Falling Apart©
By
Meg Galganowicz
After
several dances Aly placed a kiss on his cheek and nodded back toward the
table. “I’m gonna sit down for a few
minutes!”
He
nodded and grinned back at her, his intention clear to stay on the floor for
awhile longer before taking a break.
She shook her head at her former best friend and wandered back toward
the table, ordering a drink at the bar on her way. Using two fingers on either side she straightened her top,
letting out a content sigh. Her gaze
flitted through the club, the lights flashing occasionally, and saw Justin
dancing with Britney. It was a slow
dance and she envied the comfort they found in each other. Their happiness was so obvious that it
radiated across the room and she looked away.
“Lookin’
good baby girl.”
She
blushed and a small, girlish giggle escaped her lips as she glanced over her
shoulder to find Lance standing behind her.
“That voice is the death of any female, I swear. How you doing tonight?” she asked, giving
him a brief hug before they sat down at one of the booths the group had
reserved. Two large men were standing
by and for once it made her feel better rather than nervous.
“I’m
good. Talked to Laura on the way over
here so I’m good.”
Aly
smiled knowingly, “I always knew you’d find the fairytale – you and Justin
both.”
“Why
not you?”
She
shrugged, “Just not in the cards. I had
my chance but it didn’t work.”
“And…what
if you had a second chance?”
“Don’t
you start trying to set me up, Mr. Bass.”
He
held up his hands in surrender, “Not I.
But don’t think that it won’t happen on it’s own,” he added, standing up
and nodding toward the bar. “I’m gonna
go get something, you want?”
“Nah,
mine’s en route, I’m good.”
“Alright,
I’ll catch you later, Aly.”
She
nodded and smiled, taking the drink that was handed to her just then. Closing her eyes she sat back, resting her
head on the back of the booth, and let the music soak into her senses.
“Mind
if I sit down?”
Her
eyes shot open and she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she stood
up. “Dad.”
At
her soft word he moved over and hugged her tightly, “Damn girl, you disappeared
on me.”
Aly
lay her head on his shoulder and sighed, “I had to, Dad, there wasn’t another
option.”
“I
guess. But you’re doing well now,
right? Justin said you dance?”
She
laughed lightly and bobbed her head from side to side. “Maybe…maybe not.”
“Yeah,
yeah, you were giving Joey trouble out there.
When’d you pick it up?” he asked, stepping back.
“About
a year ago I think. Kaylie pushed me
into it because I needed something that I wasn’t used to, something
different. It’s been a great way to
work out and keep in shape.”
“Still
doing tennis?”
Again
she nodded, “A little here and there.
I’ve been covering for Jake the last week or so because he finally got married and they’re off
honeymooning.”
“Kaylie?”
“Yup!”
“That’s
great! Tell them congrats next time you
talk to them.”
“I
will, I will. I’m presume FuMan is
going very well.”
He
laughed and bounced up and down in place.
“Very well. Ron opened for us a
couple tours ago for awhile and he’s slowly getting up there. Not like Meredith, but I can’t really bring
him to award shows as my date, so…”
Aly
giggled and crossed her arms over her chest comfortably, not noticing the
person watching her from several feet away.
They continued to talk as his eyes ran over her – the hair, the face
shape, and the clothes.
He
scratched the back of his head, “It can’t be.”
The closer he got the more sure he became. Placing a hand on her shoulder gently he questioned the young
woman. “Alison?”
She
turned to him and her face started to glow.
“Hey you.”
Without
thinking he hugged her quickly, holding on for a longer moment than
necessary. “What are you doing here?”
“Lance
and Wonderboy caught me this afternoon at my place and hooked me up with
tickets for the concert. It was great.”
“You
moved out then I take it?” When she
nodded he began to relax. “I’m glad you could make it.”
“I
couldn’t turn down the chance to see the
tour of the summer,” she teased. “Chris
was just telling me how FuMan was doing.”
Chris
pinched the back of her neck causing her to squeal. “Don’t be a tease.”
JC
studied her for a moment as she snapped back and retaliated against his groupmate. Her face seemed to be alight with happiness
he didn’t remember seeing from her the last time they’d gotten together. There wasn’t much make-up on her face, but
just enough to accent the curve of her lips and bring out her eyes some. What caught him by surprise was her
hair. “You changed your hair?”
“Yes,
about two months ago I had it done.”
“It
looks great.”
“Thanks.” She laughed and reached out to put a hand on
his head, her arm reaching upward.
“You’re gonna have as much hair as I do soon.”
“Yeah,
I know. I should cut it soon, huh?”
Aly
giggled at his troubled expression.
“Yeah, I’d say so. Not that it
looks bad, coz you look very…artistic with that ‘do. Just not what I’m used to I guess.”
“Oh,
so you’ll listen to her but not us, I get it,” Justin cut it.
“Of
course.”
“I
have to agree, it does make you look artistic, though,” Britney added.
“You
two certainly were having fun out there,” Aly teased, as she and Britney sat
down, leaving the two men standing, staring at each other.
“Did
I miss something?” JC questioned.
“You
have always missed something, JC, are you going to join us?”
JC
smiled at Britney and scruffed her hair lightly before taking a seat beside Aly
uncertainly. “I figure we shouldn’t try
to split them up,” he whispered to her, “otherwise we might have to deal with
Justin whining.”
She
chuckled and leaned back, not noticing that his arm was behind her at the
time. “I still never understood how
y’all can go clubbin’ for hours after a concert like that.”
“You
just get such an adrenaline rush from being up there that it takes awhile to
slow down anyway,” Britney informed.
Aly
nodded, glancing at JC out of the corner of her eye. His presence was dominating her at the moment and she hadn’t
expected that feeling to come back. To
her dismay he caught her gaze and smiled.
She immediately felt like she was in high school and turned her
attention back to the couple across the table.
They were otherwise occupied.
She was trapped.
“Care
to dance?”
Swallowing
her nerves she nodded and took his hand as he led her through the crowd to a
spot halfway across the large room. Her
eyes jumped up to his face when his hands rested on her waist.
“I’m
not gonna bite, Aly.” His breath
tickled her ear and she laughed shyly, finally leaning into him. JC took initiative, somehow, to pull her
arms gently up to rest around his shoulders.
By the end of the song they were almost as close as they could get, the
familiar sounds of Enrique Iglesias in the background. A faster, upbeat song brought the club back
to life after the slow one and Aly looked up at him. Instead of the nervous expression he anticipated she wore one of
challenge.
“Can
you keep up?”
“I
don’t see why not.” JC pulled her waist
even closer as a song by Pink blasted through their veins.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He
stood away from the group, leaning against the wall, while she looked at the
photos in everyone’s wallets. It came
to Joey and he saw the hesitation on his friend’s face.
“Come
on, Joe. I want to see what this
beautiful little girl of your looks like.”
“Fine,
just stop pouting!” He handed it to her
across the table and laughed as she quickly found the hiding place for his
pictures.
“Steve…Momma
Fatone…Kelly?” When he nodded, she continued
looking. “Oh, Joe…my God, she’s
adorable.”
“She’s
going to be a little devil if she hangs around Lance much more.”
“Lance? Chris or Justin, maybe, but this sweet
face?” she asked, reaching next to her and pudging out Lance’s cheeks. He squirmed and chuckled despite is
situation.
“You
wouldn’t believe what he gets her to say and do! Justin is cool with her coz of his brother’s though.”
Aly
leaned back in the corner of the booth they were crammed into. “She’s precious. Damn I just can’t believe I missed this.”
The
table was quiet for a moment before she slowly handed it back to him and looked
over at JC, her eyes rising curiously to his location. “Next!”
“No,
no, probably not a good idea. Just
boring stuff.”
“What,
did you put porno pictures in there?”
“No.”
“Then
you have nothing to worry about. Hand
it over.”
He
groaned and pulled it from his back pocket before tossing it over the table to
her, an uncomfortable expression on his face.
She
laughed evilly and looked at each one carefully. “Always was a good-looking guy.”
“Thank
you.”
“I
was referring to Tyler, there’s no family resemblance though,” she commented,
glancing from the picture to the man before her. “He’s growing up.”
“Don’t
remind me.”
Aly
nodded and kept looking, smiling at the familiar faces of Heather and his
parents. After them was a face she
didn’t recognize, but the pieces fell together and her fingers traced the
person’s smile. “What’s her name?” she
asked quietly.
Lance
shifted uneasily beside her. “Laura.”
Nodding,
she moved to turn the next one, but she couldn’t. Frustrated, Aly closed it hurriedly and passed it along back to
him via his friends at the table.
“Anyone want anything to drink?”
Everyone shook his or her head.
“Okay. Justin, you owe me a
dance. Let’s go.”
He
smiled at Britney who winked at him before pushing him away. “Get out of here.”
Aly
smiled gratefully at her as she walked away with Justin, clinging to his hand
more than she would have anticipated.
He snaked his arms around her waist for the somewhat slow beat and they
rocked back and forth for a minute or two before he said anything. Leaning down, he whispered into her ear,
“They broke up, Al.”
She
looked at him curiously as they danced.
“Maybe. But she hasn’t left him
yet.”
“What?”
“Nevermind,
just me being foolish.” Aly was silent
before adding quietly, with her head on his shoulder. “She’s pretty.”
“So
are you.”
“That
doesn’t matter.”
Justin
groaned in frustration. “You make
things difficult when they aren’t.”
“And
what exactly do you mean by that?” she questioned, stopping completely in the
midst of all the people.
He
rolled his eyes and was about to answer when someone else tapped her
shoulder.
“May
I cut in?”
“Of
course, I’m gonna go find my girl.”
Aly
stared at her former boyfriend in discomfort, but nodded. After making it through another song she
looked at him slowly, her gaze taking in his face.
“Yes?”
“Nothing,”
she managed, looking away and hoping the dim light of the club covered her
flushed face. She couldn’t get over how
good he was looking. Sure, she’d
watched their performances and TV appearances, but it wasn’t the same. His handsome face was always magnified with
his presence.
He
wouldn’t take her response and put a finger on her cheek, turning her face to
look at him. “You’re acting strange.”
She
smiled wryly. “Well pardon my surprise
at seeing all of you again after two years and feeling at least mildly out of
place.”
“You
want to talk?” He grabbed her hand when
she nodded weakly and found a small table away from everyone, sitting down as
they both let out heavy, tired sighs.