Eighteen:
True to their word, both Chris and JC seemed to be constantly on the phone over the next couple of weeks. Chris had taken to leaving Stacy crazy messages at all hours and JC called Sarah at the same time every morning, which started her day off right. Stacy was constantly in search of a better job, a real job, and Sarah was trying desperately to balance work and college. Of course they also spent a lot of time watching MTV and gushing to one another about how hot their men looked.
Of course, they werent always so happy, especially Sarah. Sometimes thinking about JC would bring her to tears. She missed him. She wanted, no needed, to be with him. Luckily, Stacy was there to lift her spirits, and JC was always doing little things like sending her flowers and candy and cute little stuffed animals and ten page long letters about how much he missed her. Stacy also got her fair share of flowers and stuffed toys, and her candy boxes were always half empty because, as the notes said, Chris just knew she would have wanted to share with him. Neither of them knew what she would have done without the other.
Eventually, Sarah was so depressed from missing JC that not even Stacys wild antics or his daily phone calls could help. "Thats it," Stacy said, grabbing Sarahs phone as her friend cried her way through their latest video. Stacy waited for the answer and just as she was about to give up a voice came on the line. Stacy sighed in relief. "Gina! I didnt think you were going to answer. Listen, Sarah and I want to come out and see the guys this weekend." Stacy listened for a moment and smiled. "Thats perfect. Thanks! See you then." She hung up and Sarah looked at her in confusion. "Go pack, Sarah. We are leaving in two hours."
"What? But work--"
"I already know youre off until Monday afternoon and so am I."
"And I have classes."
"No you dont, not until Monday night, and I know you already have all your work done. Now move."
Sarahs heart was pounding in a mixture of fear and excitement. She couldnt wait to see Josh, but she was also nervous. What if it wasnt the same? She shook her head and started throwing things into a large duffel bag. Stacy went home to pack, returning on half an hour with her own bag hanging over her shoulder. "Got everything?" she demanded from the doorway.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Good. Come on, cabs waiting to take us to the airport. Theres no way we can afford to leave a car parked there all weekend."
"We cant afford the plane tickets, either," Sarah said, not wanting to fly anyway. She hated flying, she always had, and it had only gotten worse recently.
"We arent paying for the tickets, and wed never make it on time to do anything but turn around if we didnt fly."
They paid the driver and Sarah followed Stacy nervously into the airport. It was almost two hours before they boarded the plane after going through all the security checks, but Sarah wasnt so sure that was long enough. "Nice," Stacy said, taking in their first class surroundings. Sarah nodded absently, clutching the armrests until her knuckles turned white. She prayed until they were in the air and even as peace washed over her, there was still a hint of nervousness.
She was certain the flight would never end. Then the seatbelt sign came on and their descent started. She breathed a sigh of relief when they were safely on the ground.
Gina met them at the airport. She waved vigorously and led them over to a very tall man with sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled low. He carried their bags outside to a rented Jeep Cherokee and smiled. "Im glad to see you made it. Dont forget to tell JC and Chris that they owe me for those tickets," he said.
The women laughed at Justins comment and they drove off. They went by the local arena and dropped Justin off then the three women drove to the hotel. Gina handed out keys. "The guys havent been here yet but their stuff was already brought up. They wont be in until after the show."
"Oh," Sarah said.
"But, we can probably find you a seat somewhere if youd like to go." There was a sound from behind her and all three turned around. Gina smiled and greeted the young woman who had just come out of a room across the hall and Stacy and Sarah just stared. "Hey, Brit. Did you have any trouble?"
"No. Thanks for taking Justin with you. I dont want him to know Im here until tonight. We left my bus at the arena but its hidden around back."
"No problem. Come here a second. Britney, this is Sarah and Stacy."
The pop princess smiled warmly. "Its nice to finally meet you. Ive heard a lot about you but dont worry, I didnt believe all of it." Sarah and Stacy managed a polite hello. Neither was sure what they had thought Britney would be like in person, but they were surprised and pleased to see how nice she was.
"So, Britney, tell me about this new opening act youre going to leave behind while these two go unpack," Gina said, sensing that no one else was quite sure what to do or say next. They walked down the hall to a private lounge and retrieved some drinks while they talked and Sarah opened the door to JCs room as Stacy disappeared inside the one assigned to Chris.
"Catherine?" Britney said. "Oh, youre going to love her to death. Shes really sweet and fun to be around. She demands that everyone she talks to call her Cat, because Catherine is what the world knows her by now that her albums out."
"Thats good. She has an amazing voice. I stole Lances CD a couple times, but he made me give it back." Britney laughed. "Dont tell her that. She would never admit it in a million years but I think she has a little crush on Lance."
"Oh really?" Gina said, a gleam in her eye.
"I know what that look means, girl. Those two better watch out or youll have them engaged by next week."
"Well, Lance deserves someone wonderful. I swear, sometimes we get so desperate we have to go out with each other." Britney got quiet at that. In the brief time she had known Gina, the two had become friends. Justin was afraid there was trouble brewing between Lance, Joey, and Gina, and Britney wasnt sure she disagreed. She just didnt think Justin understood what kind of trouble.
Their conversation was interrupted by voices from the hall outside the lounge and the unmistakable sounds of a baby crying. The door opened and Steve walked in with his brothers girlfriend and baby. "Good, I was hoping you were in here," Steve said to Gina. "You have all the guys keys, right?" She nodded. "Great! I called Kelly and got her to come and bring Briana as a surprise for Joey. Can we have his key?"
"Yeah, no problem," she said, holding out a small envelope. "Ill give Joey his copy later," she said. They left and Britney studied her carefully, not sure if what she saw was good or bad.
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