someone watching her. More than one person, actually.
Besides the guys, Mia and Austin were also standing there, both with furious looks on their faces, but nothing matched the look on JC's publicist's face. "Uh...New York, this is Michael Dickson, our PR person. Mike, this is Brooklyn Turner. Yeah."
Plastering a smile on her face, she stepped forward to shake his hand. "It's nice to meet you. Since the guys seemed to have gotten comfortable, we might as well have the meeting at the table. They can hear from there, I'm sure." She flashed them a look and rolled her eyes.
"Hello to you, too, Brooke," Chris called, as the five of them walked over to the table. Seeing the looks on Mia and Austin's faces, JC took the seat beside Brooklyn, just in case Mia decided to jump across the table and take his girlfriend by the hair...which he wouldn't be surprised about. They sat across from the couple, and Michael took the seat at the head of the table. Brooklyn automatically jumped up. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to grab my drink. I have a feeling that I might need it as a weapon," she stated, staring hard at her brother.
"Brooklyn Arizona, you watch what you say today," Austin warned. "I've got enough on my plate right now, and I don't need to deal with this."
By then, she had disappeared into the kitchen and put a straw in the glass, taking a sip after mixing the slices of lime and lemon around. "God, this would be so much better with a shot of alcohol," she shuddered. "Then why did you come, oh big brother of mine that looks like he's going to rip off my head and drop kick it so far it's not even funny?" A blush started to grown on his face. "Ah," she said with a laugh, sitting down. She looked towards the other man at the table. "I'm sure that you've met Mia before, and that..." She broke off to mumble something that no one could understand before smiling and speaking again, "is my older brother, Austin. I'm sorry to pull you into this, Mr. Dickson. We probably could have waited a few days, but Mia is one of those people that have to do everything right now."
He shuffled a few papers. "That's fine, Miss Turner, but I'd rather get this over with," he said stiffly. JC and Brooklyn exchanged a look and tried not to groan. This was NOT going to turn out good.
Mia decided to take over. "All right, we all knew that Brooke and JC were going to end up eventually. It just took longer than we expected, but we ALSO expected that you would come to US before you shot off your mouth and told the world that you were dating."
"You knew, Mia, so don't say that you didn't," JC said.
"I knew, but that's as Brooke's best friend. Right now, I'm not Brooke's best friend. I'm Brooklyn Turner's publicist, so forgive me if I'm not in a friendly mood, JC. Now, as I was saying, the least that you could have done was told us before you did this. I have not had any sleep at all. I've had calls all night, wanting to know what's going on, and who's getting the first interview. What...What even possessed you to do this?"
JC was thinking the same thing. Whatever possessed him to say something like they had...when he had Tim to think about. "Well, forgive me for not wanting to put up with the rumors anymore. I'm SICK of getting calls during the middle of the night, asking if the two of us are dating, or when we're going to start, or why we're hiding this. Besides, you always told me that honesty with the fans is always the way to go. Don't hide anything. Well, I hid my boyfriend before. I hid my fiancé and my engagement and look where that got me. It got me beat up, it got me looking over my shoulder every time I hear a strange noise, it got me in a position where I didn't want anything to do with music again. But you also forget one thing, Mia. You forgot what else it got me."
She crossed her arms, staring with venom at the singer. "Oh, really, Brooke. What did I forget? What did you get from that experience?"
"From that, not only did I get the best friend that I've ever had in my life, but I also got four other friends that I would die for, and you damned well know it. It brought you and Austin closer together, and look at this. Your wedding is in two weeks. Above all, it helped me to find the person that I've always wanted in my life. If you think that's so horrible, if you think that it does nothing but cause a head ache for you, I'm sorry, but I'm just living my life the way that I want. The way that I've always wanted to live it."
Somewhere from the beds, a cough sounded before a soft, "Go, Brooklyn."
"So, in case you're wondering, I'm sick of hiding. I'm sick of hiding every single little thing in my life. Why don't we make this easy for you. JC and I will do an interview. A joint interview with a magazine. Give them the first interview. I don't care what it is. Whether it's Bop, or Seventeen, or Cosmo, or Maxim. Just pick one out, we'll do it, give them the whole story, and then you don't have to worry about it anymore."
Michael cleared his throat gruffly. "Have you guys even thought of what the fans think of this?"
JC shrugged carelessly. "They didn't seem to have any problem when they heard that we were dating at the awards show."
"That's country music fans, not pop music fans. Miss Turner doesn't have the following or the public demand that you do."
Now, Mia was fired up at the comment. "Excuse me, Mr. I Know All, striving to look like you came off the cover of GQ when you really look like the poster boy for Fool Weekly. You're talking Brooklyn Arizona Turner here. You think because they're in two different genres that everything is different. I'll have you know that she has the biggest following for a country singer since Dolly Parton. Shut up, Justin!" she called when she heard him start to laugh. "The only competition she has is Faith Hill. Do you know who she is, or do I have to tell you about that, too?" Brooklyn and JC looked at each other warily.
"Mia, calm down," JC said quietly.
Her eyes flashed at him as well. "No, Chasez. YOU shut up. I'm not done yet. Your 'boys' may have sold the most pop albums in a week, but you're looking at the country singer who managed to outsell Garth Brooks on her debut. She OPENED for him. She's had the biggest names in country music AND pop music, in case you've forgotten, sing with her. Songwriters FIGHT over her. Singers are HONORED when she covers their songs. There isn't a man alive that hasn't seen her and wanted her. Women want to BE her."
Her hands quickly turned the open laptop towards him. "Look at this list of websites. All fan run. She gets more e-mail a day from fans than you will get compliments, dates, AND passing glances in your entire lifetime. Brooklyn is THE biggest singer right now. In popularity polls recently done, she even beat out NSYNC. So, what, you think she doesn't have the same following? I think you better rephrase the statement."
Finally, she sat down, and Brooklyn let out the breath she was holding. Her head dropped to the table with a loud thud, before she came up to rub her forehead. "Ooh, that's all I need today. A bruise and a head ache."
"Are you okay?" JC asked in a murmur, lifting the hair from her forehead to look. There was a tiny red mark from where she had hit the table, but nothing that would actually turn into a bruise. She had hit it pretty hard, though.
"I'm fine. Austin always tried to convince me that I was dropped on my head as a child. Now I have the skull fracture to match up with the story," she said dryly, taking a sip of her drink. "Look, can we get through this without any bloodshed. I don't think that even club soda can take blood out of white carpet," she said with a smirk, pointing down.
JC shook his head. "I think New York made it pretty easy. Just pick one magazine to start from, we can always talk to Entertainment Tonight. They've always been great with us. I'll even do Regis. Just no Oprah. The last thing we need is her trying to flood out the studio again, and she would try her damnedest. Trust me on this."
Michael sighed and ran his hands through his short hair. "All right. Seventeen magazine has been asking for you five to do a new spread for a long time, but we just haven't had a reason. Now, you guys are getting the new album almost ready, you guys are dating...can we kill two birds with one stone? They can do two different interviews and put them into two different magazines, but we'll schedule it all for the same day."
"I'm sorry, but there's no way in THE FIERY DEPTHS OF HELL that I would allow Brooklyn to do an interview for that type of magazine. At the end of the last relationship that she was involved in, they did nothing but trash her and her decisions. So, no. They're not doing Seventeen."
"Look, these guys have had no trouble with Seventeen before. You two are doing an interview with Seventeen, a photo shoot, and then all of you are doing an interview, without Miss Turner."
Again, Mia jumped to her feet. "She should have been a lawyer, with all the times that she's objecting today," Brooklyn muttered.
A pair of fiery eyes turned to her. "Brooklyn Arizona...shut up! As I was SAYING BEFORE SOME IDIOT DECIDED THAT HE HAS THE BALLS TO INTERRUPT ME, you are not listening to what I've told you. She will not be doing an interview with Seventeen magazine. They're ignored the country music scene, besides the occasional mention of Faith Hill. Brooklyn is not a cross-over artist. She's country, through and through. What about People? They've wanted another interview with her for the longest time."
"People is not on my list. Seventeen is."
"Well, People is on MY list, and Seventeen ISN'T, and in case you're wondering, it's my list that counts."
JC leaned over closer to Brooklyn and sighed lightly. "There goes your request for no bloodshed."
"I know. Shut up," she groaned. "Actually, all of you shut up!" she finally cried out. "My God, we're all adults, so why are we fighting like three year olds that haven't had their naps yet. Mia, I have nothing wrong with doing an interview with Seventeen. No problem whatsoever. I think it's YOU that has the problem. There, do we have that settled? I feel like I'm a mother to a VERY annoying child," she added, flashing her eyes towards Mia.
She immediately made her way around the table and pulled Brooklyn by the wrist. They went to the corner of the room, and Mia bent down her head. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing, Brooke?" she hissed, her hands on her hips. Everyone's eyes were on them, but Mia could care less.
"I'm just trying to make this as painless as possible," she said, trying to defend herself.
Mia let out her breathe and smiled. "You're doing Seventeen, but don't tell anyone yet. I just haven't had a good fight in ages. Come on. The Enquirer never calls me anymore. I can't fight with them. It'll be over in a second." The scowl on Brooklyn's face dropped and Mia held back a squeal. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. Time to get nasty again." A smile was flashed her way before they made their way back to the table, Brooklyn rolling her eyes.
"All right, are you guys ready?" the woman asked with a smile. "Just make yourselves comfortable and we'll get this done as quick as possible." A tape recorder went on the table that separated the couple from her. Brooklyn sent a look towards JC and smiled. The photo shoot hadn't taken as long as they thought it would. They had been directed outside, in the clothes that they had shown up wearing, and were told to do whatever they wanted, before coming back in and changing in to what was left for them, and doing a few shots for the cover.
After that they had been pushed into a private room, away from the noise, with the reporter while talking like old friends. She shifted in her seat and crossed her arms loosely like she normally did and grinned. This was going to be a breeze, compared to some of the interviews that she had done before.
Karen Christino, the reporter, opened up a notebook and rested it on her knee. "All right, so you guys met about a year ago, right?"
Brooklyn nodded quickly. "Yeah. It wasn't what you would call a chance meeting, but I didn't know who he was, and he didn't know who I was, so it was definitely different."
"Normally, when I meet someone, they try their hardest to impress me, but New York...she didn't do any of that. I don't think that she even liked me when we first met."
Her shoulders moved in a shrug. "Nah, I liked you. I was just trying to get a feel for you. There were so many different aspects of you that you were showing that I couldn't keep them straight, but as soon as he let me take him out for lunch at my favorite diner, I knew that he was sticking around for awhile." They both smiled as they thought back to their first visit to the diner together.
Karen nodded. "JC, you call Brooklyn 'New York'. Why?"
"Everyone calls her either Brooke or Brooklyn, and she told me that it got a little old for her. No one had ever used the obvious, so I did. Everyone knows that I call her New York, but no one's actually used the nickname yet."
With a smile on her face, Brooklyn took a sip of water. "That's only because he threatens to beat up whoever DOES call me New York. Even my brother doesn't touch the name."
"And that's where the necklace came from?"
Her hand immediately went up and touched the cool letters. "It was the first Christmas that we knew each other, and he sent me a present, telling my brother not to let me open it until everything else was gone. I haven't taken off the necklace since I've gotten it. It always reminds me of him, so I don't think it's ever leaving its place around my neck."
There was a slight pause as Karen turned the page in her notebook, staring down intently. "When did you two know that there was something else there besides friendship?"
They looked towards each other with blank looks. Could they pin it down to a certain moment? "I knew that I was attracted to her the moment that I saw her, actually. When she ran into the meeting, with this stupid bagel between her teeth, panting because she had to run up seven flights of stairs. When I knew there could be something more there than friendship...God, I'm not sure. Probably...well, there was one night where she and I had a long talk. New York did most of the talking, actually. She told me something that no one else really knew, and I guess that's when I knew...even if she was dating someone else at the time."
"Brooklyn?"
She was silent for a moment. "I agree with the instant attraction thing. I mean, how can you NOT be attracted to him?" she asked with a devilish grin as a slight blush crept up on JC's face. "It's really hard to pinpoint the moment, but I guess that I knew after my...ordeal with my ex-fiancé. It was actually the night that it happened. I never told him, but that night, he was my lifeline, and when he thought that I was sleeping, he was talking. I heard every single word that he said, and that's basically when I knew. I was just....not in the condition to do anything about it." She nodded with that assessment and looked over at him. He took her hand and held it, as she blinked away the tears that had started to gather in her eyes. It still hurt to talk about that night.
"Who made the first move?"
"New York, if you can call that the first move. She...uh...kissed me in the airport before I left." She shook her head and sighed. "I don't think either of us really made the first move, though. We both got close, but then backed away. It was our friends that forced us to make the first move, and we sort of did it together."
Her eyes rolled. "If it hadn't been for Chris, Justin, Joey, Lance, and my brother, Austin, we wouldn't be here right now. They orchestrated a rooftop dinner date for us, complete with pranks, pretending to run out of gas, and lots of clever planning. Our whole relationship is due to them."
The reporter smiled at them briefly. "And how long, exactly, have you been dating?"
They both shrugged. "We started out dating, and that lasted for what...a month? And then the two of us ended up getting into a pretty bad fight, and we barely spoke to each other. The morning after I had been admitted to the hospital to have my appendix out, we...well...God, this is embarrassing. We flipped a coin, because neither of us wanted to say yes or no to the whole dating thing again. Heads, we stayed friends. Tails, we were dating. Needless to say, it ended up on tails."
Brooklyn started to laugh after she said, and when JC joined in, neither of them could stop. "It had to be one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. I mean, there's the woman that I've been practically obsessed with since we met, and we're sitting there, saying, 'let's just flip a coin.' 'My purse is right over there. Steal one.' I couldn't believe that she actually went along with it. I can't believe that I did that."
"And he still owes me twenty five cents," she said with a giggle. "We weren't even going to go public with the fact that we were dating this time. The question came up, and we sort of looked at each other, and told each other that if you want to say something, go for it. It wasn't a big deal to us. It was going to get out sooner or later, so we might as well just say it, was what I was thinking."
Another slight pause filled the room. This was definitely one of the most comfortable interviews that they had ever done. There was nothing that they didn't want to talk about, and they said that they were going to tell the truth through it all. JC had refused from saying that during the coin flip, it had landed on tails, because it hadn't, and he didn't want Brooklyn to know. At least, not at that very moment, when there could be witnesses to his murder. "What does the rest of NSYNC think about you and Brooklyn?"
"They love her. She's known Lance since about the third day that she and I had met, and they became friends almost instantly, talking on the phone. When they actually met her, they all connected with her on a different level. Her and Chris are definitely the closest. There isn't anything that they don't talk about. Justin looks towards her almost as on older sister, Joey just loves to hang around her because he can say anything, and she'll dish it right back at him. Lance and her...I don't know what it is. They just managed to click. No one knows how, but her and Chris are definitely the closest."
She nodded. "He's one of my best friends. Not that I have many of those," she added with a laugh.
"What about your brother, Austin? What does he think of them?"
Her eyes rolled. "Oh, I swear. I have never seen male bonding to the extreme before, but JC and Austin have it down to an art. As soon as I hear burping and scratching, I'm out the door. They became friends almost instantly. Austin liked Lance mainly for the fact that we're from neighboring states. Austin and Chris are the same age, so that definitely helps. They've done the extreme bonding, too, before. Joe and Austin have some sort of mutual respect thing going on that I don't understand at all, but Justin? Wow, those two don't get along that well. I mean, they don't fight or anything, but they take their jokes and teasing to an extreme sometimes."
Karen smiled. "Are there any plans for you guys in the next little while?"
"Well, Austin and Mia, New York's publicist, are getting married in a week and a half, and we're both going to be there. New York's the maid of honor, and I'm the best man. But after our tours are finished, I think the two of us are going to see if we can take a small vacation. My family really wants to meet her, but neither of us have had the time to stop in yet."
Brooklyn shrugged. "Beyond that, we haven't got a lot planned."
"Are you going to be doing another single together?"
They both shook their heads. "We don't know. JC is going to be producing about half of my upcoming album, which will happen after our vacation, but we have no plans to sing together again. It was fun the first time, but I have this thing about repeat artists. I don't like them."
"I am trying to convince her to sing on one of our albums, but so far, she's said no. Doesn't want to mix the two styles or something."
The last few question flew by, and soon enough, Brooklyn was let go. She stopped long enough to thank both the reporter and the photographer, before sticking her head in a door and thanking the makeup and wardrobe people that had worked on her. "I'll meet you back at the hotel later, all right?" He nodded and let her go, watching as she walked out. He had no clue what he was going to do about her, but he had to do something soon.
A half empty bowl of popcorn sat on Brooklyn's lap, her legs tossed across JC's lap. The credits began to roll across the screen, and they watched them wordlessly for a moment, before she reached into the bowl for another piece of popcorn. "You're going to get fat if you eat anymore," he warned her with a teasing smile.
Her eyes lifted and looked through the semi darkness at his face. "Popcorn can't make you fat, you loser. If anything, this is what Weight Watchers would want you to eat, and I bet that Jenny Craig agrees, too."
He stuck his tongue out, just as Brooklyn threw a piece towards him. He pulled it into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "No, but with the amount of butter and salt that you put on there, I'm surprised that I haven't had a coronary yet."
"You can't blame all of that on me. You were the one that attacked the bowl with the salt shaker. My only part in this was the butter. They never put enough butter in these things anymore." Her arms stretched above her head. "I guess that's what you get for buying microwave popcorn."
"Hey, you were the one that picked out the popcorn AND the movie. Mighty Ducks, my ass."
Her mouth dropped open. "That wasn't the Mighty Duck movie, you idiot. That was the sequel. D2 is so much better. Besides, you have to admit, Joshua Jackson was a cutie back then...not that he isn't now. Never mind, he's too young for me." She shook her head. "You enjoyed the movie, so don't deny it. I saw you all tensed up when the shoot-out was happening, and you were singing along to Queen at the end."
His eyes rolled as he leaned back and picked out another piece of popcorn. "Uh huh. That's Queen. It's a classic. You HAVE to sing along with Queen, or it just isn't right. And I wasn't all tensed up. You could tell who was going to win. This was the classic underdog movie. That's all Disney makes."
"You've obviously never seen Race the Sun, then...if that's even a Disney movie. I don't think it is. But it's not your classic underdog movie. They don't win in that one," she said, sticking out her tongue. She was about to say something when his cell phone rang, making both of them groan.
Picking it up, he hit the talk button, and said hello. In response, he got a curt, "What the hell do you think you're doing, Chasez?"
His eyes flickered towards Brooklyn. "It's my mom. I'll be back in about twenty, all right?" he told her, before dropping a quick kiss on her forehead and walking through the connecting door, shutting it. "What the hell are you doing, calling me right now?"
Tim sighed deeply. "Oh, yeah, I'm interrupting a lot. A little love fest on Brooklyn's bed, watching cheesy Disney movies and eating popcorn. Excuse me, but you aren't even supposed to be with her in the first place."
His eyes widened. "How...but you...you can't...know what we're doing," he said softly, getting up off his bed. His mind racing, he walked over to the window and looked out. What was he looking for anyway?
"Don't bother. He's already gone, if you must know. I KNEW that I couldn't trust you, you asshole! You said that you were going to stay away from her. We. Had. A. Deal. You backed down."
JC let the curtains fall back and walked back to his bed. "I didn't do shit all. Don't tell me what I did and didn't do, because you don't have a God damned clue. I don't understand half of the shit that your babbling."
There was a long pause, before Tim started to talk again. The silence alone petrified him, more than what he was going to say. The man was vindictive, there was no doubt about that, and he was going to do everything in his power to keep JC and Brooklyn apart. "You told me that if I could stop any of this, you were going to stay away from my Brooklyn. So why are you with her? Why the HELL did you say that you two were dating, ON NATIONAL TELEVISION! You're screwing with me, Chasez, and that's something that I don't like."
"I'm not screwing around with you. You obviously have no idea what I'm doing." And neither do I, he thought idly, trying to come up with some sort of plan, some sort of excuse that he could use. Why HAD he said that on national television, when he knew that Tim would find out. What could be the explanation behind the whole thing.
"And why don't you enlighten me?" he asked in an icy tone. "Hurry it up. I don't have much time on the phone."
He rolled his eyes. "Think of how much this is going to crush her," he began, the wheels in his mind turning. "I just told the world that we're dating, right? Everyone knows what's going on now. Now, what would happen if she thought that she just found out how she found who she thought was the perfect man for her...and I leave her for no reason whatsoever. I even have the right setting for it," he finished, crossing his fingers. Silently, he began to pray. This had to work. He had to find a way to show Tim that he wasn't with Brooklyn, yet he couldn't hurt her. What the hell had he gotten himself into.
This was the last thing in the world that he wanted to do. He was about to hurt an innocent woman, only because he wanted her to have a happy, worry-free, stalker-free life. Because he had been stupid enough to go and see Tim and open up his big mouth and spurt out a bunch of lies, he was stuck in this just as much as she was. And he didn't want to be. He had no idea what he was doing. He wasn't a detective or a cop. He wasn't a bodyguard. He had no idea what he was doing, but he was doing something.
One day she'll look back and thank me for this, he thought. But by then, he would be six feet under, and she would be in a woman's correctional facility for killing her boyfriend who went behind her back and started to plan with her ex-fiancé. This was meant for soap operas, not real life. This was meant for a novel, not for two singers.
Nothing seemed to make sense. It was almost like the world of fantasy and reality had mixed, and it wasn't the right mix. He just had to find his way out of it. That was going to be the hardest part of all of it.
"So, what, you're setting her up for a big fall. Bravo. Should I applaud?" Tim asked him suddenly. "I just want you to remember something, Chasez. I know someone who's willing to do anything for me, and if I asked him to...say, climb into her bedroom window in the middle of the night...he would do it. I have complete control of this situation, SO DON'T SCREW WITH ME. You're just a little pop singer. What the hell do you think you can do? You can put all the bodyguards around her that you want, but it's not going to help. I'll still find a way in."
He set his jaw, and took a deep breath. "What, you're admitting that you're the one that's behind this? Like we didn't know anyway."
There was another pause, but this was a shorter one. "It doesn't matter. You have no witness to the fact that I'm involved. No one else heard me say anything, so don't even try it."
JC closed his eyes and rubbed them tiredly. "Look, do me a favor. Don't do anything at the wedding. This isn't New York's day, and it isn't mine. It's Austin and Mia's. All I ask is that you don't do anything there. Let the ceremony and the reception go through without a hitch. If you ruin their wedding, whatever you do to hurt them, will hurt New York, and you know it. Just...let me take care of this."
"You're not calling the shots here. I AM. I already know that I'm not doing anything at the wedding, but you better watch your step, Chasez. I know every single little thing that the two of you do together, and I know when you're with her, and when you're not. I'm giving you two weeks. Otherwise...I'm going to have to do something myself."
It was a week and a half until the wedding, so that gave him an extra few days, but he couldn't wait forever. He had to wait until after the wedding. He wasn't going to ruin it. There was no way in hell that he would do anything like that, but he had to think quick, and he didn't know what he was going to do. No one knew what was happening, and there was no one that he could really confide in.
Besides, if he was being watched, like Tim had said, he didn't want to pull anyone else into this and get them in trouble, too. It was bad enough that he and Brooklyn were involved, but he couldn't risk anyone else. Brooklyn was in there because she used to date Tim, and JC had stupidly jumped in. Austin and Mia knew that he went to see him, but he told them that nothing had happened, and Tim had been as stubborn as ever. He didn't tell them the truth, either.
His head dropped down. "Fine. That's fine." He hit the end button and fell back onto the pillows, closing his eyes. He had no clue what he was going to do. But he had to do something, and do it fast.
He jumped off his bed and practically raced for the connecting door. Brooklyn was where he had left her, leaning against the pillows, eating popcorn as she flipped through the channels on the television. Her eyes raised and she smiled at him brightly. "That didn't take too long. Usually you and your mom talk until your battery runs out," she teased him. That was when she noticed the look on his face. The lost, almost confused look. "JC, are you okay?"
He forced himself to nod. "Yeah, my mom and I just had an argument, that's all. That's why we didn't talk too long." And there he was, lying to her face again.
When he didn't move, and didn't elaborate like he usually did, the smile dropped off of her face. Normally, JC would want to talk about whatever was wrong. This time, he just stood there, looking lost, and practically looking right through her. It was like she wasn't even there.
Cautiously, Brooklyn stood up and made her way over to him slowly. He finally snapped out of whatever trance he was in, and reached for her. His arms locked around her waist, and his head went down on her shoulder. She was shocked for a moment. The plan had been for her to go over there and to wrap her arms around him, not the other way around.
That didn't mean that she didn't snap out of her thoughts and reach up to put her arms around his neck. She could hear his breathing, hard and fast. He was angry about something, obviously whatever the phone call had been about. She could feel the tightness in his muscles, and that almost scared her. She could remember the same tightness in Tim whenever he had been angry. Not surprisingly, Brooklyn had become an expert in knowing if someone was angry or not.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled.
But she couldn't hear the words. "What? I can hear you when you're talking to my neck," she teased lightly, smiling when he lifted his head.
"I said, I'm sorry." The anger had already left his eyes, but it had been replaced by...what? Resignation? Agreement? Something like that. It was too hard to tell exactly what it was. She was good with anger, not other feelings.
Her head shook slowly. "What do you have to be sorry about?" she asked quietly, forcing him to look at her, using her palm to push his face back to hers.
"I'm sorry for...for..." He couldn't find the right words and bent his head down again, holding her even tighter. His breathing lowered to a more calming state, and his eyes drifted open slowly, looking at the far wall. Was someone watching them at that moment? Most likely, and whoever it was, was sure to call or let Tim know that he had seen the two of them in a "loving embrace". That was all he needed.
Like he had been burned, he pulled away quickly, and ran his hands through his hair. "I need a haircut," he muttered, looking at his reflection in the window. His hair WAS getting longer than normal, but Brooklyn knew that he was just trying to avoid the subject.
Her head shook, and she moved so that she was in front of him again. He had to smile when she had to look up at him. It was like comparing a pixie and the Jolly Green Giant. She was tiny compared to him. "I don't think so. What are you sorry about? You didn't do anything to me...unless you have some ridiculous prank pulled that I'm not going to find out about until the morning. Fess up, Jace. I'm not going to sit here and wonder what's going on."
Pursing his lips, he looked above her head. He was used to people watching his every step, every movement, but to know that someone was watching him during his private time was a little unnerving. "Uh...I just wanted to apologize for crushing you there," he said lamely.
With a grin, she rubbed her lower back. "Yeah, so I noticed. Not that I'm complaining or anything. You can crush me any time that you want, baby," she finished before laughing. "That's not the problem, though, is it?"
He shook his head. "I really wish that I could tell you, New York." His hand lifted so that his finger could trace the chain around her neck, before it came to the first letter. "I just can't. This is something that I have to do on my own."
Surprisingly, she nodded. "No problem. You know that I'm always here for you, though, right? I mean, I don't care if you wake me up at three o'clock in the morning. I'll get up."
"Not willingly," he murmured, smiling down at her. A blush covered her face when she thought about what his voice sounded like right then. It was...too much to handle, really, but she was willing to take the chance. "I know you too well, New York. You would never get up at three in the morning, willingly."
"I didn't say that I would get up willingly, but that's beside the point." She flashed another sweet smile towards him. "Uh...JC? Do you have an obsession with the necklace or my neck?" she asked suddenly, when his eyes never lifted from where they were.
His shoulders lifted and fell in a shrug. "Both, I guess. Brooklyn, do me a favor." Her eyebrows shot up. It must be serious if he used my full first name, she thought to herself, and then nodded, telling him to go on. It seemed like he was never going to get to what he wanted to say, but as soon as she opened her mouth to ask him, he started to speak. "Whenever...whenever you're pissed at me, or I do something wrong, just...look at the necklace or the bracelet and remember how much I actually care for you, all right?" he asked in a near whisper, finally raising his face to look in his eyes.
"I don't like that tone. That means that you know you're going to do something that's going to piss me off. What is it, JC?"
"Nothing. Just planning for the future, I guess. Chocolates and roses can't do everything."
Her head shook. "But it's a damned nice start." She watched as he looked back down at the necklace and circled it with his finger one more time before he lifted the letters and laid them gently onto his finger. The diamond chips in the corners caught his eyes, and they sparkled merrily. 'NEW YORK' they said, but he thought that she wasn't going to want to be his New York for much longer. "Are you okay?"
He sighed deeply. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I just...don't get it, New York. For some reason, a lot of stuff in my life isn't going right. You're the only part that I can actually count on, I think."
"You're just tired. Look, I've got an idea. Go get changed, and then I'm going to put on a movie that I KNOW will knock both of us out, all right? It doesn't look like you're going to sleep otherwise, even though you look exhausted."
He nodded. "It's been a long few days. I'll be right back."
When he escaped back to his room, he slammed a pair of track pants and tee shirt onto the bed, before sitting down and holding his head in his hands. Brooklyn wasn't going to want to be his New York at all when he was done, and he had a feeling that what was going to happen would be something that neither of them would be able to stand. But he had no other choice.
For the second time in his life, he felt like his New York was slipping through his fingers, and this time, he wasn't going to get her back.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
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