JC kept to his promise and then some. Izzy was so happy she had all but forgotten that she was leaving them. Everyday there was different surprises in store for her and not only from JC, there were ones from the other guys as well. They threw her picnics, small parties, movie nights, special moments, little gifts left for her ever so often, she barely had a moment to think for herself the guys kept her so busy. She seriously was the happiest girl on the planet. The happiest except for the fact that she knew that she had to leave this life that she had come to love and love the people in it. That life that she had pushed away for the last six years, the life and people that were so deeply wedged into her heart that they could never be pulled out. The only way she dealt with her leaving was to believe that she really wasn’t leaving. But everyday the 6th came closer and it became harder to convince herself that she was staying. And inevitably the 6th finally did arrive for her.
Izzy left while the boys were at their performance in Times Square for the today show. She had already said her goodbyes to them and didn’t want to drag it out. Joey and JC had insisted on taking her to the airport, but Izzy told them not to bother. She didn’t know if she could handle that.
She sat in the limo and stared out the window. She missed every one of the guys already; it was literally breaking her heart to leave them. A lonely tear slipped down her face as she thought back on the summer. How she couldn’t stand JC and the jokes they played on each other. The birth of Joey’s daughter, Brianna, the night at the awards show with Lance, Chris’s antics and how he made her laugh till it hurt and Greg’s death. She remembered the trip to the Bahamas and falling in love with JC all over again and the shock when everyone found out about them. She was lost in her memories when she arrived at the airport, the ride seemed really short. Izzy walked in and got in line to check her bag. She was only allowed to take one bag with her to Africa.
While in line a small boy with brown spiky hair ran up to her,
“Hi!” He said waving and Izzy smiled at him,
“Hi yourself.” She replied squatting down to his level, “What’s your name?”
“Josh, what’s yours?”
“Izzy.” The young boy wrinkled his nose,
“That sounds like a sound a bug makes.” Izzy laughed,
“Yeah I guess so.” She glanced around looking for his parents, but saw none.
“Hey Izzy, do you want to hear me sing? I sing really good!” His young clear blue eyes flashed with excitement. Izzy was taken aback for a minute. She wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her. The little boy was a miniature JC.
“Sure sweetie, I would love to hear you sing.” The boy’s face lit up and he broke into a Broadway tune. He was very good and Izzy felt like she was brought back in time and she was actually watching JC as a young child. Tears slowly slipped down her face and the boy stopped,
“Why are you crying? Was I bad?”
“Oh no sweetie, you were just wonderful. You just remind me of someone I love very much.”
“Oh where are they? Are they going with you on your trip?” Izzy shook her head,
“No, they’re not.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going far away to Africa.”
“Is that person you love, there?”
“No, I’m going by myself.”
“My mom says that life isn’t worth living if you can’t have the people you love near.”
“Well your mom is a very smart woman.” Just then a frantic woman came over yelling,
“Joshua! Joshua! Oh sweetie, there you are!” She swooped down and hugged him.
“Hi mom!” He happily cried. The woman and Izzy stood up together. Izzy held out her hand,
“You must be Josh’s mom, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Izzy.” The woman shook her hand,
“Hi, I’m Emily. I turned around for a second and he was gone. I was so worried.”
“Well Josh and I had a good time. He serenaded me.” Emily ruffled Josh’s hair a little,
“That’s our Joshy. Always singing and flirting with the girls. We better go before we miss our flights, it was nice meeting you.”
“You too, bye Josh.” She waved to the young boy as they walked away,
“Bye Izzy!” He waved happily back and Izzy sat back in line once again to check her bags. A familiar tune came over the speaker in the airport. It was Tearing up my heart. She bopped along with it as her heart ached more and more the closer she got the counter. A little voice in her head kept calling to her, ‘Go back.’ It kept getting louder with every step she took. ‘Go back.’ ‘Go back.’ ‘Go back.’ ‘Go back.’ It taunted her till she was the next person in line to check her bags. She looked around wondering if she was making the right decision. The lady at the counter called to her,
“Miss I can take you now.” Izzy didn’t respond, she was listening to the voice in her head it was so loud now and flashes of the little boy came to her, flashes of the guys and of JC. His smile, his voice, his eyes, the song he wrote for her flowed through her ears.
“Miss? Miss!” The attendant called and Izzy made her decision.