Chapter Fourteen
With both of their feet clad in socks, they ran outside, hearing the words being spoken to each other. Or yelled, whichever your preferred. JC grabbed Brooklyn by the arm to stop her from getting into the center of it, and held her back. She sent him a bad look, and listened to the argument. "Do you really think that you're welcome here?" Austin asked, growling out the words.
Tim smirked, his arms crossed on his chest. "I'm more than welcome. My fiancée will agree to that." JC groaned when he heard that, but he still didn't let go of Brooklyn. She stood, stock still, her eyes going between the men. He could tell what she was thinking, what she was wondering. Who was she supposed to side with? Her brother, who she'd known and loved longer than the man she was supposed to marry, whom she was supposed to trust with all her heart. He didn't envy her in the least, but he knew which side he was on. If Austin needed any help, whatsoever, he would be the one to help him.
"She may be that to you, but she's MY baby sister, so don't even try that with me. I don't want you here, and I don't care what she thinks." While Tim had crossed his arms, Austin kept himself loose, so as not to be caught off guard, like the last time that he and Tim had fought. "I'm only protecting her from the local trash. I mean, that's what you are, isn't it?"
Brooklyn's eyes closed tightly, and she moaned under her breath. This was all she needed. JC's hand rested loosely above her elbow, and he didn't seem to be letting go anytime soon. She had gotten in between the men once, and nothing had happened then, though a lot had happened afterwards. A lot that she didn't want to remember.
He looked down at her and frowned. "New York, I think it would be better if you went in the house. You shouldn't be out here." His voice was low so that neither one of the men heard him. That would cause an explosion from them, for sure. She looked up at him, anger starting to grow in her eyes. "Seriously, a lot of stuff is going to said out here, and you shouldn't hear it. Not only that, but I would feel a hell of a lot better if you were inside, or at least on the porch. Please, New York." Tim caught his words and glared at JC angrily.
She glanced between all the men again, and finally nodded. JC let go of her arm and kissed the top of her head as she walked by to the porch, standing on the steps. She leaned against the banister of the steps and crossed her arms, ready to come back down if she had to. JC sighed and walked towards the men, knowing that this wasn't the smartest thing to do. In fact, it was the stupidest, but he was doing it for Brooklyn, and he would do anything for Brooklyn. "Just what the hell do you want? You're not involved in this, Mr. Chasez," Tim said hotly.
Austin looked over his shoulder at JC and smiled. "He may not be involved, but he's a guest here, mine as well as Brooklyn's. He's more than welcome to be here, unlike you."
"Guys, I think you have the wrong idea," he began quietly, ignoring the fact that Tim had called him by his last name. Before, he would at least get a strained 'JC', but things had seemed to change, his name being one of many of them. "Not only are you putting on a spectacle for the neighbors, but you're embarrassing yourselves and Ne...Brooklyn. That's what this is all about, isn't it? Just look at her. You can tell that this is the last thing that she wants."
Again, it was Austin that spoke first. "JC, you have to understand something, man. There's a lot that needs to be said, and this is the perfect time. I could care less about the neighbors, and though this is about Brooke, this doesn't involve her. She will understand with time, and she will learn, like I have, what a piece of crap he is." His thumb jerked in Tim's direction.
Her fiancé's eyes narrowed, but he smiled. Brooklyn shivered, unnoticed on the steps. She recognized that smile, but it scared her too much to do anything about it. It was the smile that had haunted her at nights. "Actually, this has nothing to do with Brooklyn. This has to do with the two of us, which means that you can leave at any time."
"Mr. Croft, you are sadly mistaken. You may think that this has nothing to do with New York, but that's completely wrong. Not only are you hurting her, which you could tell if you opened up your damned eyes and looked at her, but you could very well be hurting her career as well. Don't you know what this could do to her if this showed up in the papers and tabloids, that her brother and her boyfriend were fighting. Oh, I'm sorry, you're her fiancé. My mistake." He didn't want to get involved, but he did, and it was too late to back out of it.
He had his own reasons for not liking Tim, and he was allowing them to cloud her judgment. "Her career, as you call it, which is nothing but over glorified unfulfilled dreams that she's living out just like you, is not part of this."
"Ah, yes, I seemed to have forgotten that point. You could care less about her CAREER, couldn't you?" JC asked, his voice laced with venom. "Yeah, she told me about that. You think it's ridiculous, but what you don't understand is that music is what she loves. I speak from experience, something that you can't do. Her music is her true love, not you, and that pisses you off, doesn't it? The fact that she loves something that you're not a part of. Of course, you could be a part of it, but you don't want to. You're jealous of her music, and you can't stand it. That's why you don't like me all that much, because I know what she means. I can understand what she's talking about when she speaks about her career. You don't like me because I understand HER."
Brooklyn wrapped her arms around herself as she watched what was happening in the driveway. She wouldn't have been so uncomfortable if they had taken the fight inside, but they didn't seem to be budging. Not only that, but by the look on JC's face when he had been talking to Tim had told her that he wasn't too happy, either. He had gotten himself involved. Unfortunately, while she tried to look unbiased on the outside, her heart was cheering for Austin and JC. It was unfair, she knew, that it was two against one, but she wasn't going to get involved. She didn't want Tim to get mad at her when she sided with her brother and who was quickly becoming the closest friend she had ever had. She didn't want to be on the receiving end of Tim's anger, that was for sure, and she knew that it would happen when the two were alone, not when there was a group.
Austin smiled from where he was standing, and looked towards JC, a grateful look in his eyes. JC looked back at him, no emotion on his face, but he knew what he was hiding, and he was more grateful than anyone could ever know. "He's right, you know. You don't like the fact that someone else is in love with my sister. Oh, it may not be the kind of twisted emotion that you think is love, but they love each other, and you just can't stand it. They're not in love, though. That's what you don't get. I don't think that it's the entire reason why you're mad, but it has something to do with it. Of course, you've hated me ever since you met me. Oh well." He shrugged and grinned, showing him that he wasn't afraid.
He was absolutely pissed off at that moment. His eyes moved from Austin to JC, before he looked over at his fiancée. Her eyes, filled with concern, were directed to the pop singer's back, watching his shoulders tense underneath the thin tee shirt that he was wearing. She didn't even acknowledge the fact that Tim was looking at her. Instead, she watched JC carefully, her eyes unable to move.
Hands raising in a pleading gesture, Tim nodded, to all of their amazement. Brooklyn couldn't hear what they were saying anymore, but she could pick up the body language, and having him agree to anything they said absolutely terrified her. "That may be true. I'm not saying that it's not, but Mr. Chasez, I have some advice for you." JC rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Stay the hell away from her. She's mine."
JC stumbled backwards before he knew what was happening. His cheek started to burn when he finally realized that Tim had hit him. Luckily, the blow hadn't landed on his cheekbone or jaw, but the blow caused him to see red. "You son of a bitch," he ground out before his own fist flew through the air. He had never been much of a fighter, but he obviously had luck on his side, because he slammed painfully into his jaw, but the pain wouldn't be felt until he calmed down.
He hadn't had enough time to figure out what the hell he was doing, and when he tried to figure it out, Tim's fist hit in his stomach, causing all the air in his body to rush out quickly. "Damn it, stop it! You're hurting him!" Brooklyn screamed, launching herself off the steps. She ran towards Tim, who was standing over JC, wiping away a trail of blood from the corner of his mouth. She pushed him away with all his strength and bent down beside her friend. "My God, he can barely breathe. This is ridiculous. Why the hell would you even think of hitting him? Are you okay?" she asked him, kneeling down. "Tim, I want you to leave, right now. I don't want you around here right now, because the three of you obviously aren't very rational. PLEASE."
Austin watched carefully as Tim got back into his car and drove away, stopping long enough to shoot Brooklyn a bad look. She was too busy looking over JC, making sure that no real damage was done. "Come on, let's get you inside," she said, helping him sit up. With both of their help, they got him into the living room, where he finally reclaimed his breath. Once he finally did, she started to let them have it. "Okay, so I couldn't tell what you were saying, but now I'm glad that I couldn't. That had to have been the most stupid act of testosterone and chauvinistic pig behavior." Both men widened their eyes as she started to pace back and forth in front of them. "So, what was this, just an attempt to show each other how strong you were? Well, let me congratulate you, JC, because you got your ass kicked, and to tell you the truth, I'm not proud of what either of you did. For Christ's sake, my brother, my best friend, and my fiancé decided to have a fist fight. I'm overwhelmed with your stupidity. Now, I'm going up to my room, and I want to be alone. You can finish your male bonding ritual down here, because I don't want to see either of you, and Austin, before you say anything, I don't want to see Tim, either. All right?"
With that, she stormed out of the room and stomped her way upstairs. Austin looked over at JC and groaned. "Do you think that if she knew what we were talking about, she wouldn't be so...mildly bitchy about it?"
JC's eyes flew open, and he rubbed the side of his face painfully. "You have to be kidding me. That was mildly bitchy? I don't want to find out what regular bitchy is like."
His hand raised with a short laugh. "I just lived through absolutely, PMS, rip off my head bitchy. Wait until you see what that one is like. Hope to hell that you never see that one." He stood up and started to walk out of the room. "Give me a second, I'll find something for you to put on that wannabe bruise." When Austin left the room, JC leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes again. He hadn't meant to get involved, he seriously hadn't, but when he heard the tone that Tim had used towards Brooklyn, and himself, he couldn't help it.
Now, he was agreeing with Austin. He didn't want her to marry him, not because of what had happened, but because of what he had saw and felt. There was something...different about Tim, something that didn't seem right. He seemed a little off, if anything, and there was a definite never ending streak of anger in him. He didn't want Brooklyn to be a part of that anger, even if he was sure that she had before. "The bruises," he groaned to himself, one hand resting on his stomach. Luckily, his muscles had tensed in time, and the blow wasn't as damaging as it should have been, but he was bound to have a bruise there, as well.
"Yeah, there will be a few bruises there, but nothing major. You're lucky that he can't hit any harder than that, but damn, does it hurt." Austin tossed him the ice bag that he had used last time and settled himself into Brooklyn's arm chair. JC moved the comforter from the couch and put it on the ground before he stretched out, wincing when his stomach protested. "God, I don't know where he gets off, saying that sort of stuff."
"We didn't help that much, Austin. He's hated me since he ever heard of me, he hates you, but he loves New York...I think." His sentence hung in the air for a moment before he started to talk again. "I really didn't want to get involved in this. I wanted to stay away from it altogether. Damn it, though, that guy passes me off. He doesn't deserve her."
Austin moved around for a moment before he was more comfortable. "Try and tell her that. She'll blow up like you've never seen. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad with you, because she respects you a lot, but still, it's scary. I agree, though. I've tried to tell her that from the beginning, but does she listen? No, of course not. Brooklyn can be a total airhead sometimes. I love her and all, but my sister can be the biggest idiot in the world. That's what she is right now."
His head nodded in agreement. "The only problems is, I'm not going to get involved in this whole engagement thing. Only because she needs someone on her side, someone that's impartial to the whole thing. That was the role that I was hoping to take. Obviously not now. She's really pissed off at me."
"No, she's not pissed off at you or at me. She's pissed off that this happened, and she needs to take it out on someone. We're the ones that are around. If Tim were here, he would have gotten it, too, but he isn't. At least she had enough sense to send him away."
"I swear, that woman is more complex than anyone thinks. So, she's mad, but not at us, even if she takes it out on us? I am so lost." Austin chuckled softly from the corner. "I don't know about me, but I know that she's not really mad at you." Her brother looked interested with that. His shoulders raised, and his eyes cleared slightly. JC could tell that the fight had taken a lot out of both of them. "She's not mad, she's disappointed that you would say whatever you said to her. She may have sounded mad, but she was mainly hurt."
He groaned and fell back down. "I know, but look at the guy. He's not worth the time or effort that she puts towards him. He shouldn't even be associated with someone like her. I don't like him. There's something about him that just...it scares me."
JC nodded. "I know what you mean. I tried to get along with the guy, but obviously, he didn't want that. I figured that because he was New York's boyfriend, I could at least try, you know?" Austin nodded quickly; he knew exactly what he meant. "He's hated me ever since I met her. I didn't even know him, and he hated me."
"He thinks that you're going to pull her away. That's my assumption. Think of it this way. You're a normal guy, and you have this beautiful girlfriend, one that guys look at whenever she walks by. All of a sudden, this guy comes along. He's famous, he's well off, he has thousands, if not millions, of women after him. Would you be scared to lose her?"
His stomach stopped throbbing, but now a dull pain had settled across it, making it almost impossible to move. He did, anyway. "Okay, we're talking New York was my girlfriend, or just some random person that you made up."
"Brooke, all the way."
"Nope." His shoulders moved in a shrug. "She's not the type of person to do that. I already know that much. I wouldn't worry, at all. So, why would Tim worry then? I'm not a threat, but he sees me as one. It's not like I'm going to try and jump her the second that she's around me. I just don't understand."
Austin shrugged, sighing deeply. "I don't understand anything about that man, and it's getting to the point where I don't understand my own sister. I have no clue what's going on."
JC raised his fist and took a deep breath, knocking quickly. "New York, can I come in?" he asked softly, expecting her to say no. Instead, he got a soft 'yes', and opened the door himself. Brooklyn was sitting on her bed, pulling a brush through her damp hair. He stopped long enough to shut the door, and then walked to the bed, sitting down beside her.
She didn't move, other than brushing her hair, taking her time. JC put out his hand and took the brush, moving behind her. He started to pull the brush through her hair, enjoying the silky feel of it against his fingers. "I'm not mad at you, you know," she said in a resigned tone.
"I know." He kept brushing, his eyes staying on her hair. The blonde highlights were more present this time, easier for him to see. They looked too perfect not to be natural.
Her back moved in a sigh as he pulled the hair from off of her shoulder and brushing it carefully, taking out a knot delicately. "I mean, I am mad at you, don't get me wrong. I think it was stupid of you to get into the fight, but I'm not incredibly mad, you know? I don't know the whole story, I don't want to know it," she started when she could sense that he was going to open his mouth and tell her, "but I'm angry. Just not as angry as I made myself out to be. Does that even make sense?"
He stopped his brushing for a moment, before taking it up again. It was almost addictive. He didn't want to stop. "Slightly, but I know what you mean. Austin also knows that you're not really mad at him." He tugged on the ends of her hair, causing her to turn around. "Hey, do you have any hair elastics? It wasn't manly to play with Barbie dolls when I was a kid."
A laugh escaped him as she reached blindly and passed him a few elastics. "What do you mean, he knows that I'm not mad at him. I'm pissed at him, is what I am."
He forced her head to turn back around and pulled her hair into a pony tail, separating the bunch into three groups. "New York, I can tell that you're not mad. You've only convinced yourself that you're mad. I could tell, when you told me about it, that you were and are disappointed in him. That's all. Now stop moving or else this braid is going to look like crap."
This time, she was the one that laughed. He weaved her hair together, in a loose braid, looping an elastic around the end of it. "It's cute," she said, looking in the mirror. "You can do my hair more often if you want." She smiled and then turned around to face him. "You're right, you know. I just..." She stood up with a sigh and walked over to the window, looking out at the trailer in the back yard.
He followed her, and put his hands on her shoulders, leaning over her shoulder to look out. "I know what you mean, but you have to understand that Austin and Tim will never get along. I don't think he cares much for me at this point, either." His hand rubbed the side of his face where Tim had hit him. The ice had done a nice job of numbing it, and stopping the swelling, but he was bound to have a bruise that he was going to have to explain.
Quickly, she whirled around and looked at him in shock. "My God, that's right," she said breathlessly, putting her hand up to his face. Her fingers lightly traced the area where Tim had hit him, but it didn't cause any pain. Her fingers were too soft, her touch too delicate. "How bad is it?" she asked softly.
"Not that bad." Her eyes narrowed and she stared at him for a moment. "Okay, it hurt before, but it's numb from the ice."
Her head nodded slowly before her fingers grasped the edge of his shirt and pulled it up. His eyes widened at the movement, but her eyes were glued on the red area on his stomach that was just started to take on a blue tinge. Her breath sucked in at the sight of it, and her fingers moved to touch it. His muscles tightened quickly. "I'm not hurting you, am I?" she asked softly. His head shook and he looked down to see what she was doing. She traced this mark as well, moving her fingers slowly over his toned stomach. It took all the self restraint that he had to remind himself that she was just a friend.
If anyone had walked in at that moment, they would have thought that the two of them were dating. Her touch was very loving, the look on her face concerned. He was having trouble stopping himself from thinking something differently than he should, and he wouldn't have moved back if his life depended on it. He was too caught up in the moment.
Her eyes couldn't move. She couldn't believe that her fiancé had inflicted that type of pain on someone. It shouldn't surprise her, she reminded herself as she ran her fingers, once more, over his muscled stomach. He had caused that pain to someone before, and that person was her. She didn't want to remember, but the bruise staring back at her...it just reminded her that it could be her wearing those bruises next time. "It looks horrible."
"It's not as bad as it looks, New York." That was a lie. It was worse than it looked, but he didn't want her to worry. That was the last thing that he wanted her to do. Her eyes raised to his, an uncertain look in them. She wanted to believe him, but she knew that he was lying. He could read that look too well. "I'm serious, sweetie. It's not that bad."
She nodded again, and kissed her finger tips before pressing it against his skin. "It's the best I can do," she said with a weak smile. Even she, the most innocent person in the world, could feel the electricity of sexual tension in the air. It was heavy and thick. She avoided his eyes at all costs, because they were about to make her forget about the engagement ring on her finger, and make her lose her self control. She had never seen a pair of eyes that were so deep, so expressive as his. They showed only true love, even if she knew that it was the love of a friend. It was those eyes that would hypnotize her. It was those eyes that were making her want something she couldn't and wouldn't allow herself to have.
Finally, she fingers let go of the shirt and let it drop back into place, so that she wouldn't be looking at his stomach anymore. She had never seen it before, but she wondered why he had hidden it all that time. It was only another factor to add to his perfection, another thing to wonder about. It was a very beautiful thing in her opinion, but it was causing her to stare, and that was the last thing that she needed. The last thing that he needed too, she was sure.
JC was also avoiding her eyes. He couldn't bare to look at them. Instead, he forced his gaze on the sparkling diamond and white gold ring that she was wearing. She bravely looked up and saw where his eyes were. She moved them down to her ring and laughed. "Yeah, it catches my attention all the time, too," she said. "It's a little too flashy for my taste, even if it is beautiful."
That laugh had erased all the tension, and he smiled, moving back to her bed. He sat down before stretching out and relaxing. "When I saw it, I was a little surprised. I always thought that you would go for a simple gold ring with a small diamond."
She nodded, walking over to him. She jumped on the bed beside him, causing him to bounce. "Yeah, that's why I like the necklace so much. It's perfect for me. It's simple, and not flashy. This ring...it just grabs everyone's attention. I'm lucky that the press hasn't seen it yet." She laughed again. "I'm not planning on announcing it until later on. It goes against what I've been told, but I think I'll put it on another finger or take it off when I'm out in public until I announce it officially. I never thought of it before." A frown settled on her face.
"Don't do what you don't want," he said, looking at the ring again. It was far too flashy for her. Like he said, he had always thought of a simple gold band with a tiny diamond, just enough to see, but not enough to catch attention. This was a conversation piece. This was huge compared to what they both thought. "It's beautiful, though. You deserve a ring like that. Hell, you deserve a ring the size of a basketball. If it was me that had proposed to you, the diamond would have been huge. Actually, you would probably beat me up if it was that big."
She laughed and pulled her attention away from it. "That's why you're so sweet." Rolling over, she stared at the ceiling. "I'm sorry for what I said down there," she whispered lowly. His ears had a hard time picking it up. She looked almost embarrassed to apologize. He knew that she was the type of person to wait until the other had apologized to her, even if it had been her fault, so that had to have been quite hard for her.
He nodded, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry, too. I wasn't going to get involved but...right, you didn't want to know about this. I forgot." She nodded with a smile, her eyes sparkling like normally. Everything was back to normal now, just the way that the two of them liked it. "I just...wanted to come up here and make sure that you weren't completely pissed off at me. I didn't think you were, but with you, I can never tell."
"What is that supposed to mean, JC?" she asked is a mock angry voice. "Are you saying that I'm a confusing person?"
He nodded happily, his eyes still not opening. She was glad. "That's exactly what I meant. You're a very confusing person, but I wouldn't have you any other way." A bright smile graced her face as she looked over at him. She wanted to stay this way, for a very long time.
Distracted, JC reached for his ringing cell phone. His attention was caught on the paper in front of him, looking over the order of Brooklyn's songs that she would perform in concert. They had been going over the lyrics and the list, trying to find a workable list, but it wasn't working. Normally, he would shy away from this, knowing that he had to do it as soon as he got back, but he had taken an absolute interest in her concerts. Not only that, but he wanted to do it.
He rubbed his eyes as he pressed a button, bringing it up to his ear. "Hello?" Nothing was said for a moment, and he rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Justin. Would you please say something because otherwise I'll think you're dead and start to plan a party."
Shifting the papers around, he waited for someone to answer him. It wasn't Justin, though. "So, how are the bruises coming along, Mr. Chasez?" the voice asked, a slight but dry chuckle in it.
He sat up fast, before realizing that it wasn't the best thing to do with the bruise where it was. "Tim. Isn't this a surprise," he said in a polite voice before his tone dropped. "Just where the hell did you get my number from?"
"From Brooklyn, of course. Where else would I have gotten it? I don't think it's posted on the Internet just yet, but don't be surprised if you see it up there sooner or later." Now, he did laugh. It wasn't a great sound. Just then, someone knocked on the door and opened it, looking in. JC tensed for a moment, expecting to see Brooklyn but instead seeing her brother. He waved Austin in, gesturing to the phone. He mouthed Tim's name and smirked. He couldn't help it.
Austin shut the door and sat on the floor, leaning against the arm chair in the corner. "Well, you know how to make threats without actually making them. I would applaud, but my hands are full." Austin snickered under his breath, JC shaking his head at him. He didn't want him to know that Austin was in the room. "You say you got the number from New York, but did she literally put it in your hand, or did you find it somewhere."
"Touché. You're smarter than I thought. To think that I thought weren't too bright. My apologies. No, BROOKLYN didn't put it in my hands, but that's not to say that she didn't give it to me."
JC sighed, pushing away some of the papers from his lap. "Great, so is there any reason for you to be calling me, or did you just want to start a name calling contest, one that I can promise you won't win. Really, Tim, I thought that you were a little better than calling someone and making threats over the phone. I gave that up years ago."
In his mind, he could see the malicious grin on Tim's face, and it didn't help him any. In fact, it only reminded him that he was leaving sometime soon. The only thing that made him feel the slightest bit better about it was the fact that Brooklyn would be going on tour the day after he left. "No, I called because I have a friendly reminder for you. Brooklyn is MY fiancée, not yours. In fact, you have no tie to her whatsoever. That ring that's sitting on her finger right now...that's what my tie to her is. What do you have?"
He was about the respond when the phone clicked, indicating that Tim had hung up. "Oh, I wish that I hit that bastard harder." He turned off the phone and threw it on the floor, falling back on the bed. "Does she have any clue what he's like? My God, he really is an ass."
"Could have told you that the first time I met you. I think I did." They both shook their heads. "Anyway, I just came up here to tell you that I put the rest of dinner away if you wanted any. I'm too tired to stay up. It's been a long day, man. A VERY long day."
With a nod, he removed the reading glasses from his eyes and nodded, rubbing his eyes briefly. "Thanks, Austin. Good night." As he started out of the room, JC called him back. "Austin, wait." When he turned back, he mustered a smile. "You might want to consider talking to New York sometime soon. Maybe work out whatever's happening between you. You both look like crap." Austin nodded and shut the door behind him.
He sighed and pushed the papers down to the ground, not caring if they landed all over the place. He was too tired to deal with all of them. The phone call had taken a lot out of him. It wasn't in his nature to be cruel, and he never knew that it would take so much energy. It seemed to be easy for Tim. Anytime that he had seen or heard from him that day, he seemed to be in fine form.
"I need sleep," he groaned, standing up. He could hear Brooklyn rustling around in her room, no doubt getting ready for bed. The sound of her closet door shutting made the thought concrete as he switched his pants for a pair of track pants, tying the strings loosely. He pulled his shirt off and threw it in the corner, atop of his suitcase. As he turned, he caught a look in the mirror and winced when he saw the bruise on his stomach. It didn't hurt all that much at the moment, but it looked ugly. Something that he wasn't ready to share with everyone.
JC got into bed, pulling up the covers to his waist and turning off the lamp beside him. The room enveloped in darkness as he laid there, his eyes looking at the ceiling. From around him, he heard the familiar sounds of Brooklyn's bathroom sink, a dog barking outside...all of it was familiar. He had been spending far too much time in Tennessee with her, but he couldn't help himself. There was something about the way that she smiled, the way that she laughed. No matter what, it seemed that she could make the worst day better, even if she didn't realize it.
He rolled onto his side and groaned, looking at the clock. He had already been laying there for twenty minutes, unable to sleep. "This is ridiculous," he said to himself, in a low voice so as not to wake anyone up. Very faintly, he heard Brooklyn turning over in her bed, her hand hitting the wall. That brought a smile to his face. Out of all the times that he had stayed there, he heard that sound at least once every time. It was another part of her that he was familiar with.
Laying there for a little while longer, this time with his eyes closed, he found that it still didn't work. He didn't even want to know what the clock said. Instead, he pushed the blankets off of himself and stood up, stretching his arms above his head. As quiet as possible, he opened the door and walked out into the hallway, heading down the stairs. He turned into the kitchen and stood in front of the open fridge, pushing the water jug away to find the milk. He carried it to the counter and poured himself a glass before putting it back and pulling himself up to sit beside the toaster.
His feet dangled above the floor as he sipped it slowly, sitting in the dim light of the light above the stove. From outside, he heard the sound of a car door being slammed, followed by laughter. "What are you doing up?" a sleepy voice asked him.
He turned to look at Brooklyn, who followed his steps, pouring herself a glass of milk. Instead of what he had done, she warmed it for a little while in the microwave and added a dash of nutmeg before taking a sip. "Couldn't sleep. You?" She nodded, moving to stand near him before she leaned against the counter. "You seemed to have been asleep for a little while. I heard your hand hit the wall."
"That would explain why my knuckles are a little red." She looked at them curiously before sipping her warm milk again, sighing slightly. "I just woke up and I couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought that a little milk would help." She twirled the glass in her hands and looked up at JC. "I was dreaming about what happened this morning, but it was a little more...intense, I guess you could say." She looked sheepish, but it didn't stop her from telling him the rest. "It got to the point where I went to go and check to make sure that you were still here, but when you weren't in your room, and I heard the fridge shut, I knew you were down here."
"It was just a dream, New York." She nodded, taking a deep breath as she finished off the glass of milk. "Go back to bed. If it makes you feel any better, I'll check in on you before I go back to my room."
She nodded, putting her glass in the sink. "Thanks, it would. Good night." She headed out of the kitchen, leaving him alone for a little while. He sat there, bumping his heels against the cupboards. The glass in his hands were now forgotten. Instead, he was thinking back to earlier that day, when he had been up in her room.
"For Christ's sake, forget about it," he whispered to himself, closing his eyes. He was reading into it far too much. She was only concerned, she was only worried about him. That's all there was to it. As much as he tried to tell himself that there had been nothing sensuous about the way she had been looking at him, or that there had been no sexual tension whatsoever during that moment, he knew that he was lying to himself. It had been there. It had all been there, more so than he wanted to believe. "She looked so unbelievably...ugh, this is so wrong."
It was wrong. She was his friend. One of his best friends, and he was thinking about how she looked when she had stared at him. The way her fingers felt when they coursed over his stomach and face. The way that her hair smelled like fresh apples. The way that her eyes sparkled when she had smiled. The way that she had been concerned. Everything about her. That was all that he could think about. And, she was engaged to be married. He had been incredibly close to saying "screw this" to their friendship, and grabbing her, kissing her, before she had the chance to do anything, and she was engaged to be married. "And I'm a piece of crap for even thinking about this. I obviously need some sleep."
He dumped the rest of the milk down the sink before he started out of the kitchen, up the stairs. He paused for a moment in front of Brooklyn's closed door. Opening it, he slipped in, his eyes adjusting from the darkness of the hallway to the pale light in the room. The lamp beside her bed was glowing steadily, landing on her features. He walked towards the bed, bending down beside it. She had already fallen asleep, her face looking peaceful. JC lifted his hand and brushed his fingers across her face, moving a lock of hair from where it landed on her cheek. She smiled in her sleep and turned towards his hand.
Breathing lightly, trying to make sure that he didn't wake her up, he sat there and watched her for awhile. The way that her eyelashes brushed on her cheek. He smiled at that, running his finger along her nose, until it ran off the tip. She wrinkled it, but didn't move away. Instead, she sighed. She looked so perfect in that moment, so real, that he couldn't move from his spot. Even if a marching band came in, playing "Yankee Doodle", he wouldn't have moved his eyes from her face.
He was beginning to get braver. Before, it was just a curiosity, but now, he ran his finger down her cheek, feeling the baby softness of her skin before timidly moving it towards her lips. He trailed over them slowly, trying to remember their texture and softness. Trying to remember what this felt like because he would never get the chance again.
Finally, he stood. He didn't want to linger in her room any longer, just in case she would wake up, but it was hard from him to even look away from her. He reached out and turned off the lamp, allowing the room to envelope itself in darkness. He walked out and headed to him room. Now, he would be able to sleep. However, he was going to dream about something that he never should. That didn't stop him.
"Mornings should never have been invented," came the grumble behind her. She turned to look at Austin, standing the doorway as he scratched his chest through the sweatshirt that he was wearing. The weather had turned again, and it was chillier than the day before, causing all three of them to pull out the sweatshirts and heavier socks.
She nodded slowly, turning back to her coffee mug. "I think I said the same thing when I woke up this morning. Welcome to the club." JC smiled to himself. It was a definite improvement from how they had been before. At least they were talking, he noticed as he sipped slowly at his coffee. At least they weren't ripping each other apart, verbally or physically. "So, what's the plan for today? Are we just going to sit around the house or are we...you probably shouldn't go out looking like that." She pointed to the slight bruise on the side of JC's face.
It wasn't as bad as they all thought it would have turned out to be. Obviously, Tim hadn't hit him as hard as he had thought, but there was still something there. "Yeah, if the press catches wind of this sort of thing, it would be dangerous."
An evil smile spread on her face and she looked over at Austin. He nodded slowly, surprised to see her directing any sort of smile at him. He knew that she was thinking, and he was all for it. "Well, we're not just going to sit around today. There's some place that I want to go, and both of you have to come. I've got this strange craving for a certain type of ice cream, and no, before you say anything, I'm not pregnant."
"You better not be." That was Austin's only warning as he came to the table, sitting down with his own mug of coffee. All three of them fell silent for a moment, before he looked at his younger sister. "I think you should. It would definitely be an experience."
She smiled again, nodding along with him. "Got the camera?" He nodded, rubbing his hands together. JC thought that he looked oddly like a mad scientist from a bad movie. He had no idea what was going on, but he didn't really care for the looks on either of their faces.
An hour later, he found himself sitting in Brooklyn's bedroom, hiding his face away from her. He buried it in her pillow, trying to ignore the smell of her shampoo. That same crisp apple scent. Not that it mattered, because it seemed that all of the feelings and thoughts he had yesterday had disappeared, and they were left with just being friends. He heard Austin chuckle from the corner, playing around with the video camera. "I can't believe that you guys would do this to me. And you want to tape it. This is so wrong, it's not even funny."
"Believe me, I'm enjoying it. Look, you want to go out without the press finding out about that bruise, if they find you at all, right?" He nodded, still not looking up. "Well, then this is the only way that you can go out without anyone seeing it. At least, the only way that I know how. It shouldn't be that embarrassing. You've done this before."
He groaned. "Not because I wanted to. New York, you can't be serious. This is against everything that a man holds holy. This is wrong to our whole sex. This is just wrong."
With a sigh, he heard her thumping around in the bathroom before she came back out. "Oh, would you just shut up? A little makeup isn't going to kill you. I'll just cover the bruise and then we can go out. I'm warning you, if I don't get my ice cream, my PMS is going to rage far out of control and you'll be the first one that I unleash all this anger on, all right? Now sit up and stop acting like a pouting child." The fierceness in her voice made him sit up quickly, putting his hands in his lap.
"Wow, I can tell that the next few days are going to be fun," Austin mumbled before shouting out in pain. "Hey, no throwing eyeshadow at me. I'm only the cameraman for this."
"And if anyone ever sees this, I swear, I'll kill you. I can't believe I'm actually letting this happen. I can't believe that I'm going to let you put makeup on my face. Yeah, sure, I do it for photo shoots and everything, but to go down for ice cream?" She raised a tube of mascara threateningly. "You're not putting that on me, are you?" he asked.
Her eyes rolled as she dug through the container of makeup. "Of course not. It's just in the box. Gee, have a little faith in me. It's not like I'm putting you in front of a firing squad. I'm just...putting some makeup on a guy." She couldn't hold back her laughter anymore, and she bent her head down, giggling fiercely. "Oh, this is going to be something to share with the grand children. This is too funny."
JC looked at her like she was crazy, but her laughter was infectious, and soon, all three of them were laughing. "Can we just get this over with? I'm not exactly having the time of my life right now." She smiled and continued digging around until she had a fair amount of containers and tubes in front of her. "You're using all of that?"
"No, I'm making sure that I have something in your skin tone." When she saw his confused face, she chuckled again. "Honey, you don't want to go around with a huge pale mark on your cheek, do you? No, I didn't think so. I have to make sure that I have something that won't show up all that much. Men are so clueless sometimes." Once she had everything settled, and she had started, he sighed impatiently. Without missing a beat, she used a tube of hand lotion from the container to hit him over the head. "Stop it, would you? I'm having fun. You know, you'd look pretty good with that purple eyeshadow I have."
He closed his eyes and prayed for strength. "I have never been so embarrassed in my life. This is stupid. New York, are you almost done?"
She pulled away from him and smiled, holding up a hand mirror. "Check it out for yourself. It's like nothing was ever there." She grinned, proud of her work, as she started to put away all of her stuff. "You should just be lucky that I know enough about this stuff to do it. It would have looked worse if I didn't know what I was doing." Sighing, she put her stuff back in the bathroom and stared at him for a moment. "Hm. You could use a little blush, though."
With a smirk, he put down the mirror and rolled his eyes. Austin turned off the video camera, laughing to himself. "You should have seen your face, man. It was like you were dying or something. Brooke looked like she was trying to paint a masterpiece, though. That was priceless, since we know..." he trailed off and looked at her.
"Okay, we all know that I can't draw to save my life, but does that really matter? Like it's such a big accomplishment. So, I'm no Picasso. You've known that for years, now can we please get some ice cream? I'm dying for a waffle cone, and cookies and cream, and...oh, stop me now. This is bad." She headed for the door and looked back when neither man had moved. "Well, come on. Brooklyn's about to get angry," she said in a singsong voice. "And she's starting to talk in third person, and that's always a bad thing."
JC just shook his head as he headed down the stairs with her, trying to forget about the fact that she had put makeup on his face. He had to admit that he couldn't see any bruise, and no one else could, either, but it was the fact that she had put some on him that was bothering him. He also knew that she wasn't going to let this drop for a very, very, long time.
He pulled on his shoes and threw on a jacket, waiting for her to finish. Austin had already went out to start the truck, being designated as the driver for this trip. She finally finished and smiled at him, pulling on her jean jacket. "Believe me, it's going to be worth it," she said, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "This ice cream is like heaven on Earth. I couldn't live without it. Homemade, fresh cones, it's just the best. If they ever decided to merge with a restaurant, I would be the first to tell them that they should join with the diner. I would never leave the place is they did."
Smiling, he opened the door for her, and closed it behind them, making sure it was locked. "New York, when I first met you, you never seemed to leave the diner. You were always there. You need help. Serious help." She hit him on the arm as they headed out. She climbed in the truck, taking the middle seat as JC climbed in after her, shutting the door tightly. "Somehow, I'm not sure that after all you did to me up there is going to be worth an ice cream cone."
The siblings both let their mouths drop open. "He didn't just say that. If I were you, Jace, I would think about protecting whatever part of your body you think is most important and pray for luck. Oh, you better pray, boy, because you will not enjoy what's about to happen to you."
Brooklyn turned to look at him, her eyes flashing. "You DID just say that, didn't you? You just said that you don't think that it'll be worth an ice cream cone." They both heard the growl from deep in her throat, and both men pushed away from her the best they could. She was dangerous right now. "I can't believe that you would say that when I'm near. Don't you even think that you're getting away with this. I'm not saying that I'm going to get you right now. No, not at all, but remember that I will get you back, if it takes my entire life. I will get you back, somehow, and it won't be pretty. You'll most likely hate me after I'm done, but you just offended my livelihood. You just offended one of the things that I love most in this world, and you know how important food is to me." Her head shook slowly, her hair falling over her shoulders slightly.
"I'm terrified," he said dryly. Brooklyn hit his arm, hard, smiling when he winced in pain.
"When it happens, don't say that I didn't warn you. Ooh, we're here." She pushed him over when he opened the door, and he just barely got his balance on the ground in time. Brooklyn ran past him to the door and went in, not waiting for either of them. Austin and JC couldn't help but grin and run after her. When they got in, Brooklyn was already at the counter, placing her order. "Thank you," she said politely, grinning.
The men walked up and started to look over the choices. "Hey, Brooke?" Austin asked from where he was standing. She nodded her head towards him, watching with hungry eyes as her cone was being made up. "You...uh...don't mind if I still come for the beginning of the tour, do you? I just thought that I should ask first."
She turned to look at him, and neither one of them saw JC standing off to the side, his eyebrows raised. Silently, he listened, hoping that she would say yes. Hoping that she would let the fight drop. It seemed like they had been on a temporary cease fire, but he didn't know how long that was going to last, or if it was just because he was staying at their place. "I'd like it if you would."
Austin grinned, looping his arm around her shoulders. "After all, us Turner's have to raise a little hell in the beginning."
Tim groaned, throwing down the newspaper. Normally, he bought everything that had Brooklyn's name on it, no matter if it was a tabloid or a magazine. Lately, she had been making news in the teenaged magazines. One was conducting a poll that he wasn't too happy about. There was no mention of him, anywhere in the article, but they wanted to know if the readers thought JC and Brooklyn made a cute couple. "Cute couple my ass. She's mine."
He slammed the magazine shut and turned towards the next. This one was different. While there was mention of JC, like in every other article associated with her, there was a full paged picture of his fiancée. A picture that couldn't begin to show her true beauty. Somehow, the photographer had managed to catch the familiar sparkle in her eye, the gentle smile that seemed to rope every guy in. Somehow, it was Brooklyn. It was the Brooklyn that he knew. The one that he didn't want to lose.
"And everyone thinks that I'm going to lose her to a pop singer. A pop singer that could have millions of women, but he picks my woman. He picked Brooklyn." His eyes moved to look at the CD laying on the table. He had bought it on a whim, wondering what all the hype was about. Now, the copy of No Strings Attached was covered with scratches that he had put there himself.
There was no doubt that he was scared of one thing, and he could admit it to himself. Brooklyn brought him money, would bring him fame, and later, when he had it all, he would leave her. It was as simple as that. The only reason that he had picked her for that was because she was naive when it came to love, when it came to what he was doing. She never thought that anything like this could happen, and she thought that he loved her. "No, I love her...what? Her money. Her fame. Everything that I should have."
Nothing was going to stand in his way of that. Nothing at all. Not a pop singer, not an overprotective brother...nothing. Not even Brooklyn herself. She was nothing but a pawn in the game, one that was going to be taken out of the game by the king. No doubt, the king was himself.
He raised the switcher beside him and changed the CD. Brooklyn's soft but powerful voice started to sing. It was the album that she had released just after they had gotten together. He still remembered that day. When she came running in his apartment, smiling brightly. When she said, "Check this out. I finally finished it. Tell me what you think." The album that she had dedicated to him, "one and only, the man that she loved with all her heart." The album that, in her mind, was instrumental to bringing them closer.
"Stupid, foolish thoughts. That's all she has. Stupid fantasies and foolish thoughts. They have her blinded, thankfully."
There were so many things about them that she believed in. She believed that their song was "Not A Moment Too Soon," by Tim McGraw. She believed that he loved her with all his heart and soul. She believed that now they were going to get married, they could live happily ever after.
What she didn't understand was that nothing ever ends happily ever after. It was something that he was going to have to teach her. Nothing was like a fairytale, as much as she wanted to believe it. To him, they didn't have a song. To him, he didn't love her at all. To him, they wouldn't live happily ever after.
"Who says that both of us have to live at all?" he asked himself, a dry grin overcoming his face. "Who says that both of us have to survive. The fairytale has already been changed. The handsome prince isn't getting the beautiful princess. For once, the villain is going to win. For the first time, evil is going to last over goodness, but it definitely won't be happily ever after. Not at all."
With that, he stacked up the magazines, a nice little pile on the table. Ontop, he added the newspaper, and smiled to himself, running his fingers over her CD case. Over her smiling, happy face. "I'm sorry, Brooklyn...NEW YORK, but you're not going to be happy for much longer. Not if I can help it."
"What are you looking at?" JC asked, looking over her shoulder. Brooklyn didn't move her head, just turned the page with a happy, longing sigh. "Uh oh. Wedding stuff. I'm out of here."
She smiled, grabbing onto his wrist. She pulled him down beside her onto the couch and looked at the glossy magazine picture in front of her. "I must have bought every single wedding magazine out there. There's so much that I have to do...I had no idea that it was going to be this hard. The least you can do is give me some honest comments about these dresses. They're gorgeous, but I don't know if they're me."
Leaning back, he moved slightly to look at the photo. "If there's one thing that I learned about you, New York, it's that no matter what you wear, you'll look beautiful. Even those too big track pants and a baggy sweatshirt."
Despite her blush, she smiled. "Yeah, now I know who the charmer is in the group. Although, I have to admit that Lance roped me in with his voice. Oh, shoot. That reminds me that I still have to get a dress for the awards show. Damn it. I can't do this. I have so little time on my hands and I have so much to plan."
"Why don't you let Tim plan the wedding while you're on your tour?"
She made a face at that. "I would do that...if I wanted to get married in the local McDonald's and share a McFlurry instead of a piece of cake. Dream on, JC. I have plans to have a huge ceremony in a beautiful church, lots of flowers and crying, followed by an awesome reception with lots of music that I don't have to sing." She sighed again, humming the wedding march to herself. "Unless, of course, someone wants to stand up and sing for me." She elbowed him with a laugh.
He rolled his eyes, reached for another one of the magazines by her feet. "Earlier today, you were putting makeup on me. Now, I'm looking through a wedding magazine. Oh, the things that I do for you." She smiled again. "Sing at your wedding? I don't think so. I'm going to enjoy myself and maybe steal the bride for a dance, if it's allowed."
"It's definitely allowed. I'd be upset if you didn't dance with me that night. Great, now I have to find a DJ for the party." He turned the page and looked at a selection of bridesmaid's dresses. "I know that I'm going to have to convince Tim...not my Tim, idiot, to sing our song. I'm sure that he wouldn't mind."
"Who wouldn't do anything for you?" he asked softly, his eyes catching an article about wedding cakes. "These people have far too much time on their hands. So, have you decided who the bridesmaid's are going to be?"
She nodded, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Yeah. I want my publicist to be one, Alyssa to be one, and one of the members of my band. Maybe Faith Hill, too. I would love her to be one of them. Knowing her, she'd be the one to stop me from crying."
"What, she would give you words of encouragement?"
"More like make me laugh so hard I can't get my vows out. She's known for doing stuff like that." She giggled to herself. "I already know what I want the bridesmaid's to wear, if they want, of course, but it's my dress that I'm stuck on. The wedding is going to happen in the summer, so I want something sleeveless, but...damn, this is hard."
He took the magazine out of her hands and smiled as he threw it on the table. "New York, do me a favor. Stop worrying about it tonight. Why don't you and I go make some popcorn and put in one of those sappy movies that you like so much. It'll take your mind off of things."
Smiling, she stood up, tugging him up with her. "Thanks, JC. I don't know what I'd do without you."
As she walked out of the room, he sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "Yeah, I don't know what I'd do without you, either, but I suppose I'll find out sooner or later."
Chapter Fifteen
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