When the two pulled away from each other for air, after what seemed like eternity, they stared at each other, breathless and exhilarated. Siobhan couldn’t believe she had just gone through with that kiss and more importantly, LIKED it.
She began to breath on a normal pattern again, when JC touched her chin lightly and smiled warmly. His touch made Siobhan want to shiver with chills that ran through her body, but she refused to let herself show that much emotion so early.
“That was...was...” JC began.
“Unbelievable...” Siobhan finished for him.
JC nodded in response and continued to smile. It wasn’t one of those smiles that some guys tend to let creep on their faces when they had just accomplished something they weren’t sure they could. JC’s smile was genuine and almost goofy as if he was a little shy from what had just happened between the two of them.
“I-I-I...” Siobhan began stuttering.
JC placed his finger on her lips and hushed her. “Don’t think about it, don’t try to analyze what just happened, just let it be.”
“I don’t analyze--”
“Don’t argue sweet one,” JC smiled cutely.
Siobhan opened her mouth to argue, then shut it after blushing from JC’s nickname he dubbed her with. She closed her mouth and smiled in return. She couldn’t figure out why she was smiling like an idiot, but for once she didn’t care, it was a comforting feeling that she was experiencing.
JC made her feel special, Siobhan couldn’t really explain the exact feeling, but it was an exciting and giddy feeling she felt in her stomach when he looked at her. She felt a rush when he smiled and her face just didn’t want to go back to her usual frown and critical look she was so used to shooting at people.
“What is it about you Mr. Chasez?” Siobhan asked in a hushed voice. “That makes all the girls go crazy?”
JC smiled even broader and winked at her, “I’m not really sure but I hope it works with you.”
His last comment threw Siobhan off, but caused her to blush for the hundredth time in the past five minutes they had stood beside each other. Siobhan wasn’t sure what her next move should be, but she felt like a school girl standing next to JC, blushing and grinning uncontrollably.
“I think we should get to the fire works,” Siobhan managed to finally spit out, after a slight silence.
“I think your right,” JC agreed.
He looked down at Siobhan and saw her in a new light. He hadn’t realized how much he had studied and observed her for the past few months. He noticed all her features like so many other times before, but this time those same features seemed to beam with radiance.
Siobhan’s eyes were softly glowing in the dim light from the back stage. They were glassy from her previous crying, but seemed almost hazy at the same time. JC guessed his eyes had that same hazy glow in his eyes. Her skin seemed soft and smooth with light tear tracks that ran down her face and ended when they reached her chin. Her lips were plush and still inviting, even after the amazing kiss that had just shared.
JC didn’t move and neither did Siobhan. They seemed trapped in the moment and for once it was a moment they were both experiencing together with a willingness that was unexplainable. Neither wanted to move.
“JC? Siobhan? Are you guys back there?” a voice asked, breaking the beautiful moment.
Both of them quickly let go of each other and tried fixing something about themselves to make it look casual and nonchalant.
“Ahem,” Siobhan cleared her throat. “Yeah we’re both back here.”
Diana made her way around the corner, following the voice she had just heard, climbing over the wire Siobhan had previously tripped over.
“Where the hell did you disappear to?” Diana asked, looking up for the first time and finding JC and Siobhan standing beside each other. “And I definitely interrupted something...”
Diana stopped in her tracks with a shocked look on her face. Suddenly Joey came bouncing in behind her, not noticing Diana at a complete stop. He rammed right into her back and knocked both himself and Diana down.
“Oops,” he giggled, getting up to dust himself off. “Where did YOU come from?”
“What do you mean, WHERE DID I COME FROM? I was standing here wasn’t I?” Diana asked, looking back up at Joey and gritting her teeth. “I swear Joe I wonder if your going senile at a young age with your vision and hearing problems.”
“EH?” Joey said loudly, scrunching up his nose and cupping his ear. “I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” he recited slowly and clearly.
“That’s it, start running...” Diana threatened, getting up to chase Joey down.
Joey began laughing hysterically and running in the direction at where he just came from. Diana turned to JC and Siobhan quickly before chasing Joey.
“Are you guys coming out to see the fireworks or what?” she asked, glancing back in the direction where Joey ran, to keep an eye on him.
“Yeah we’ll be right there, you go on ahead,” JC said smiling at Diana’s searching eyes.
“Ok see you up there, now if you excuse me I’m going on an *N SYNC hunt...er mission? To find and terminate the one they call Joey...” Diana spun around and dashed down the hallway to go find Joey.
When the two had finally left JC and Siobhan let out a sigh of relief. “That was CLOSE,” Siobhan breathed.
“I’ll say,” JC agreed. “So um...should we head off to the fireworks before people start to think things...?”
Siobhan nodded and cleared her throat to try and break that awkward presence surrounding her. “Um before we go JC...we should decide what just happened...”
“We kissed, decision made.”
Siobhan laughed lightly, “No you know what I mean...where does that leave us now?”
“On good terms,” JC replied. “Let’s just see where things go from here, instead of starting something between everyone else and our personal life, I say we keep it subtle and see where it can go from there...if it gets more serious, then we can begin to tell people.”
“Since when did you become Mr. Casanova?” Siobhan kidded.
JC grinned, “There are so many things you don’t know about me yet...and with time that will come...”
Siobhan giggled girlishly, “I hope to know these things...just so I can blackmail you with them later.”
JC grinned at her, then poked her side gently. “Don’t start sweet one.”
Siobhan smiled in return, “Don’t make me.”
With that they walked towards the fireworks together, side by side with a whole new outlook on each other. The right one.
When they reached the outside area of the arena, they were beginning to create a distance between each other, so as not to make it obvious of what happened, though Siobhan felt like it was written all over her face.
“You guys finally decided to show up!” Justin exclaimed running over to them. “We were running bets on what happened to you two.”
Siobhan raised an eyebrow and looked over to JC who had a curious look on his face. “And what bets would THOSE be?” JC asked.
Justin giggled secretively. “I don't know...tell me what happened and I’ll tell you who won...”
JC sighed and rolled his eyes, “Siobhan and I were talking backstage.”
“Damnit!” Justin stomped. “Lance wins!”
Lance looked up a small distance away from the mention of his name. “I won?” he asked.
Justin nodded, “Poofoo how the hell do you do it!?”
Lance smiled broadly, “I’m just good like that.”
“No your not,” Justin argued.
“Obviously I am because I won didn’t I?” Lance shot back with a smirk.
Justin shook his head and turned back around to JC and Siobhan. “I SSSOOO thought you two decided to elope and snuck off to Vegas for a wild weekend.”
Siobhan’s eyebrows narrowed, “Vegas?”
Justin nodded, “You could have been married by Elvis!”
JC laughed and shook his head, “And what did Chris say?”
“Chris said Siobhan took you out and your body was being stashed somewhere,” Justin smiled.
“How kind of him to have such deep faith in me,” JC responded sarcastically.
Siobhan giggled, “You know if it came down to it, I could take you.”
JC looked down with doubt, raising his eyebrows, “Is that a challenge?”
“I don’t want to embarrass you in front of everyone,” Siobhan said casually.
Justin began laughing at Siobhan’s comment and JC shot him a look. Justin paused for a moment, catching JC’s look, then shook his head and began laughing again.
“What about Joey?” Siobhan asked, trying to change the subject.
“Joey thought JC took YOU out and was stashing your body somewhere,” Justin replied.
“Thank you... a little support from a true friend, FINALLY!” JC exclaimed.
“Remind me to get him later after D is done with him, he’s just number one on everyone’s list tonight isn’t he?” Siobhan said with a sly smile.
“Number one? I would think he would be a little lower than that the rate he’s going,” JC replied in a slightly confused tone.
“I didn’t say what KIND of list,” Siobhan smiled with a hint.
JC nodded his head in response, “I see what you mean now.”
“Did D bet?” Siobhan asked Justin, turning her attention back to him so as not to get caught up in JC’s eyes.
“Yeah but she didn’t tell her bet, she said it was a secret and she couldn’t say, so she wasn’t really counted in it, besides Lance won anyway,” Justin explained, scratching his head while saying his statement, he was trying not to confuse himself.
“Hm...” Siobhan thought.
“What?” JC asked.
“Nothing,” she smiled, shaking her thoughts away. “Let’s get these fireworks started shall we? It’s going to be too late soon,” she said, walking away.
Justin smiled and nodded, glancing quickly over to JC who was watching Siobhan walk away with a half knowing smile. Justin nudged him quickly and ran off to help Lance and the rest of the crew set up for the fireworks.
When they had gathered everyone on the hotel roof, Lance and Justin had instructed everyone where to sit. Everyone found seats on blankets that had been set up and stretched out to become comfortable. The past few hours had gone by quickly and JC and Siobhan tried their best to avoid each other to make it look less obvious, but they couldn’t seem to stay away from each other.
In the end, they always seemed to run into each other, end up reaching for the same thing, or head in the same direction unintentionally. They tried to cough and sneak a grin, then walk away in different directions, hoping no one caught them. Though the two of them thought they avoided being obvious, what they didn’t know was the fact that the rest of the guys and Diana had already figured out what happened, just wondered how long Siobhan and JC would hide it.
Justin pressed play on his cd boom box that had been set up outside for more effects and back round noise. An upbeat song began to play and Siobhan stole a look at JC while no one was looking. She thought no one was, but Diana saw everything. JC grinned in return and looked around, before giving a small wink.
Siobhan felt almost foolish with this whole JC and her getting along being a big secret, but she couldn’t resist the temptation of playing along with the game. She felt like she was finally filling in the part of her childhood that she missed out on, a simple crush.
Suddenly a loud shriek interrupted their moment of staring and a loud explosion of a firework caused both of them to look upward as the colors disappeared into the night sky as if they had originally come from there .
A few people cheered with enthusiasm as others clapped with approval. Another rocket shot into the air and exploded with bright elegant colors, sprinkling the sky with light. Siobhan smiled to herself as Joey cracked a joke and Chris yelled a comment. She looked around her and realized something she never thought was able to happen in her life.
She felt accepted, she had friends, she had a crush, and the most important thing was, she was happy. She didn’t feel like she had to block anyone out anymore, all she wanted to do was welcome everyone in. For once she felt like her life was simple, though she knew it might not last for long, she sure wished it did.
Siobhan was broken out of her thoughts when a warm breath tickled her neck. She flinched and smiled, knowing who was so close to her. She turned halfway around and saw JC looking down at her with his amazing and captivating eyes.
“I found a good spot to see a view of the fireworks,” he whispered in a secretive way.
Siobhan didn’t respond with words, only nodded and crawled to follow JC off to a tucked off corner. JC crept around people and managed to have Siobhan and him sneak away without being noticed. It helped that she was sitting pretty far back from the fireworks and crowd.
“Where are we going?” she asked in a tiny, innocent voice with a hint of curiosity.
“It’s a surprise,” JC whispered in return, pausing to take Siobhan’s small hand into his firm grip.
Siobhan smiled and felt exhilarated. Here she was on a roof, on the Fourth of July with a wonderful person taking her hand and sneaking off to a secret place, Siobhan felt like she was in a dream.
JC continued to lead her around in the shadows and back to the farthest corner from everyone else. He smiled and patted to the cement boarder, while looking at Siobhan. Siobhan hesitated for a second before jumping up onto the ledge. She giggled girlishly and looked up into the starry night.
JC admired her for a few moments, noticing her accented features in the night sky with the dim light from the stars and the brightness of the fireworks colors. He smiled and wondered how he got here in the first place.
He sat up next to her, not letting go of her hand, but instead squeezing with a comforting grip. He gazed back up at the fireworks now shooting up into a continuos pattern. They could hear the voices from everyone else and valued the quiet air that surrounded them.
The music continued to play and it seemed to fall into a softer rhythm, making JC hum along without even realizing it. He closed his eyes and swayed his head gently back and forth with the sound of the music. Siobhan watched him with appreciation and for once was letting herself go.
She felt the butterflies in her stomach and the flushed feeling that flowed through her head and into her cheeks, turning them an apple red. Siobhan couldn’t control herself any longer, she was sick of pretending she didn’t harbor romantic interest towards JC and since she knew he felt the same way, why hide it anymore? All her problems seemed nonexistent and there wasn’t a second thought in her mind of her true intentions, because tonight her feelings were genuine and real.
JC opened his eyes and looked over to Siobhan with a soft smile. She smiled in return and lowered her head a small amount. JC took his free hand and lifted her chin gently, to look deep into her eyes.
“Your amazing,” he whispered in a hushed tone, respecting the soft music and silence capturing the moment they were having.
Siobhan bit her lip and gave a half smile. Her breath quickened at the closeness of JC’s body near hers. JC’s eyes burned into her hers and all they could see was each other for that moment in time.
JC moved closer to Siobhan and his breath quickened from anticipation. He leaned his face into hers as she closed her eyes, waiting to receive the kiss. His lips met her and the fireworks in the backround seemed dim in comparison to the ones they set off. JC’s arm slipped around Siobhan’s waist as he pulled her in closer to almost fall more into the kiss. Siobhan wrapped her arm around JC and pulled the two of them closer together. The rush of the kiss and the feeling of complete and utter content running through her blood, was the most exhilarating and satisfying feeling that Siobhan had felt almost all of her life.
The seconds passed, which seemed like minutes maybe even hours and JC felt like he never wanted to let go. Everything seemed right to him, this wasn’t what he had planned when he had anticipated becoming friends with Siobhan, but he couldn’t even of imagined the feelings running through his system from one girl.
JC was the one who pulled away first this time, but it wasn’t because he wanted to, it was because they needed air. He smiled warmly at Siobhan and the moment seemed cut out from a movie. Siobhan sighed a deep sigh while her face crept into a permanent smile. JC’s arm remained around her waist and he pulled her into a tightly gripped hug full of warmth and care.
Siobhan hugged him in return and looked up into the sky, seeing the semi foggy night. She didn’t spot any stars but she barely noticed. She closed her eyes and squeezed JC tighter, never wanting for the moment to end and her have to let go.
They pulled away from their hug, though they still remained very close. JC looked up at the sky and watched another multi colored firework explode with brightness in the air. He smiled to himself and enjoyed the beautiful silence surrounding them.
The two of them sat with pure ease for a few more minutes before they noticed the fireworks becoming fewer and fewer, telling them the finale was coming up.
JC slipped off the cement ledge and took Siobhan’s hand to help her down. She knew she had to go back but she wished with all her heart that she didn’t have to. Without a word they began creeping back into the shadows to assume their seats with the rest of the crowd before anyone realized they had disappeared.
Siobhan slipped back into her seat and had a quick kiss good-bye from JC with a hand that ran down her back slowly, giving her chills in the warm summer night. Siobhan turned around and made herself comfortable to make it look like she was in that same spot the whole show.
Suddenly there was a small commotion and a slight murmur rose above the crowd. Siobhan looked over to see what was happening. She was curiously looking over all the heads in front of her, when she saw a uniformed police man making his way towards Justin and Lance. The music died down to a soft hum under the voices talking.
A few minutes later the officer left and Lance and Justin began giggling. Siobhan got up and went to find Diana who was sitting closer to the rest of the guys. She sat beside her and Diana gave her a smile of acknowledgment.
“Where have you been? I thought you went back to our room,” Diana said, looking straight into Siobhan’s eyes.
“No I was sitting in the back for a better view,” Siobhan said casually.
Diana nodded.
“What happened with the police?” Siobhan asked curiously.
“Noise pollution or something,” Diana responded.
Siobhan stared, waiting for a better explanation.
Diana smiled and laughed lightly. “We’re being too loud and we got a warning, we’re not supposed to be shooting off fireworks off the top of a hotel building, but we’re doing it anyway.”
“Ah I see, we’re such rebels,” Siobhan commented with a light laugh.
Diana giggled with agreement, “How will I ever explain to my parents I got in trouble with the police because of fireworks?”
Siobhan laughed lightly, “And they say that all boy bands are so innocent and sugary sweet, well they were wrong about THIS one!”
Diana began laughing in agreement. When the two girls looked over to Justin and Lance, they saw them looking around suspiciously.
“Now what are they getting into?” Diana asked, tilting her head with curiosity.
Siobhan shrugged. Before anyone could answer, another firework shot up into the air, letting off a loud explosion and startling everyone around them who thought the show was over. When everyone realized what happened, they found Justin and Lance laughing hysterically at everyone’s reactions to their stunt.
Diana rolled her eyes, “Their going to get us in so much trouble ... famous or not.”
Siobhan looked over surprised at Diana’s comment. She was always the kind that liked to get into trouble and instead of trouble looking for her, she was always looking for trouble! Diana caught her startled and slightly confused look and chuckled.
“I can’t wait!” she added with a grin.
Siobhan laughed and shook her head, “I thought I lost you there for a second.”
“Never!” Diana exclaimed.
JC ran over to the two trouble makers while Joey and Chris followed. The music began to play again and the guys began singing along loudly and obnoxiously to get everyone’s attention.
“And now we DANCE!” Justin stated loudly and dramatically, throwing his hands into the air.
Everyone cheered and Justin began laughing again. JC tapped him on the shoulder and did a wiggle of his hips in a cute manner. Siobhan watched with secret amusement. Justin caught on and watched JC carefully.
JC looked up at Justin again, then wiggled his hips again with a boyish attitude and shifted in his place while doing it. Justin continued to watch him and JC proceeded to repeat his small dance until he completed a circle.
By then Chris, Lance, and Joey had made a half circle around JC and watched closely to what he was doing. Justin stared for a little longer until JC held out his hand towards Justin to give the floor over to him.
Justin grinned devishly and giggled before bursting into a wild dance. He threw his head in all directions as if he was listing to punk, though he was listening to an upbeat techno mix. His hands flew in front of him changing patterns after a few repetitions. Justin finalized his goofy dance with the shuffling of his feet, imitating MC Hammer. The guys began laughing and watched with enthusiasm.
When Justin was done he pointed to Chris for his cue. Chris immediately began to dance. He proceeded in spinning in a circle and pulling out the cabbage patch, swinging his arms in a circular motion in front of him and shuffling his feet, while he spun around. When he was done, he pointed to Lance.
Lance laughed loudly and began moving with the beat and dancing on the spot. The guys glared at him and he smiled childishly before busting out into a goofy creation of grabbing his ankle and placing his opposite hand behind his head, making a inward and outward motion.
The guys began cheering and clapping to encourage him to continue. When he completed his dance, with once swift move, he pointed to Joey. Joey immediately fell into the macarena. He began the process and ended the dance with his little hip shake and a pelvic thrust along with a giggle of amusement.
They guys gave him a strange look before laughing along with him. Before you knew it, almost on cue they all began their dances they had created, hopping around each other. They eventually began crashing into each other, pushing each other out of the way and laughing hysterically.
Meanwhile on the sidelines the crew was watching, some shaking their heads, but all of them laughing at the scene the guys were creating for everyone. Diana and Siobhan had tears in their eyes from the laughter coming from their hearts.
Justin then made his way over to the two girls in their fit of laughter. He pulled Diana towards the group and she shook her head, while trying to resist. When Justin began to win the tug of war game, Diana quickly gripped Siobhan’s wrist and yanked her in the direction Justin was dragging her.
“Ohhhhhh no, I DO NOT DANCE!” Diana declared clearly in Justin’s ear.
Justin flinched with the volume of Diana’s voice and grinned. “Now you do!”
He dragged Diana into the middle of the guys, who were toppling over each other in competition for the spotlight and room on the dance floor they created for themselves. Diana protested loudly, but was quickly drowned out by the music overpowering all volume of dialogue.
Before long Diana was forced to move and began to dance with actual rhythm. Siobhan was then noticed standing off to the side by Chris and Joey. She was lifted on either side of her and placed next to Diana. She shook her head and laughed nervously, trying to find an exit off the dance floor. They guys noticed her darting eyes looking for an escape, they then moved in quickly, blocking all directions to leave. Siobhan shot a helpless look around to the guys, hoping it would get her out of this awkward position.
They gave her a look and shook their heads, telling her she wasn’t getting out of it. She sighed to herself and shrugged her shoulders. She began wiggling her hips and swaying to the steady rhythm of the music. The guys looked over to each other and smiled with triumph. Before long Siobhan and Diana were dancing with the guys along with half of the crew, laughing and making good memories.
Siobhan was finally being someone she hadn’t known still existed, herself.
Siobhan finally made her way down to hotel room and sighed with exhaustion from the night’s events. She smiled to herself from her day and couldn’t believe her life could be like this. Happy and joyful with laughter and the feeling of pure content.
Diana had already fallen into bed and Siobhan was just about ready to get there herself. She pulled out the card to get her into her room when a hand stopped her. She jumped slightly from the surprise and looked up into a set of clear blue eyes.
“You know, you never told me you could tear up the dance floor like that, remind me I have to take you out dancing sometime,” the voice said in a soft whisper.
Siobhan smiled sweetly with slight color rushing into her cheeks, “That was a sorry attempt at dancing on my part. If you call that tearing up the dance floor than we have two different definitions to that phrase, mine is the literal meaning of tearing up the floor and by that I mean ruining it with my sorry attempts to move.”
JC chuckled lightly and his eyes lit up with something Siobhan had never seen before. She wasn’t sure at that exact moment what it was, but it was something comforting and she had a feeling she had that look in her eyes at that exact moment too.
“Then you and I must have a different definition of sorry attempt, because I seem to think that it was a pretty nice way to shake it on the dance floor,” he grinned with a hint of slyness.
Siobhan’s face turned a deeper shade of red and she laughed lightly. She turned around to face JC, pressing her back against the door. JC stepped closer and she could feel his warm breath lightly on her face. She closed her eyes briefly and absorbed the moment, new and excited with all the things happening in her life.
“I just came to say good night,” JC said quietly, breaking the silence.
He looked down at Siobhan, who had her eyes closed and a glowing look on her face. JC looked around the hallways and did a double check that no one was in sight. He looked back down at her and tipped her chin up with his finger.
“Did you have fun tonight?” he asked in a hushed voice.
Siobhan nodded and opened her eyes when he began to talk. She stared into his mysterious eyes and wondered what went on in his head and what his thoughts consisted of. JC baffled her with his calmness and coolness, but along with that quietness he had a side of him that was ready to explode. It was if he had a secret part of him inside that no one knew of just yet, but was waiting for the right person to bring it out of him. Siobhan hoped she would be that person to discover a whole new JC.
JC’s head lowered slightly and he looked at Siobhan with a small smile, completely speechless in her presence. He never thought someone could make him feel all these emotions at once, then again, she had brought him on one hell of a ride in the past few months. She amazed him and all he could do was sit there in complete and pure awe of her mere existence.
Siobhan looked away and smiled to herself. She was nervous by his company and she didn’t know what to say to break that silence. “I had a lot of fun tonight,” she finally responded, clearing her throat.
“What?” JC asked, thrown off.
“You asked if I had a good time, I did.”
“Oh,” JC chuckled lightly. “Of course, that’s good.”
Siobhan smiled in response.
“Well I honestly don’t know what happened tonight between us, but I sure do hope it wasn’t just a one night thing,” JC said, face shifting to a slightly serious expression.
Siobhan inhaled and exhaled slowly, “I hope not either. I’m truly baffled by tonight’s events but if I had to do it all over again, I would do everything exactly the same, down to the last detail.”
Siobhan didn’t expect to say all that much and show that much emotion in one comment. JC didn’t either, but he appreciated her honesty and her openness, it was something new and refreshing to him.
“Well I should be getting to bed, we have a long day of traveling tomorrow and I’m pretty beat,” Siobhan said, looking up meekly. “So I’ll see you tomorrow morning bright and early Mr. Chasez.”
JC nodded in agreement and continued to stare. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the forehead. “Until tomorrow...” he said quietly.
With that he walked away sliding his hand down her arm with his departure and giving her chills throughout her whole body. Siobhan stood there for another moment before slipping into her hotel room. The lights were turned out and Diana was already resting in bed.
Siobhan quickly changed for bed and slid under the covers. She heard a faint beep and knew it was her cell phone. She reached over for her purse on the other side of the bed and pulled out the phone. She turned it on and checked missed calls.
After this wonderful night, those fours letters made her smile fall into a scowl to replace the expression on her face. She was beginning to second guess her life and what she was about to do.
