"Star, darling, is that you?"
"Yes, maman," she answered as she made her way into the parlor, where her mother was sitting.
"If you're hungry, I made some chicken salad. I know it's not as delicious as Greta's," her mother said, referring to their cook/housekeeper, "but it's still pretty good."
"Oh, I'm not hungry. I had a bagel at the cafe."
"Okay, dear. If you get hungry later on you know where it is."
"Yes, maman." Starla gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek before dashing into her bedroom. It was one of the few places that actually brought her a feeling of comfort. She adored her room.
After her sixteenth birthday her parents had tried to convince her to let this exremely expensive interior designer redo her room. "He's the best in the business," her father had told her. "Everyone tries to get him and only a few succeed. You should feel privileged that he's agreed to design your room." Starla adamantly refused though. She loved the room just the way it was. The plush white carpet made it feel as though you weren't walking at all, but floating, and there was nothing more heavenly then lying down on the beautiful pink canopy bed with it's silky sheets and soft, warm comforter. The shelves in her room were adorned with dainty, crystal figurines, most of which were ballerinas. And while she had all of the most up-to-date electronics her room still managed to have a slightly old-fashioned look.
As Starla picked her brush up off of the vanity table to brush her silky hair, something reflected off of the oval mirror and caught her attention. She walked over to her bed and her eyes spotted a gorgeous, new dress lying primly on top of it. She groaned inwardly before calling out, "Maman, what is this dress doing on my bed?"
"Oh, darling, I completely forgot to tell you!" her mother said as she rushed into the room. "After you left this morning your father got a call from Bill Hawkins, Leslie's father. She's having her eighteenth birthday party tonight and you've been invited. I wasn't sure you'd want to go, seeing how last minute the invitation was, but your father told Bill that you'd be there. The party's at six so you have just enough time to get ready."
"Do I have to go? Couldn't we just tell them that I suddenly got sick or something." Starla couldn't stand Leslie Hawkins or the group she hung out with. They were all such snobs. She was probably only invited because their father's knew each other. That would explain the lateness of the invitation.
"It would be extremely rude not to go. Especially since your father already said you'd be there. But cheer up. It should be lots of fun. They've even hired Leslie's favorite group to perform at the party. And, from what I've heard, it wasn't easy booking them. They're quite famous."
"Okay, I'd better get ready for the party then," Starla sighed, defeated. It was nice of her mother to try and cheer her up but Starla really doubted that she'd have fun, famous group or no famous group.
"Yeah, well at least one of us does," he shot back.
"You better be nice or I'll jump on the next plane out of here," she told him, unable to hide the smile that touched her beautiful face. She was so happy to finally be back with Justin. She'd missed him so much.
"You'd better not because then I'd have to go chase you down and bring you back," he told her as he wrapped his strong arms around her and kissed her lightly, revelling in the sweet taste of her lips, which he'd missed so much these past few months.
Chasity sighed contentedly and ran her hands lovingly through Justin's hair, which she thought was one of his best features. "So, tell me again why you have to get all dressed up."
"We're playing at some birthday party tonight and it's a formal affair."
"A birthday party?" she asked doubtfully. "I thought you quit doing those a long time ago."
"Yeah, well, we did. Management thinks it'll be a good experience for us, though. They man throwing the party is one of the richest, most influential men in NY and I guess Johnny wants to make sure we don't get on his bad side."
"So how old is the girl? 12?"
"How do you know the birthday party is for a girl?"
"Well, I can't really imagine a boy asking his parents to book N*Sync for his party. Besides, the majority of your fans are girls."
"Well, you're half-right and half-wrong. The birthday party is for a girl but I think Johnny told us she was in her late teens."
"You better behave yourself at the party," Chasity teased, picturing him in the midst of a flock of teenage girls.
"Of course I will," Justin replied with a lopsided grin. "And you'll be there to make sure I'm not bad."
"What?!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide with alarm. "I can't go to the party!"
"Of course you can.....and you will."
"Was I invited?"
"Well....not exactly. But I'm sure they won't mind."
"I'm sure they will mind," Chasity muttered under her breath. Since she and Justin didn't keep their relationship a secret, she was almost always in the public eye. While some fans didn't mind that Justin was no longer single there were twice as many fans who did. And they made sure she knew that she wasn't welcome, too.
"C'mon, Chasity, please go......for me," Justin begged.
"Okay," she finally relented, "but I better start getting ready. You didn't exactly give me much notice, you know."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Aww, you look so grown-up," Chasity teased, rumpling Justin's curly hair. He was dressed much more formal than usual in a pair of blue slacks, a white dress shirt, a blue jacket, and, for the finishing touches, a blue tie.
