Falling Apart©
By
Meg Galganowicz
(Next
Day)
Justin and Lance knocked hesitantly on the door, glancing around the hallway as if they expected eleven-year-olds to come running at them. They had convinced Wes and Tony to stay down with the car while they hung out upstairs. When no one came to the door Justin tried again, this time leaning his ear up to it to listen. A small grin crossed his lips and he chuckled moments before the door opened.
“Britney fan, huh? I might be able to hook you up.”
“Justin!”
Lance couldn’t hold back the
smile that tugged at his lips as he watched the pair embrace. Her hair was definitely darker and a bit red
as he studied her, all of it pulled back in a ponytail. She was wearing a pair of comfortable
elastic pants that he would have guessed were for dancing, as well as a small
shirt that had the arms ripped off that covered a sports bra.
“Damn girl, you’re all
sweaty!” Justin exclaimed.
She laughed and motioned for
them to come in. “Get your butts in
here. Where’s the big guys?”
“Downstairs.” Lance stepped back when she moved to hug
him, “Am I gonna get all sweaty too?”
“Yes!” She dove at him, laughing. “I haven’t seen
you guys in so long.” Her hand went to
his cheek. “I feel like a grandmother
here but damn you both looked like you’ve grown up.”
They both smiled warmly at
her, “Same to you. What’s with the
outfit?”
“I was just running through
some stuff.” There was a bark from the
back of the apartment somewhere and she rolled her eyes. “Hang on.”
The next thing Justin new a
ball of energy was jumping at his legs and barking excitedly. He bent down and began scratching him behind
the ears avidly, a boyish expression drawing over his face as though a doorway
had been opened to a forgotten time.
“When did you get this little guy?”
“About two weeks after I
moved in. It was too quiet around here
after…I just needed some company.”
“After what?” Lance asked,
hoping it wasn’t a bad question.
Aly looked at him
carefully. “After I went out with
Riley. But this little guy is there every second, aren’t you sweetheart?” she
asked, crouching down closer to him.
The chocolate lab puppy yelped and bounded over to her, slobbering her
with kisses and knocking her to the ground.
“What’s his name?”
“Her name is um…damn it you guys are gonna make fun of me now.”
“No we won’t, come on Aly we
need to know what to call this little lady,” Justin teased, pulling the dog
into his lap as me made himself at home on the floor.
“Fine, hr name is Aurora.”
“Why would we make fun of
you for that?” Lance questioned, obviously confused.
“She used to call JC
‘Sleeping Beauty’,” Justin replied, a knowing smile on his face.
Aly swallowed under his
gaze, surprised he remembered, and stood up.
“You guys want anything to drink, eat, anything? I’m gonna grab a soda.”
“Anything is fine,
thanks.” Justin nodded with Lance’s
request and they watched her busy herself in the small kitchen area before
motioning for them to join her in the living room.
“Back to my original
question, you a Britney fan now?”
She laughed lightly and
nodded, “How could I not be, she puts out some incredible songs to dance
to. Not to mention she’s a hard worker
and she’s got you around her pinky.”
The smile on his face gave
him away even if she hadn’t been following the news. There was something in his eye that was both warm and protective
in the same light. “I’m glad to see
you’re happy,” she added with a wink.
Justin looked down and Lance
laughed at his bashful expression. “He
is very happy. It’s good though, because Fe – that’s Brit’s
assistant and close friend – and I were ready to lock them in a room very
soon.”
“And how about you, Mr.
Bass. Any prospectus?”
“Yes!” Justin yelled, his
trademark grin torturing their friend.
“They just haven’t gotten there yet.”
“Oh really, what’s the
dish?” She popped the top of her soda
and leaned forward on the couch, her legs cross Indian style.
“My friend Laura is I’m
assuming who he’s talking about. But
he’s totally off base.”
“Oh, totally,” Justin echoed in a Valley Girl tone. “They are headed for something, I just know it.”
“If it happens then it will
probably be for the better. She was the
really nice blonde that I met once isn’t she?”
“Yeah, you probably talked
to her on the phone, too.”
“Yes, she was great. Definitely like her.”
“So….what are you up to
tonight?” Justin asked.
“Um, a date actually.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Hot date?
Who’s the lucky guy?”
Aly giggled and leaned her
head on Lance’s shoulder as he sat beside her.
Justin was seated with Aurora on the chair across from them. “His name is Ron and he’s a police officer
in Tampa.”
“You’re dating a cop from
Tampa? How often do you see each
other?”
“What is this, twenty
questions? We aren’t dating. We are having dinner tonight as a kind of
‘see how things go’ type of deal. First
dates suck for the most part so I’m a bit anxious. That’s why I was dancing
earlier.”
“How’d you two meet?” Lance
asked casually.
“He pulled me over the other
day, I got a speeding ticket.”
Justin burst out laughing,
soon accompanied by his bandmate.
“You’re going out with a cop who picked you up while giving you a
ticket? Sexy, that is just
priceless…definitely one for the books.”
“Yeah, well…I wanted to get
out.”
“So come to the
concert! We can put you in VIP. Britney is actually going to be here coz
she’s visiting me at the moment. You
two could hang out and then come with a couple of us who were gonna catch a
club afterward.”
Aly looked surprised. “She’s here?”
He nodded eagerly, “I can
share for awhile.”
She thought for a moment,
taking in their pleading expressions.
It was precious and she would love the chance to see the other three
again. After getting up and going into
the other room she left them by themselves for several minutes.
“Where’d she go?” Justin asked.
Lance craned his neck and
looked around. “In the bedroom, I think
she’s on the phone.”
“Sweet.” Justin sat back with a satisfied grin
stretching his face.
“All set boys. When do we leave?” Aly asked, walking back
in.
“That’s it? You just canceled on poor Ron? He could be heartbroken!” Lance scolded,
standing up as Justin did so – holding the puppy.
Aly rolled her eyes, “He
actually was glad because it let him catch a night out with some buddies. No heartache there, Lance. Now, let me take a shower and put on
something. Are we clubbing or is that
just a random thought you tossed out there?” she questioned, arms crossed as
she looked expectantly at Justin.
“Definitely clubbing for
Joey and Lance.”
“Good, that’ll be some fun
dancing then. I’ll grab something and
be out in fifteen.” She wandered off
and they settled in on the couch to wait.
“You sure you’re okay with
‘C being there?” Lance asked. “He might
want to come with us.”
She poked her head around
the corner, her hair down now. “I’m not
trying to run from him. Our paths
hadn’t crossed until now.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The concert went off without
a hitch and Aly was able to meet them at a club in the city afterward, sharing
a ride with her new friend. She and
Britney had clicked and enjoyed watching the concert together, sharing
different gossip stories on the group.
They wandered into the club after being admitted and glanced around.
“Come on, if we don’t get
out of this main area we’re dead,” she explained as she took Aly by the hand
and dragged her to a secluded and watched set of tables in the back
corner. “Here we are. Looks like they beat us.”
“How the hell did they
manage that one? Pardon my French but
that’s impossible.”
“You can’t speak French,
Alison, and anything is possible,”
whispered a voice into her ear.
“Joe!” she shrieked,
flipping around and hugging him. “Damn
boy you look good tonight.”
“Not so bad yourself. Give us a spin!” he teased.
Aly obliged, raising her
arms up and slowly turning around with a sway of her hips. She had on a pair of fitted black pants that
were low cut, showing off her lower stomach muscles. A partially see-through black top that hung down past her waist
currently covered the top she had chosen.
She slipped it down past her shoulders to show off the strapless, purple
top that hugged her perfectly and laughed at his aghast expression.
“You walked out of your apartment
like that?”
“There a problem Joe?”
“Um, no, I guess not.”
“Good, care to dance? I’m starting to get an itch in my
heel.” Her devious grin was too much
for him and they made their way into the thick of the crowd, the heavy
beat.
Joey shook his head as he
found that JC’s former girlfriend as giving him a run for his money before
glancing toward their tables to find Chris with his mouth hanging open. “I think you have a fan club forming!” he
yelled at her.
Aly shrugged and continued
to dance with him, unaware of just who was the president of the fan club.