(Friday night)
Jen had talked to Ashlee right after she had gotten off of the phone with Justin, and Ashlee was excited to get back out to Orlando to see the guys. It seemed to be weekly visits, and she did not mind it at all. The girls were packing their bags for tomorrow morning, they had planned on leaving early and surprising the guys with breakfast. Jen had filled Ashlee in completely on what was going on with Justin, and Ashlee just listened and nodded, she couldn’t be happier for her friend.
“OK, so we are gonna spend the night there on Saturday, so we’ll drive back on Sunday ok? You have clothes and hair stuff and whatever right? It’ll be nice to get outta the dorm for the weekend right?” Jen said, babbling on. Ashlee looked up at her and smiled at her friend’s nervousness.
“Jen, girl, relax please. You make it sound like it’s not ok with me. The guys are cool and you have SOMETHIN going on with Justin, so just chill out and let everything happen ok? Spending the weekend will be lovely, I won’t have to wear shower shoes in the bathroom either!” Ashlee replied, comforting her friend.
Jen smiled at her and nodded, then zipped up her bag and threw it on the floor. Ashlee finished up with her packing also, and tossed it next to Jen’s bag. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The girls looked at each other questioningly; they were not expecting anyone to stop by. Ashlee jogged over to the door and yanked it open.
“Emily! Oh my GOSH! Girl what’s up?” Ashlee shouted, hugging the girl outside the door. Jen looks over curiously; she doesn’t know anyone named Emily. Ashlee turns around and sees Jen’s reaction and pulls Emily into the room.
“Jen, this is my best friend from home, Emily. Emily, this is my best friend at school, my roommate Jen,” Ashlee said as she introduced the two.
Jen shook Emily’s hand and took in her appearance. Emily is a little bit shorter than Jen, and has fire red hair that spirals halfway down her back in gorgeous ringlets. She has these warm green eyes that sparkle when she talks, and a few freckles that touch her cheeks. Emily spins back around and looks at Ashlee and giggles.
“I came to surprise you! You know that Orlando is pretty close and I have barely talked to ya girl!” Emily exclaimed. Ashlee laughed and Jen just stood there, kind of out of place.
“Actually, we are going away this weekend…” Ashlee explained. Emily’s eyebrow raised in question as she looked to Jen, then back to Ashlee.
“Where to?” she asked casually. Ashlee glanced quickly to Jen, and Jen hurriedly shook her head ‘no’ barely visible to anyone who would be in the room.
“This dorm thing that we have to do, its over this weekend,” Ashlee lied, and Emily looked like she bought it.
“Well, that sucks. Here I think I am doing something exciting and all and now I have to turn around and go back to Orlando.”
“Actually, we are heading to Orlando too,” Ashlee added in. Jen winced; Ashlee probably should not have said that. Emily’s eyes light up and she turned and looked back towards Jen.
“Where in Orlando?” she asked Jen.
“To record studios and stuff, we have a new radio station for the dorm and we get to interview celeb’s and record their voices and stuff to promote the station. Me and Ash are in charge of the whole thing, so we get to go talk to Orlando’s hottest stars..” Jen explained, at least there was some truth in it. They were going to talk to celebrity music stars.
“Like, *NSYNC?!” she asked excitedly. Jen’s eyes widened to saucers.
“Ashlee?? You are going to talk to *NSYNC and you didn’t tell your best friend who has been crushing on Justin ever since he was on MMC?” she squealed. Ashlee looked down to the ground and avoided her friends eyes.
“Well…we aren’t really supposed to talk about it…and I WAS going to call you when we got to Orlando…” Ashlee tried to cover up. Emily’s eyes twinkled as she looked over to Jen.
“You an *NSYNC fan? I bet you don’t know as much as Lee and me do over here…” she said, bragging. Jen smiled politely, if the girl ONLY KNEW.
“Well, ya never know I guess. I am a huge fan of theirs though. Seeing them this weekend will be nice,” Jen replied evenly; there was no need to rile the girl up any more.
“Who is your favorite?” she asked, still pressing. Jen laughed and shrugged her shoulders; she liked them all. Ashlee looked over and watched Jen's reaction for any signs of daydreaming, but the girl was on top of things.
“I like them all, they are so unique. If I had to pick, I guess Justin, since he is the closest to my age and all..” Jen answered. Emily seemed satisfied with that answer, so she turned back to Ashlee.
“So show me the room girl!” she said looking around, spotting the NSYNC poster on the ceiling. She then spied the Justin poster above Jen’s bed and flipped out.
“That’s…Justin. There is a message on there girl! Can I read it?” she asked, already climbing the ladder. Jen shrugged and let her, there was nothing too incriminating on it.
Emily read it and covered her mouth in shock. Jen noticed and looked over at Ashlee, who just shrugged in apology. Emily then climbed back down and looked at Jen.
“How many times have you met them? I am so jealous! I LIVE in Orlando and I have only seen Lance driving his car once. You are one lucky girl!” she exclaimed with a huge smile on his face.
“Quite a few times actually, they are really nice. Justin is sweet, but cocky as hell. JC acts like the big brother and the father, Lance is quiet but always has quick wit and holds his own, Joey is loveable and the biggest flirt you will meet, and Chris is just plain crazy. They are fun to be around..” Jen explained, getting that far away look in her face. Emily studied her closely, then smiled at her reaction.
“Girl, you got it as bad as Ashlee, and me,” she said, getting into Jen’s face. Jen smirked and Ashlee once again jumped into the conversation.
“We should prolly get to sleep, we have a long ride tomorrow and a busy day ahead of us. We can watch some movies or something, and then we’ll all hit the road tomorrow bright and early, sound good?” Ashlee suggested. Jen smiled and nodded, and Emily did the same.
“I need a shower though, I wanna smell decent for tomorrow,” Jen said, and grabbed her towel and shower tote and headed on out to the bathroom. Ashlee jumped up and grabbed her stuff too.
“I am going to do the same, what would the guys think if I smelled badly?” she exclaimed and started to walk out. She stopped and then turned around.
“Make yourself at home, we’ll be back quick!” she added and then closed the door.
“Don’t mind if I do…” Emily said after the door closed.
She started looking around the room, at the pictures Ashlee had up over her desk and at the photo albums and yearbook’s that lined the shelves. She then looked across the room over towards Jen’s side. Curiosity got the best of her as she wandered over to Jen’s desk with a determined face. She looks at the pictures and down onto her desk, seeing people who must be friends from Jen’s hometown. She glanced at her computer and saw nothing special. She was about to walk away from the desk when an open drawer caught her eye. She looked back towards the closed door and opened the drawer a little more. She pulled out a black and white picture of Jen and the guys and her mouth dropped open. She stared at it, and then at all of their faces. The picture seemed to be more than just meeting; it seemed as if they were…friends. Suddenly the doorknob starts to turn and Emily tossed the picture back into the drawer and plopped down onto the futon, grabbing her bag and pretending to rifle through it.
“That was a niiiiiiice shower,” Jen said as she put her shower tote into the closet and changed into her pajamas quickly. Emily looked up from her bag and smiled.
“I bet…so do you know where you are going tomorrow? Is there any way I can possibly tag along?” she asked, hopeful. Jen looked over at her as she pulled the towel off of her head.
“I am really sorry Emily, but I don’t think so. The people at the studios know that only two of us are going, so bringing a third person would be very unprofessional of us…I am so sorry,” Jen said apologetically. Emily nodded and smiled brightly.
“It’s ok, no worries! So, what movie should we watch tonight?” she asked, totally changing the subject. Jen smiled at her and shrugged. She liked the girl already.
“I dunno, but lets pick something quick before Ashlee gets back in here…let’s watch something funny…” Jen suggested, going through her tapes. Emily jumped next to her on the floor as they searched the movie collection. The girls decided on “Bulletproof” and put it in the VCR. They jumped back onto the futon laughing when Ashlee walked into the room.
“Took ya long enough..” Emily snickered as Ashlee threw on shorts and a T-shirt.
“Whatever…what movie did you two goofballs throw in? I knew I shouldn’t have left you two together, jeez,” she replied, plopping down onto the beanbag.
Jen pressed play and the girls watched the movie, laughing and talking about random scenes. They all got to relax, but each of them had their mind on something else. Ashlee was excited about the weekend, but feeling kind of guilty that she lied to her best friend about it. Emily was glad to be visiting Ashlee, but knew that Jen was hiding something, and she bet her life it was about *NSYNC. Jen on the other hand had thoughts racing a mile a minute.
I get to see Justin tomorrow…I bet it will be weird. These butterflies need to stop; the boy is my best friend. The other guys…I wonder if they are going to tease us? Who am I kidding, of course they will…Emily seems nice. A little obsessive, but hey I would be too if I didn’t know them. She seems like a good friend, I wish I could get to know her better now, but my estranged love life calls. Love life and Justin in the same sentence…who would have thought?
“Jen…girl, is it more fun out where you are?” Emily asked, smiling. Jen shook herself out of her trance and smiled right back.
“Actually…nah, I am better here in the real world,” she answered, getting off the futon. The movie ended and Ashlee shut off the TV. They pulled the futon out so Emily could sleep on it, and Jen got the lights. Ashlee and Jen climbed up into their beds and set their alarms.
“Good night y’all..” Jen said as she rolled over. All of the sudden, the phone rang. Since the girls were up in their bed, Emily offered to grab the phone.
“Hello?” she asked, glancing at the clock.
“Hey, is this Ashlee? Is Jen there sweetie?” a voice asked. It sounded so familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.
“No, its not and yes she is. Can I ask who’s calling?” Emily said, wanting to hear the voice a little bit more.
“Sure thang, tell her its Stin,” he replied, wondering who else would be answering their phone. Emily stood up and handed the phone over to Jen, who was hanging over the bed wondering who it was.
“It’s a guy named Stin…” Emily said, handing her the phone. Jen’s eyes went wide and she took the phone and turned over, speaking quietly into the phone. Emily turned around and glanced at Ashlee, who had an enormous smile on her face.
“Boyfriend?” she asked, very curious.
“Hopefully soon…” Ashlee replied, rolling over onto her stomach. Emily nodded and laid down on the futon, wondering where she had heard that voice from before, determined to pinpoint the owner.
