Chapter
13: Crazy For You.
Clare woke up as she heard Lisa
shouting her and Libby from outside the bedroom. Lisa had a key to the
girls apartment because she'd lived with them for a while when they first
moved over to the States and she'd held on to it in case of any emergencies.
Clare rubbed her face trying
to wake herself up. She glanced at her alarm clock, 8:00. She sighed and
got out of bed to see what Lisa wanted.
"What are you screaming about
at 8 o'clock in the morning!" she asked sharply as Lisa stood in the kitchen
making herself a warm beverage.
"Morning." Lisa smiled back
cheerfully as she took the mug in her hands.
Clare reached out and took
the mug from Lisa before she drank from it, "Thanks!"
"Hey I made that for me!"
"Look Ginger, you wake me
up at 8 in the morning screaming your head off about whatever and you have
the nerve to complain when I take the coffee you made in my home with my
milk, sugar and coffee grains in my mug!" Clare spat back angrily.
"What the hell is goin' on?"
Chris asked as he sat up from where he'd spent the night on the couch.
"Who is shouting?"
"Lisa thought it would be
great fun to pop 'round and wake me up with her vocals!"
"Oh no, you didn't wake her
up?" a sleepy Libby asked from her bedroom door, "Now we gotta put up with
her bad mood all day!"
"Well I got some news!" Lisa
said to Libby with a smile.
"And this couldn't wait until
a decent hour?" Justin asked appearing from Libby's room with a stretch
to try and relieve the aching in his back.
Lisa just smiled back at him.
"Oh who's idea was it to drink
that wine last night?" Chris asked as he buried his head in his hands.
"That was all your doing!"
Jamie said as she slowly opened her eyes and looked at him. She had been
awake since Clare first appeared but had tried to go back to sleep.
"Does anyone else have a huge
hang over?"
"Not yet!" Clare replied.
"You will have." Jason said
sitting upright in the chair he'd slept on.
Jamie tried to sit up but
a pain shot through her head so she slumped back down with a grown, "Next
time someone suggests a bottle of wine, remind me never to accept."
There was a long silence.
"So did anyone find out what
this big news is that Lisa has to share?" Sara asked wearily as she looked
up from the floor where she'd moved to in the night.
"Well to say it was killing
her keeping it to herself when she first walked in, she still hasn't said
a thing!" Clare exclaimed sarcastically as she glared at the woman who
had disrupted her sleep.
Lisa smiled.
"Would you stop smiling long
enough to tell us what you came here for?" Libby said walking into the
kitchen and grabbing herself a drink of water, "Then we can all get on
with our own sad little lives!"
"Is everyone awake?" Lisa
asked turning to look in the sitting area.
"Yes!" everyone chorused wearily.
"And everyone wants to hear
this?"
"Yes!" everyone chorused again.
"Are you all listening?"
"YES!" everyone chorused impatiently.
"Last night when Joey and
I were sat on the beach…"
~~~~~*~~~~~
Joey got up on one knee and looked
up at her, "Lisa… "
"At last we make a break-through!"
"I love you," he continued
ignoring her sarcastic remark. It had taken him hours of sitting on the
beach with her lay in his arms to just build up the courage, if he stopped
now he might not get round to it at all, "I want to spend the rest of my
life with you…"
"Joey, what are you doin'?"
Lisa asked nervously looking down at him. His hand was tightly grasping
hers and she could feel him shaking.
"Will you marry me?"
~~~~~*~~~~~
"He what?" Clare asked shocked.
"He proposed!"
"Joey did what?" Justin exclaimed.
"Proposed, as in asked you
to marry him?" Libby asked in shock.
Lisa nodded.
"Was he blathered?" Chris
asked insensitively.
Lisa shot a look of disgust
in his direction.
"And what did you say?" Clare
asked becoming intrigued.
"What could I say?" Lisa shrugged.
"I take it we're looking for
a more productive answer than yes or no?" Libby asked sarcastically.
Clare smiled at Libby, "So
you said… what?"
"I told him I'd have to think
about it." Lisa said walking into the sitting area and sat down next to
Chris.
"You didn't?"
Lisa nodded, "I didn't want
to appear too eager by accepting straight away."
"So you do have full intentions
of accepting?"
Lisa nodded again with a big
smile on her face.
~~~~~ A While Later
~~~~~
Libby emerged from her bedroom
dressed, with her bag; ready for the lessons and the exams she had that
day. She looked around to find Justin sat on the couch watching TV.
"Where is everyone?" she asked
him as she picked up a textbook from the breakfast bar and stuffed it into
her book bag.
"Clare, Chris and Jamie have
gone to work, Sara and Jason went for some breakfast and Lisa's gone to
see Joey." He replied, his eyes never leaving the screen.
"Well I'd better get my ass
to Uni. Got a Math exam this mornin'." Libby said as she threw her bag
on her shoulder.
Justin looked up at her, "Good
luck!"
"Thanks. I'll need it!" she
said as she made her way to the door, "Catch ya later!"
~~~~~*~~~~~
At the fan club Chris sat in Jamie's
office waiting for her to return with the black coffee and the aspirins
she'd promised to get him.
"Here we go." She said as
she passed him a box of painkillers and his personalised mug.
"Thank you." he replied taking
them from her. He removed two tablets from the plastic casing and swallowed
them as he watched her sit down behind her desk.
Jamie had tied her hair back
because with a headache from the alcohol she'd consumed she could be bothered
to even try and style it. She glanced at Chris and noticed him looking
back at her.
When Clare had told her the
suspicions she had about Chris, Jamie had just shrugged it off. She'd always
found his fast wit the most attractive thing about him, he was a funny
guy and always made her smile when thing's were getting too much for her.
Jamie had only spent a little time with 'N Sync over the years, although
they'd done two tours. Most of the time she had been busy working on other
aspects of the whole thing so she didn't always see Chris. She did look
at him as kinda cute, they shared similar interests and had similar personalities
but she'd never thought of him as anything more than a friend before. Clare
had put the thought in her head now and she could think of nothing else.
Chris watched Jamie tap away
at the keypad on her laptop and thoughts filled his head, Look at her
Chris, she's the one you haven't been able to stop thinking about in months.
She's 6 years younger than you are, so what! You're interested in the same
things. She likes to surf, she likes to play basketball, she roller blades
and she understands your work schedule. Hell, she's with you most of the
time. She travels with you on tour so it wouldn't be like you'd never see
her.
As Jamie sat trying to concentrate
on the screen in front of her, she could feel Chris' eyes on her. He was
staring at her and she couldn't work out why. Okay he's staring at me!
What if Clare is right and he does like me? Oh God, I'm suddenly finding
myself attracted to him, wanting to be with him. Stop it woman, you're
a professional. To date him would be unprofessional. Relationships based
on intense circumstances never work! Forget about it before it becomes
something you get hung up on!
Suddenly Jamie was brought
out of her thoughts by Chris' voice, "J, you want to come to dinner with
me tonight?" he asked nervously.
"Dinner, tonight?" she asked
trying to think if she had anything else planned. "Er, yeah, why not?"
Jamie knew she had a lot of
work to do, what with the re-schedule of the tour and the paperwork she
had to go through, but she could put it off for a couple of hours. How
often did she get the chance to date?
~~~~~*~~~~~
Libby sat in her exam and looked
at the first question. The words were jumping off the page at her. She
couldn't concentrate, she'd had hardly any sleep and now she was expected
to sit an exam while thoughts of Justin rolled around her head.
~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~
They had been lying on her
bed the night before and Justin had asked her about Dan.
"What did you find so attractive
about him?" he'd asked seriously as he lay on his stomach propped up by
his elbows and looked down at her.
"I'm not sure but he did
seem like a nice guy in the beginning." She'd replied uncomfortably.
There had been a short
silence after that but Libby had broke it by hitting him gently on the
arm, "So has there ever been anyone special in your life?"
"Yeah once, but it ended
a long time ago when her family moved to Vancouver."
"And there's been no one
since her?"
"There is one girl," Justin
started planning to tell her how he felt, "I never thought I could feel
like this again, not since Shannon. But I recognise the feelings. They're
really strong this time though, maybe it's because I'm older, I dunno…"
he trailed off losing his nerve and Libby smiled at him. She didn't realise
it was her he was talking about.
~~~~~~END OF FLASHBACK~~~~~~
Libby shook herself subconsciously,
Concentrate, you've got an exam to get through, you don't want to be a
drop out!
~~~~~*~~~~~
Clare lay on the couch in her
office with her arm draped across her eyes to try and keep the light out.
She'd been trying to get a bit of sleep but failed, she kept thinking about
the night before when she'd lay watching JC sleep. He hadn't been there
when she'd woken up so he'd left without waking her and saying goodbye
and she couldn't understand why.
She got up and turned on the
mini hi-fi that she'd brought for the office when she first started there.
She pressed the function button until it blared out the sound of the radio
and then sat behind her desk. As she crossed her arms on the desk in front
of her and buried her head in them she heard the music begin to the song
that always reminded her of him. She closed her eyes and sang along in
a whisper.
Have you ever been
in love, been in love so bad
You'd do anything to
make them understand
Have you ever had someone
steal your heart away?
You'd give anything
to make them feel the same
Have you ever searched
for words to get you in their heart?
But you don't know
what to say
And you don't know
where to start
Have you ever loved
somebody so much it makes you cry?
Have you ever needed
something so bad?
You can't sleep at
night
Have you ever tried
to find the words?
But they don't come
out right
Have you ever?
Have you ever?
Have you ever found
the one you've dreamed of all your life?
You'd do just about
anything to look into their eyes
Have you finally found
the one you've given your heart to?
Only to find that one
won't give their heart to you
Have you ever closed
your eyes and dreamed that they were there
And all you can do
is wait for that day when they will care
Have you ever loved
somebody so much it makes you cry?
Have you ever needed
something so bad?
You can't sleep at
night
Have you ever tried
to find the words?
But they don't come
out right
Have you ever?
Have you ever?
What do I gotta do
to get you in my arms baby?
What do I gotta say
to get to your heart?
To make you understand
how I need you next to me
Gotta get you in my
world
'Coz baby I can't sleep
As the song finished Clare
lifted her head and picked up the phone. She needed to hear JC's voice.
She pushed speed dial 2 and put the phone next to her ear.
I've got to ask him what's
going on between us, she thought as the phone the other end rang, I need
to know why he left before I woke up.
"Hello." She heard JC's voice
say bringing her from her thoughts.
Suddenly she couldn't talk,
what would she say to him?
"Hello." She heard him say
again before she hung up. I can't do it! I can't just ask him straight
out like that! What if it meant nothing to him and he just wants to forget
the whole thing happened?
Suddenly the phone rang.
"Hello." she said drained
as she picked up the receiver.
"You called?" a cheerful voice
questioned from the other end.
"JC, how did you know?"
"Caller ID" he paused. "Why'd
you hang up?"
"I wasn't sure you'd want
to hear from me!"
"Why not?"
"I dunno…" she said with a
shrug, she wanted to ask him but the words wouldn't come out.
There was a short silence.
"So what you up to?" he asked
her.
"Oh not much, just work. You
know how it is?"
"You're always at the office
lately!"
"Well the work won't get done
by itself!" she said as she fiddled with the corner of one of the papers
on her desk.
There was another silence.
"I just thought I'd call to
see how you were. I'll let you get back to whatever you were doin'." Clare
said breaking the tension. "I'll see you in a couple of days."
The group had rehearsals for
the tour and a couple of TV appearances so they wouldn't be around the
building for two or three days at the least, it depended on how hard Sara
worked them and how many routines they managed to get through.
She hung up the phone and
smiled, at least he was still talking to her.
~~~~~ That Night ~~~~~
Chris pulled up outside Jamie's
apartment building in the M class Mercedes Benz he'd borrowed from Justin
for the night at 7:30, he hadn't arranged to pick her up until 8:00 so
he was early. He turned off the car engine and paused before he got out
and made his way up to her apartment. He stood outside the door and took
a deep breath before he reached up and knocked it boldly.
Kelly, Jamie's cousin, was
trying to style Jamie's hair when they heard the door knock.
"Oh no, he's early!" Jamie
said as she began to panic.
"Hang on!" Kelly called as
her cousin put on her housecoat. She was a tall girl of slim build with
long blonde hair and blue eyes.
Jamie opened the door breathless,
"Hi," she said, as she looked Chris up and down. He looked gorgeous in
a suit, the dreads could've spoilt it but they didn't, she'd never seen
him looking so good.
"So you gonna invite him in
or has he gotta stand out there until you're ready?" Kelly said as she
stood behind her.
"Er, come in. I've just gotta
finish up!"
"So you won't be wearing those
tonight?" Chris asked pointing down at her panda slippers as he walked
into the apartment.
"No she's got some special
Tweety-pie ones for the date." Kelly joked.
Jamie smiled in an embarrassed
way before she disappeared into her bedroom so she could dress and style
her hair.
"Kelly!" Jamie shouted realising
that the girl hadn't followed behind her.
"Excuse me." Kelly said with
a smile before she disappeared too.
~~~~~*~~~~~
Libby pulled up outside the fan
club and climbed out of her dark purple Toyota Celica that she'd brought
a few weeks earlier, after saving for what seemed like a lifetime, dragging
her book bag behind her. She'd gone to the office to study for another
exam, she knew it'd be quiet there because Clare was at home working, Jamie
and Chris were going on a date and everyone else was at home, as far as
she knew.
Paul greeted her at the door
and she smiled politely before she got the elevator up to the 2nd floor.
She got in her office and threw her bag on the couch before grabbing her
mug off her desk. It was going to be another late night and she'd need
as much caffeine as possible if she were to stay awake and get through
all her revision.
~~~~~ A While Later
~~~~~
Jamie appeared before Chris with
a "Tadarr!"
She wore a long straight dropped
royal blue dress, the straps that held it up were thin and the neck line
was as low as mid-chest. She had her hair up off her face with odd strands
dropping besides her cheeks and she wore small-heeled shoes to match her
outfit.
Chris' jaw almost hit the
floor; "You look amazing!"
"I do believe he's stunned!"
Kelly said with a smile as she saw the expression on his face.
Jamie smiled at her younger
cousin before turning to Chris; "Come on, let's get outta here!"
Chris pulled up on the car
park for Taco Bell and they walked inside. He noticed everyone turning
to look at his date and he smiled to himself, Jamie looked stunning and
he was proud to be the one who was with her.
Chapter
14: Say It Nice.
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