The gate was 45 and she was standing at 20. " Yeah, that's just like you Vesteva, make me work and be at the last gate." Abby talked to herself. Tossing her head from side to side looking at the numbers near the ceiling, she watched as the odds on one side passed and the evens on the other passed. Gliding her feet across the carpet, she saw a W. Smith store where it held a little bit of food, souvenirs, and magazines that wrapped around the registers.
Stopping off to get herself some M&M's, she waited in line to pay and recognized *NSYNC on the cover of Teen People. Looking at Justin's curls and how he finally cut them eased her mind back to the days, though it also stood as a rock in the pit of her stomach. Recently she received a letter from him, stating how touring has been great though he really wanted to kick back and watch a movie. They barely talk about relationships or the rumors with Justin and Britney Spears. Opening the magazine, her fingers slipped from one page to the other, looking for the cover story on the guys. Her eyes became wider as she felt it coming closer, seeing the word SYNC stand out on the right page.
" Excuse me? It's your turn to pay," The lady at the cashier announced, slipping her hand forward near Abby. Abruptly having her attention brought back into the room, Abby nervously shut the magazine and settled it on the counter. Buying the magazine along with the M&M's, it was all put into a plastic bag and the change and receipt was given along with it.
As she walked out of the store, Abby shook her wrist and peered down at her watch. " Shit! I'm late!", was exclaimed from her mouth. Her feet panted against the floor with loud sounds of breath with her short hair blowing back past her shoulders. Two people walking near the moving sidewalk were about to saunter onto it, as Abby pushed lightly past them with a sad face strolling behind. People whisked by her as her feet moved to the beat of her racing heart.
" Hello? Abby!" A person cried from a far off echo behind her. Not being able to stop herself easily, Abby was clearly near the end of the moving sidewalk before she grasped herself along the railing. Unstable, she turned her body around and began to walk impossibly towards the voice. People looked at her strangely as she breezed by the wrong way. Her legs stretched farther for there was more work involved. Seeing a hand breeze in the air, she slithered her small body through the people and suitcases to find Vesteva leaning against the railing.
" You are such a dork. When I saw you running I just wanted to stick my foot out, but I went with the sudden turn, embarrassment instead." Vesteva smiled with satisfaction.
Wrinkling her nose while she darted her eyebrows, a laugh was discovered within the anger. Reaching out her arms to her best friend, Vesteva giggled as she embraced in a hug. Rubbing her hand against Abby's back, they acknowledged their Miss yous and it's been so longs. Pulling back, Vesteva spoke gruffly, " And girl, where's my welcome gift?"
"Why do I feel like I have done this before?" Deanna sighed to herself, as she tapped her foot against the ugly carpet in the airport. Every time she waited for Emily to get off a plane, it ended up taking forever. Deanna's eyes scanned the exit and eventually laid upon a handsome guy coming off the plane, with Emily tagging alone beside him. She watched Emily struggle with her little suitcase for awhile before the man, who she assumed was Ryan, wrapped his hand around hers and grabbed the suitcase from Emily. "Wow, he's cute and he's sweet." Deanna whispered to herself, smiling as her long-time friend came running up to her.
"Hey!!" Emily screamed, while wrapping her arms around Deanna's shoulders. "How cool is this? A whole week together!" Deanna giggled at the enthusiasm of her friend. After more hugs had been exchanged, Deanna glanced at the guy standing shyly off to the side. He had both hands in his pockets, looking lost, as if he was out of place.
"So you must be the infamous Ryan." Deanna declared, extending her hand out to shake his hand. "You know I've heard so much about you." she told him, dragging out her "so." Ryan's checked flushed, turning a light shade of pink and smiled sheepishly.
"Yea, I guess I am. I've heard a lot about you too. It's so great to get to meet you." Ryan's southern drawl let out. He took Deanna's extended hand and gave it a nice firm shake. The three then made their way to baggage claim to pick up all their luggage. They all swapped their own share of small talk, as the bags came rolling around on the enormous conveyer belt. After about 10 minutes of bags coming out, Ryan announced that the medium sized suitcase was his. As he went over to claim it, Deanna nudged Emily in the stomach. She grunted in pain, then turned to Deanna and smacked her in the back of the head. Replying with a cry of pain, Deanna grabbed her head and rubbed the spot where Emily had hit her.
"What was that for?" she then called towards Emily, who just stood there looking innocent.
"You hit me first." she taunted, acting like a 5 year old who had just gotten in trouble. Deanna rolled her eyes and as silently and quickly as she could, she whispered her previous thoughts about Ryan to Emily. Her blue eyes lit up at the mention of his name, smiling and nodding her head stupidly to show that she agreed. Just then Ryan returned with his suitcase, plus another medium sized black one.
"I saw it come out, so I just grabbed it while I was over there." Ryan explained to Emily, who was reaching out to gain control of her bag. Emily then murmured a little "thank you" to Ryan, standing on her tippy toes to give him a slight kiss on the cheek. Grabbing the top of the suitcase, she snapped the handle out, and tilted the suitcase so it would roll. All three looked at each other to make sure they were ready to go, then set off towards the parking lot.
Selling her old car back in Illinois, Abby used the money that she could receive from that and a bit of left over money to buy a nice though old car down in Boston. Putting Vesteva's baggage in the backseat of the car, she jumped into the front and immediately placed her feet against the dashboard. Looking in the bag from W. Smith that Abby had gotten, Vesteva grabbed the M&M's out and tried ripping the top off. Placing the plastic between her teeth, she yanked her head back sending the many colors plaster all over the car. Glancing around at where they have landed, there wasn't one spot where you couldn't find one.
Covering her mouth, trying not to show a smile Vesteva extended her legs far apart from each other as she looked at the ground in disbelief. Lifting her head back up into place, she peered down to her lap to see a few M&M's settled there. Picking up a red one, she held it between her index and thumb as she looked at Abby. " You can have this, I don't like the red.".
Abby opened her mouth wide as Vesteva eyed her shot and then threw it in. Snapping her mouth shut with the chocolate in there, you can hear her biting and trying to mumble at the same time. " You know, they all taste the same." Abby rolled her eyes while she stuck the key in the ignition.
" You just don't understand M&M's like I do, Abs," Vesteva said as she began to pick them from her lap and drop them in her mouth. Her hair dragged between the seat and her back while her glasses sunk lower and lower down her nose. As her head bowed down so she can push them back up, she spotted the magazine lying upside down in the bag. Pulling it out slowly, she noticed the famous boys on the cover. Watching as the sun reflected off the glossy paper, Vesteva found JC at the side of the group. Putting her finger on the magazine, she traced a finger around his body, then lightly guided it around his face as if she felt his soft skin.
Glimpsing down to see what Vesteva was so quiet about, she gave a slight smile to herself. Breaking in through Vesteva‘s daydream, she knew that they were feeling the same way about the guys. Distracting her, she put her seat belt, crashed her hands on the steering wheel and gave two short honks." Oh, and by the way, when we get home you are cleaning my car or else I'll kick your ass," Abby smiled as she looked the rear view mirror and began to back out.
Vesteva threw the magazine to the back of the car. Putting her feet on the floor, they both heard the crunch of the sound of little chocolate bites being destroyed. Vesteva peered over to Abby who stuck her tongue out, " there goes my two dollars." The both snickered as they made their way to where Vesteva will be spending her week.
All three made their way to Deanna's car, Emily's suitcase making excessive noise on the walkway. When they reached the car, they loaded the trunk up and then all piled in the car. Emily took the front next to Deanna, intending to play catch up with everything she had missed. Ryan filed into the backseat giving the two girls time to talk. He knew that they needed to retrieve lost information about each other. As soon as the car started, Emily flicked the radio on. Unfamiliar with the stations in Boston, she started pushing all types of buttons.
"Try BMN 92.6. It's good." Deanna suggested, indicating Emily frustration with the radio. Emily's fingers turned the little dial, the digits on the screen flying down the scale. As soon as she reached the station, BBMak's Still On Your Side, started blaring through the speakers.
"Ooh. I love this song!" Emily squealed, starting to sing along immediately. Trying not to take her eyes off the road, Deanna slapped her hand over Emily's mouth. Emily easily ripped it off and continued singing, not worrying about what Deanna thought. She stole a glance at Ryan sitting in the backseat, looking lonely. Emily made a mental note to figure out what was wrong. Finally, the car pulled up to a hotel right on campus. After getting everything registered, the three then hauled all the luggage up to Emily and Ryan's room.
"So what do you guys want to do?" Deanna questioned, bouncing up and down on the edge of one of the beds in the room. Emily shrugged, not knowing anything around campus. Deanna peered over a Ryan, who was sitting next to Emily on the other bed, who had the same clueless expression that Emily had. "Hey, what about getting together with my new friend, Abby?"
"You have a friend? Get out of town!!" Emily cried, her voice sounding overly exaggerated. Deanna glared and threw a pillow at Emily, who was cracking up. "I'm just kidding. Jeeze, calm down."
"So do you want to try to do something with her?" Deanna asked again.
Emily and Ryan nodded in agreement, willing to do anything. Deanna picked up the phone and dialed Abby's number, arranging a time and place to meet. They decided on meeting in Abby's room later that evening and then they could decide from there. Hanging up the phone, Deanna glanced over at the couple.
"Wanna go get something to eat?"
Arriving to the dorm building, Abby helped Vesteva with her bags in the back seat. Eyeing the magazine that Vesteva had thrown back there earlier, she unbent the crease on the cover page and stuck it under her arm. Vesteva wheeled one of her bags while Abby held all suitcases in her arms, trying to balance herself against the concrete. The only sounds were the squeaking of the wheels and Abby's moaning for a grasp of help.
Going up the elevator they came to the correct floor, Abby wobbling in the direction to direct Vesteva. Putting down the luggage, she reached to her back pocket in her tight jeans to retrieve the keys for the door. Going inside, Vesteva rolled her case in and the fell back against one of the twin beds. Her room was barely decorated with only a bulletin board with things to remember and a few pictures, and a large Matt Damon poster on her wall. The room breathed the scent of country apples, making Vesteva hungry.
Before they were able to get assembled and organized, the phone rang on her study desk. Abby walked over slowly, tired from her morning, and picked it up with a smile and a hello. A few words were exchanged though unable to understand the conversation if you were only listening to one person.
Hanging up the phone, Abby couldn't get a word out before Vesteva spoke out, " I'm hungry," she said with an emphasis on hungry. Looking at the ceiling, she rubbed her stomach and then patted it to make a drum sound.
" That was a new friend of mine, she's bringing people over her for us to meet and then we can all do something." Abby announced as she walked over to her closet. Taking a suitcase, she threw it in making a loud scrape against the wall and then a thump when it landed on the ground.
" Can we go out to eat?" Vesteva begged. Turning her body around, she brushed her feet against the white walls and hung her head over the side of the bed. Her long hair dragged against the ground while her glasses slid over her forehead.
" You are such a lazy ass," Abby smirked. " Get the hell up and help me clean a little!". Walking over to the bed, she reached over and knocked Vesteva's feet off the wall, sending her head crashing to the ground with her feet right on top of her. Groaning in pain as she laid there for a second, she got up, slapped her butt in Abby's direction, and then began to clear a desk.
" Wow, you're still writing to him?" Vesteva said with a sudden seriousness in her voice. Abby turned quickly knowing who the ‘him' was and rushed over to the desk. Leaving the letter in it's placed, Vesteva held herself up once again and then looked into Abby's eyes. " You know, JC hasn't written in awhile. I don't know, things just changed, ya know? I guess he's just busy.". Vesteva gave out one of those fake laughs while sliding away to one of her suitcases where she got on her knees and began to unpack.
Abby let out a large sigh, disregarding the letter still on the desk. Turning to her c.d. player, Abby put on the radio station as the two cleaned with their heads nodding to the beat.
Deanna knocked twice on the dorm door as Ryan, Emily, and she stood outside. A faint giggle came from inside, before the door swung open. Emily looked in the room, finding herself faced with a room that was almost identical to Deanna's room. Abby's face held a huge smile as she welcomed all three into her room. There was a girl with long, brown hair, black rimmed glasses framing her eyes, sitting on one of the beds in the room. There was also another bed, that was along the wall, not visible from the doorway. Along the other side sat two desks, one holding a computer. Once everyone was in, Abby took the liberty to introduce herself. Offering her hand to shake towards Emily, she announced her name proudly and introduced them to Vesteva. Ves nodded, acknowledging the three new people she just met.
"Well, why don't you three have a seat?" Abby suggested. Everyone scrunched onto the bed, not visible from the door, while Abby found her place next to Vesteva. After a moment of silence, Emily got up to walk to the window, to look at the view she had out of the room. The others were quietly talking, while she looked out over the campus. It still had little patches of snow here and there, but they were muddy and melting. She couldn't help but glance over at Abby's desk where an unfinished letter, was laid out. The letter was addressed to "Justin" on the top. Emily couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach that appeared when she read that name.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't help but noticing. Do you have a boyfriend named Justin?" Emily inquired. Abby shook her head.
"He's not really my boyfriend. Our relationship is complicated. Let's just put it, that I don't get to see him very often. I don't think we were ever really a "couple"." Abby explained. Emily shrugged, walking back over to the bed, where she snuggled up in Ryan's arms. Just then, a strong knock on the door rang out through the room. Abby had walked over to the mirror to fix a clip in her perfect blond hair, so her hands were tied up at the moment.
"Hey Vessie....can you get the door?" Abby rambled, with a clip in her mouth, both hands glued to her hair. Vesteva nodded, and walked over to the door. Checking who it was through the peep whole, Ves's eyes lit up and a huge smile came upon her face.
"Oh my god! What are you doing here?" Vesteva shrieked as she swung the door open as fast as she could.
"To see you silly." a voice rang out. Deanna's ears instantly perked up as she heard the voice. She knew that voice. She knew that voice way too well. Without even looking at the door, Deanna let out a small whimper.
"JC?"