Blind Hearts

By: Foxy Lady

Cassie sat in her seat waiting for the plane to take off. She could hear the others around her take their seats. Loving to listen to the sounds of those she could not see, she sat quietly until she felt someone sit beside her. When they made no move to address her, she leaned back. It was definitely a male by the smell of his cologne. She wondered what he looked like? Was it some middle aged investment banker with his gut spilling over his dress pants? Or was it someone younger? Playing this kind of guessing game was one of her favorite things to do. She loved picturing the people around her. Making up faces and lives for them in her head.

Cassie heard footsteps stop near her seat and looked toward the person she felt standing there. "Miss, you will have to buckle your seat belt in preparation for take-off?"

Cassie reached down to find the two ends of her seat belt as she heard the stewardess walk away. However, she could only find one of them. Fumbling around for the other end, she finally gave up. Turning to the man she knew sat next to her, she spoke, "Excuse me, sir?"

The minute Lance sat in his seat he closed his eyes. He was exhausted. The schedule he had been suffering through the last few months was finally hitting him. All he wanted to do was catch a few hours of sleep on the flight back to Orlando. He barely noticed the young woman that sat next to him. At first he had looked over at her to see if she would be a fan that would recognize him, but she sat there quiet.

When the stewardess passed by his seat checking for seat belts, he heard her remind the young woman to fasten hers. A few moments passed as he sat there nearing sleep. When he heard the young woman speak next to him, he shook his head. Oh, boy. Maybe she is a fan. There goes my sleep.

Turning to face her, he took a moment to look at her. She seemed to be in her early twenties with long brown hair. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses which he thought was unusual, but let slide.

"Sir? I am sorry to bother you, but I can't seem to locate the other part of my seat belt. Can you help me?"

It was at those words that Lance realized that the young woman next to him could not see him. Even if she was a fan of the group's music, she wouldn't know it was him next to her. He looked down to find what she was looking for laying on the edge of his seat. Picking it up, he handed it to her. "Here you go, Miss..."

At the sound of his voice, Cassie inwardly groaned. That voice. Definitely belonged to a younger man. Probably somewhere from the south. "Thanks. Could you ...?" She held up the end she held in her hand and motioned towards him.

"Sure. No problem." Buckling her in, he turned to face her. "I'm James."

Holding out her hand, she spoke, "I'm Cassie. Nice to meet you." She felt her hand grasped tightly in the man's hand. "Thanks for your help."

Lance pulled back his hand and studied her. She was actually quite beautiful on closer inspection. "Cassie?"

"Yes?"

Lance shook his head. Knowing what he wanted to ask, but knowing it probably wasn't any of his business. Clearing his throat, he began to speak, "I was wondering..."

Cassie held up her hand. "You want to know how it happened, don't you? How I became blind?"

Before realizing she wouldn't see it, he nodded his head. "Oops, sorry. Yes. If you don't mind telling me that is. I don't want to pry."

As she continued to hear him stumble over his words, she let out a tiny giggle. "It's okay, James. You just asked the first question that almost everyone asks me when they first meet me. I am used to it. I bet you that you have one of those questions too."

Thinking back to the thousands of interviews, he had done over the years for Nsync, he laughed. "Yes, one or two." When she joined in his laughter, he looked over at her. For some reason it made him happy that he could make her laugh.

After a few moments, she composed herself enough to speak. "It was an accident. About three years ago, I was going home with some friends after a party. My friend had no business driving. Well, we crashed. He lost his life and I lost my eyesight."

Lance reached out for her hand taking it in his. "I'm sorry, Cassie."

Cassie made as if she was looking down at his hand. It had been awhile since a man had held her hand. "It's okay. The doctors are hopeful that someday I might recover my sight. There are new treatments and surgeries all of the time."

Noticing how he was still holding onto her hand, he pulled it back. "I hope that it happens for you. I couldn't imagine myself being without my sight."

Cassie nodded turning to face forward in her seat. "Not many people can. It was hard at first, but you learn to adapt. With time, you learn to do the things you did before." Pausing, she lowered her head. "You what I miss the most, though?"

Lance resisted the urge to reach out and touch her arm. "What is that?"

"Sunsets," she whispered. "I used to love to go to the beach near my house and watch the sun as it went into the water."

Lance looked down at his hands. Her voice sounded so sad that it broke his heart. He couldn't imagine not seeing the sun set or rise. "I'm sorry, Cassie."

She shook her head. "Don't be. Like I said I have gotten used to it."

By the expression on her face and tone of her voice, Lance knew she was lying. Not wanting to push her any further though he changed the subject. "What brings you onto this flight?"

Removing her sunglasses, she smiled. "I'm going home. I was away at school."

When she turned to face him, he looked into the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. They were a deep brilliant blue. It amazed him that something so beautiful could prove useless to the person seated next to him. Shaking his head, he realized he was staring. "You live in Orlando?"

"You mean the boy band capitol of the world? Yes, I've lived in Orlando all of my life."

At her mention of the words boy band, Lance's heart sunk. He had hoped she wouldn't be a fan. "Boy bands, huh?"

"Yes, boy bands. Orlando seems to be swarming with them. It must be the water or something." She paused shaking her head. "I honestly don't see what the big deal is. They are talented. I'll even let you in on a little secret,' she whispered.

Lance leaned closer. "What is that, Cass?"

"Before I lost my eyesight, I got to see one of the bands in concert at Disney. Must have been in July of..."

Lance knew of the concert she spoke of. It had been their big break in the states. "1998?"

She nodded her head. Blushing, she continued. " I thought they were pretty cute. Especially the blonde with green eyes."

Looking down at his hands, Lance suppressed a laugh. If she only knew. "I don't really keep up with the boy bands, but that sounds like Nsync."

"Yes. I even bought their latest CD the first day it was out. I'll stop babbling now. You probably don't want to hear about my crush on a boy band." She put her sunglasses back on and turned toward the airplane window. Lance closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat falling asleep in minutes.

Halfway through the flight, she let out a tiny sigh next to him.. He opened his eyes to see her sitting there facing the window. "Bored?"

Not realizing he was awake, she jumped at his words. "I thought you were asleep."

Lance laughed. "I was. I just woke up, so are you bored?"

She nodded sighing again. "Yes, not much for me to do on an airplane. I listened to my CD's for awhile, but that grows old fast." Stopping, she turned towards him. "I told you about my reason for being on this flight, but you haven't told me yours."

Lance looked down at his hands. He knew he should tell her the truth of who he was. Hell, he should have told her when she mentioned the Disney concert. Cassie didn't look like one of those crazed fans that would try and rip his clothes off, but he sort of liked her not knowing. This way he could be himself. Just Lance, and not Lance of Nsync. "I'm a manager. I just started with a few artists, but it is going well."

Smiling, she reached out and touched his arm. "You seem so young to be in management."

Lance looked down at her hand on his arm and was at a loss for words. After a few silent seconds, he shook himself. "How do you know I'm young? I could be a fifty year old man with a beer belly and no hair."

She removed her hand, and sat back. "It is one of those things you pick up on. For example, I can tell you are from the south even though your accent is fading. Your cologne although I don't know the exact one is not something a fifty year old man would wear. You just learn to pick up on the little things."

Running his fingers through his blonde spikes, Lance sat silent. This beautiful girl next to him had the power to cause him to go speechless with the simplest words or touch. It was definitely not something he was used to happening. "Well, you are right. I am from Mississippi, and I just turned twenty-two."

He saw the shocked expression cross her face before she cleared her throat. "I thought you were young, but I was thinking more like late twenties."

Lance laughed. "Well, thanks."

Cassie shook her head. "No, I didn't mean it that way. I meant..."

Lance reached out and grabbed her hand. "I know what you meant, Cassie. It's okay."

For the remainder of the flight, Lance and Cassie talked about everything. From their families to hobbies and music. Cassie told him about how much she hated returning home. Her parents always made her feel like she was useless just because she couldn't see. Being away at school, she had learned to do for herself. Lance told her about how much he missed his family and how he wished he could see them more. By the time, the plane was preparing to land, the two felt very comfortable with each other. They had exchanged phone numbers and emails.

As they stood up to leave the plan, Lance held onto her arm to guide her down the tarmac, but she pulled away. "My parents are waiting for me."

Understanding, Lance stepped behind her. As they stepped from the tunnel, he began looking for a familiar face. He finally spotted Joey standing at the back with one of their bodyguards. Lance wanted to run over to them and make a fast getaway before they were spotted by fans, but he wanted to make sure Cassie was okay first. He stood behind her and waited for a few seconds.

Feeling him still behind her, she turned and kissed him on the cheek. It was totally unexpected and he almost stumbled backwards. "Thank you, James. You made my boring flight a lot more enjoyable. Keep in touch."

Watching her until she was out of sight, he turned and walked towards his friend. "Hey, Joe."

"Hey, Scoop. Enjoy your flight?" Joe had a slight smirk on his face. He had seen the exchange between his friend and the young woman.

Lance sighed. Knowing that his over hormonal friend would not give up until he knew all of the details, he told him about Cassie on the way out of the airport. "She was real nice. Heck, it was nice talking to someone that didn't know it was me."

Nodding his head, Joey remained silent for a moment. "If you continue talking to her, are you going to tell her who you are?"

Lance shook his head. "I know I should have told her it was me. I mean she even admitted having a crush on me."

Joey turned his head from the window of the limo they were riding in. "What? I thought she didn't know it was you."

"She didn't, Joe. We were talking about Orlando being the boy band capitol of the world, and she mentioned she had been at the Disney concert before she lost her sight. She said she thought the blonde with the green eyes was cute."

"Oh, man. This is bad," Joey said. "You basically lied to her by not telling her right then she was talking to you. No matter how you cut it, she will be pissed at you."

Looking down at his hands in his lap, he sighed. "I know." The rest of the ride to their house was riden in silence.

Later that night, Lance lay in his bed thinking of Cassie. He had told the rest of the guys about her, and they all thought he had messed up big by not telling her, but there was nothing he could do now to change it. They might never talk again, and if they did he would deal with telling her then.

As his eyes began to drift closed, a ringing filled the room. He groaned realizing it was his cell phone. Reaching for it, he pressed talk and put it up to his ear. "This better be good," he said.

Their was a moment of silence before the other person spoke. "James?"

It took a second for him to realize the person on the other end of the line was Cassie. "Cass, is that you?"

"Yes," she said with a shaky sigh. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called so late. I woke you up."

Lance sat up in bed leaning against the headboard. "It's okay, Cass. Are you all right?"

"Now I am. I just needed to hear a friendly voice. My parents are driving me nuts. They just went to bed."

He ran his fingers through his hair hating that her parents treated her the way they did. Just by the few short hours they had spent talking on the plane, Lance could tell she was very independent. Her parents treated her like an invalid that could do nothing for herself. "I'm sorry, Cass."

"Thanks, James. I'll let you get some sleep. I'll talk to you again soon."

"Call me anytime, Cass. No matter the time. I'm here for you."

Over the next few months, Lance and Cassie had several late night chats. He even had brought her over to meet the rest of the group which was weird because she still didn't know who he was. All of the members of the group liked her, and felt Lance should just come out and tell her the truth. Lance knew he should tell her, but with each day that passed he dug himself into a deeper and deeper hole. By this point, he had fallen hard for her, and was worried that he would lose her if he told her now.

"Hey, Lance. Is Cassie coming over today?"

Lance looked up to the youngest member of the group standing in the doorway. "Yes, Justin. I told her I would pick her up, but she said she was going to be out and would have someone just drop her off here."

"Okay. Let us know when she gets here." Justin stepped back out of the room.

Cassie was so excited. This was the day she would finally see the man she spoke to on the phone so many nights. James had given her the courage to go ahead and try a new treatment she had heard about. It had been risky, but the results were miraculous. After letting her eyes adjust and heal, she could see. Her eyesight wasn't perfect, but all that mattered was that she could see. She hadn't told James because she wanted it to be a surprise. Now the day had arrived. Sitting in her car outside the gate of a huge house, she let out a low whistle. Cassie knew Lance lived in a big house, but the house before her even surpassed her mental picture of what it looked like. The gate opened after the guard recognized her voice. Driving up the long driveway, she pulled to a stop behind another car.

Cassie stepped out of the car. When she reached up and knocked on the front door she took a deep breath. It was now or never. She heard movement before the door opened. When she looked up at the man standing before her, she let out a small gasp. "You're... you're.. oh my.."

When Justin opened the door, he recognized Cassie and was reaching out to hug her but stopped when he saw her face. "Cassie, are you okay?"

She took a step back shaking her head. "You're Justin Timberlake."

Justin inwardly groaned. He realized that she could see him, and he knew this was going to be very bad. Seeing Josh out of the corner of his eye, he motioned to him. "Hey, C, come here."

Josh stepped up behind him, and looked outside. "Oh, hey, Cassie. James, your girl is here."

"Oh my... this isn't happening."

Josh looked at her concerned. "What's wrong, Cassie?"

She pointed at each of them. "If he is Justin Timberlake and you are JC Chasez, then that means James is... oh my," she whispered as she saw Lance step past Josh. Looking down, she suddenly remembered their first meeting. "You must have thought I was some kind of fool that first day. Here I was gushing about you and the group and you were sitting right next to me. Probably laughing at me the whole time."

Lance reached out to take her hand. "Cassie..."

She pulled back, and looked at him. "I was coming here to surprise you. Well, it looks like I am the one that got the surprise. Good-bye, James. Or should I say, Lance?" Turning on her heal, Cassie walked to her car and drove away.

Over the next three months, Lance moped around depressed at the loss of Cassie. He missed the late night phone calls and cute little emails she would send him. It was all his fault. When they met that first day, he should have just told her who he was. Now he had lost her.

The other four members of the group were at a loss. They had no idea what to do to cheer up their friend. They had tried calling Cassie and talk to her about him, but her number had been changed. Lance didn't even go out with them when they went out clubbing. He always said he had work to do.

This night though he wouldn't be able to avoid going out. They had heard about the opening of a hot new club, and even if they had to drag him kicking and screaming he was going to go. "Lance, you are going tonight and that is it. This club sounds hot. You can't sit here night after night moping. It is time to move on," Justin said leaning on the door jam to Lance's bedroom.

"I know, but Cassie and I just fit though. She knew the real me. Not the one everyone else sees."

A couple of hours later, all five men walked into the club. Each of them went their own ways. Lance and Chris heading to a booth. Joey to the dance floor, and JC and Justin headed straight for the bar. The club was everything they had heard it would be.

Justin sat next to his friend at the bar sipping at his drink when out of the corner of his eye he saw a familiar female. 'Oh, shit, C. Is that who I think it is?" He motioned to the end of the bar where the female stood.

JC looked over and mumbled, "Shit. The first night in months he goes out and she has to be here."

Justin nodded. "It's a big club. Maybe they won't see one another." Just then, Joey came up to them and ordered his own drink. JC and Justin filled him in.

At the end of the bar, Cassie stood talking to one of the bartenders. The club opening was going better than she expected it would. Everyone was having a good time. The bartender motioned towards the other end of the bar. "Looks like we have some celebs that decided to check out the club."

Cassie looked towards where he was pointing and inwardly cursed. The past three months she had done everything possible to avoid seeing the five men, but she knew that once the club opened it would be inevitable. The men loved to party and this club was going to be one of the hottest spots in Orlando to do just that. Watching the three men, she wondered where the other two were. Cassie glanced quickly through the dance floor, she didn't spot them. "I see three of them. Where are the other two?"

The bartender looked down at a clipboard. "Erica sat them at a booth in the VIP section."

"Send a bottle of our best champagne on behalf of the owner, but don't say my name," she said, before turning and walking towards the three at the bar. When she reached the three men, she reached up and tapped the closest one to her on his shoulder. "Hello, boys. Having fun?"

Justin turned and looked down at her. "Hi, Cassie."

JC walked over and gave her a brief hug. "How are you doing?"

Cassie looked down at her hands. "I miss you guys. It is nice to see you again." She didn't know what had possessed her to speak those words. Tonight was her night, but without someone to share it with it didn't mean as much.

"Lance misses you too, Cassie. The past three months have been miserable for him. This was the first night since you left that day that he has gone out with us."

Cassie singled to the bartender, and a few moments later a drink was placed in front of her. As she drank it, she leaned her back against the bar. "Why didn't he tell me who he was then?"

Justin stood next to her. "We told him he should tell you, but he never did. I guess he was worried about you not seeing the real him and only seeing him as Lance Bass of Nsync."

Cassie laughed. "It wouldn't of mattered if my James was the freaking King of Siam. All I knew was the person I talked to night after night. That day when I showed up at the house I was going to thank him for giving me the courage to fight for my eyesight. Because of his love I knew I could do anything."

The four of them stood silent until the silence was broken by the arrival of two more men. "Guess what, guys. the owner sent us a bottle of champagne. The good stuff too," Chris said before noticing the woman with his friends. He looked over at Lance and saw a look of shock plastered on his face.

Cassie looked back at the bartender and another drink was placed by her hand. Reaching for it, she downed it in one gulp. "Well, I guess it is only fair since I know your secret. That you should know mine, right?" Four of the five men nodded. Lance just stood there. "Well, take a good look around. Everything within these four walls. Chris, you say the owner sent you a bottle of their best champagne. Well," she said, as she turned to look at the bartender behind her, "Tony, tell them who the owner of this fine establishment is?"

The bartender stopped wiping down the bar and looked directly at the five men. "Miss Cassie."

Cassie nodded. "That's right. And this isn't the only one. My family owns twenty or thirty more just like it throughout the world, but this one is all mine. The past three months I've been working on every last detail to make this opening perfect. Isn't that right, Tony?"

The bartender looked back at her from the drink he was mixing. "That's right, Cassie." Just then the phone next to the cash register rang. The bartender answered and after a few moments hung it back up. "Your parents just arrived."

Cassie mumbled a curse and finished the drink the bartender had placed in front of her. "Not tonight. This is my night." Turning towards the bar, she motioned towards Tony. "Send them a bottle of the best and sit them in VIP. Have Molly do it."

Another man walked up to the bar and stood behind Cassie. "Hey, Casser."

"Tommy, I thought you were going to keep the units away tonight. You know they will ruin it somehow." Cassie reached up and hugged the man next to her.

"Sorry, sis." The man stepped back and took the drink that had been placed on the bar by the bartender. "You know, dad, sis. Once he gets something in his head..."

"I know," Cassie mumbled. She took a step away from the bar. "Might as well go and see the units. Get it over with." Stopping, she turned to face the guys. "It was nice seeing all of you again."

Before she could walk away, Lance touched her arm. Without looking down, she shook her head, and continued walking. Cassie knew if she turned to look at him, she wouldn't want to leave him again. The day she had driven away from him had been one of the hardest in her life. She couldn't really hate him for not telling her who he was because she hadn't told him she was one of the richest families in Florida. In that respect they were even. Since that day, she had thrown herself into the club.

Walking towards the VIP section, she saw the guys sitting in a booth. Lance caught her eye, and winked. At that, she couldn't help but grin. As she continued walking, she saw her parents sitting in a back booth obviously scowling. "Mom. Dad. I didn't think you would show up here tonight," she said as reached their table.

"We thought we would surprise you, Cassandra," her father said.

"Well, you sure did that," Cassie mumbled.

Her father motioned his hand around. "I see you didn't implement any of the ideas I had for this club."

"No, I didn't, dad. I had my own ideas." Cassie took a step back.

"Cassandra, you will see that my ideas will be better. I'll be here to fix it all when this place fails." Her father stood up followed quickly by her mother. "You will see."

Cassie stood there for a moment in shock. Her father had never spoken to her like that before. Why did he always see her as destined to fail? She watched as her parents walked out of the VIP section to leave the club. Feeling the first tears wanting to fall, she wiped her eyes. They would not ruin this night. They had ruined the rest of her life. From now on, they wouldn't be able to do that anymore.

Lance had watched Cassie talk to her parents and knew they had upset her by the look on her face. Draining the rest of his champagne, he stood up. "Excuse me." He walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. "Cass?"

At the sound of his voice, Cassie turned towards him and whispered, "Why, Lance? Why is he that way?"

Lance reached out and pulled her into his embrace. He knew from their many conversations, how bad her dad was. As far as her father was concerned, she could nothing for herself. If he only knew the truth, but he was blind in that respect. "I don't know, Cass," he whispered in her hair since her head was laying on his chest. "All I know is that whatever he just said it isn't true. You are an intelligent, strong, and independent woman, and this club will be a success. I am sure of it."

Cassie raised her head, and looked into Lance's eyes. "Really?"

Lance nodded, laughing. "Really."

Cassie laughed and lay her head back on his chest. She didn't notice her surroundings. The club had faded away and all she knew was Lance and his arms around her. It felt as if they were supposed to be like this. She had to tell him what she had planned to tell that day all those months ago when she found out who he was. "James," she whispered before raising her head to look at him once again. "I love you. I don't care who you are or what you do. I fell in love with the man that would talk to me half the night on the phone when my parents got to me. The man who made me laugh. The man who gave me the courage to fight for my sight again."

"I love you, too, Cass," Lance said, as he pulled her closer.

A voice interrupted the moment. "It's about damn time," Chris said. Both Lance and Cassie laughed as they turned to see the four other group members next to them. "Now are you going to kiss her, man, or what?"

Lance looked down at Cassie. "What do you think, Cass?"

"Well, I don't know, Lance. We do have an audience here, but..." Cassie was interrupted when Lance's lips touched hers. Now that felt right. She didn't even notice that hoots and hollers of the other men. Her night was now perfect because now she wasn't alone.

The End

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