A Simple Touch
Part Eight
In a few minutes we were at our seats. We were sitting a little to the right of center stage, but with they way they always move around it shouldn't make much of a difference.
I think it was Tatyana Ali and B*Witched who opened up for them, I didn't know much about either of them, but they were good. It was funny though, I felt like just about the only person who couldn't sing along! But then again, I still didn't know most of *N Sync's lyrics, so I had a feeling that I'd feel that way through out the whole concert.
After the stage crew took about twenty minutes or so to set up, we all became very still as our anticipation built up. A video started playing over the screens, it was really cool. It had all these stars, it was almost like we were up in space. I think that lasted maybe two or three minutes.
That's when they came out. Only they weren't on stage, they were holding onto this big monster type thing, it was freaky! The best part? They were all in glow-in-the-dark clothing and they had on the freakiest masks! I had no idea who was who. They dropped to the stage and went straight into this weird routine were they tossed these long pole like things from one person to the next, it was great.
Soon they went into their routine. I have no idea what song they opened with, I was in too much of a daze to pay attention!
You know how on *N Sync In The Mix they say their dance flavor is high energy? They weren't kidding. Every time a new song started, they were right there, throwing themselves completely into it. If they missed a move or messed up a line, no one really cared or noticed.
Being in the front had its advantages too! It was like watching a movie in 3D, I thought for sure Justin was going to kick me in the head more than once!
They did a lot of crazy things, like flying around in harnesses! They did that during "Sailing" and they all had on these white outfits. It was really cool, it was perfect for the song, but I just remember hoping that they wouldn't fall!
Mya made a fool of herself during "Tearin Up My Heart". She decided to dance along to it, I mean actually dance along to it. I have no idea how many times she has to watch the video to learn all those moves, but somehow she managed.
But while it was fun to watch…I was so embarrassed when Joey made his way to the front of the stage and almost messed up the words cuz he started laughing at her. She stopped dancing though. Stopped dancing and turned the color I had when she embarrassed me in front of JC.
I felt like such a little kid with the way I was acting. You know, like when your two-year-old neighbor sees the ice creams truck? Yeah, like that. I was so hyped up! We all probably spent more time in the air then we did on the floor.
When they hit the stage to perform "Crazy For You" I couldn't contain myself. Before I even realized what I was doing, I screamed 'I love you guys!' off the top of my lungs.
They heard me, and I know they heard me. How do I know they heard me? Maybe JC kissing the middle and index fingers of his right hand and flashing me a peace sign gave me a hint. For the rest of the song I couldn't bring myself to look at any of them directly, but I still watched them perform.
Right after the finished that song, they went off stage for a quick change and breather. The stage crew set up some chairs which I had no idea what for. A steady chant of "Hurry up" from the crowd brought them back onstage in a matter of moments.
As the music started we all recognized it as "For The Girl Who Has Everything". That was the simple part. The not so simple part came when they started bring girls up on stage with them! I recognized Samantha as one of the girls, I think another one was Kelly, but I could be wrong.
Then Justin came over right in front of us…he wasn't on stage, he was just walking in front of us. He walked be us once before he came back and offered his hand to Catrina. She hesitated just a moment before taking it and following him on stage.
If that surprised me, then I was in for an even bigger shock when JC came off stage. He started up the isle next to us, brought down a girl from there, and then came over to me! I didn't even realize it, I had been watching the other girls going on stage. He just sorta took hold of my hand and led me on stage.
There was about ten girls on stage that I didn't recognize, and then three that I did, plus me. I know that when you put out a record you do and redo songs until every note is perfect. But the cd version seemed very very plain in comparison. I had never heard their harmonies sound so perfect, every piece went together, every little thing they did was like magic. Any time they looked at you it was like they were singing to you, not a crowd of thousands.
Never had of seen the dance for this song, I was pleasantly surprised. Very, pleasantly surprised. You know those chairs I mentioned? Well, I'll never think of chairs quite the same again. Don't ask what I mean, it's hard to explain, just watch them perform!
I thought I was going to faint at any moment, it was thee single most romantic feeling moment of my life. I know they did this at every show, but it didn't matter to me. This was my moment, and my moment alone.
The song was over way too fast, and after that the whole show seemed to just fly by.
They performed all of their songs, a few new songs, but a crowd favorite came in the middle of the show. They did a set full of songs from the 70's and 80's, complete with them playing their own instruments. That was sweet. When they did a Jackson 5 song, I promise Chris sounded just like Michael Jackson. Scary, I know.
But my mind was stuck on being on stage. I don't know what they finished with, or what they did for an encore. I was too happy to form memories. I had emotions, feelings, thoughts, but no actual recollection for most of the show.
But I didn't care, I was on cloud nine. And that was where I wanted to stay. Not anyone, or anything, could take away what had happened. The only thing that kept me from being as excited as I possibly could have been, was one thought that was lingering in the back of my mind.
Once I saw them backstage, that was it. They'd be leaving the next day, they were only doing one show here. If they did come back, it would be in like half a year. Lance had been incredibly sweet to me, and JC had shown some interest, but who was I kidding? It was like I told Lance, I didn't want to get hurt, or hurt anyone else.
Part Nine
It was a good ten minutes after *N Sync left the stage that my mind began working. People were leaving all around me, maybe a third of the crowd had left. A few girls were still walking around taking pictures, talking, things like that.
Mya, Toni, and Catrina were gathering all of their stuff. Catrina handed me my bag and gently guided me out of the isle. I'm surprised my legs worked, I couldn't feel a thing.
We wandered our way backstage, but they hadn't opened it up yet. In all honesty, I could not see how they could handle performing for two plus hours then still spend time with fans backstage. Admittedly, this was much shorter than the meet and greet, but if I was them I'd be in bed already.
Finding a place to sit, the four of us collapsed onto them.
"That, was incredible." Toni was the first to speak up.
"Oh yeah," Catrina added, "more than incredible. It was…it was beyond what words can explain!"
Soon we were trading favorite parts of the show, we all loved the opening, but I'd have to say my fave part was when they sang the song that I had in my dream. I still couldn't get over it! And since I hadn't told anyone about my dream, I couldn't talk to anyone about it, so I was going crazy!
About fifteen minutes after we sat down, we had been joined by about ten or twelve other girls, I recognized a few of them from the meet and greet. Right after that, they opened the doors and began checking names. People were still arriving as we went through the doorway.
Since I was the one who won the tickets, it was my name on the list, and then 'three guests' written next to it. I forgot to mention it earlier, but their security is super nice. Lonnie remembered us from the meet and greet, so he said hi and we talked for a few minutes. Toni even had us take pics with him, no surprise coming from her. He wasn't the only one who recognized us, there was Randy, Todd, Michael, Ken, Fritz, and Andre, and each of them was as nice as the last!
Right after we cleared security, we were guided into a well lit room that contained a few chairs, a couch, and a really, really long table that held this huge assortment of snacks and the sort.
The guys had already started mingling with the girls who had gone in before us, their hair was damp so I assumed that they had taken some quick showers before coming out.
It didn't take us long to gravitate towards our preferred guys, not that I expected it to. Even though I fought it a lil bit, I soon found myself joining the crowd of girls around JC, telling him what a great show they had put on.
He was trying to listen to us, and sign autographs at the same time, and it wasn't working all that well. You could tell he was tired, but he was still cheerful and made us feel like we knew him. I guess after a few years in the show biz you learn how to do that.
Since he seemed occupied with everything else, I decided to see if I could get lucky with anyone else. I noticed that Joey didn't have a ton of people by him at the moment, so I casually crossed the room and said hi to him.
"Hey! Avery, right? The girl that Lance and JC won't shut up about?" Joey said smiling, he knew it was me, I think everyone just enjoys making fun of me.
"Yeah…" I said warily, "and you're Joey, the guy who my friend Callista won't shut up about."
"Callista? Is she here?" Joey started looking around the room.
"No, but that's her sister over there making the puppy face at Justin." Puppy face? Why in the world would Cat be giving him that look? I probably didn't want to know.
"Oh, my female counterpart."
It took me a moment to catch on to what he meant. He's the flirt of the group; Catrina's the neighborhood flirt, making sense yet? Good, hope you weren't as slow as I was.
"Something like that. Her name's Catrina. She is a big flirt, but she's a great friend too. She's the one who told me about the contest that I won. I had to answer a question like, 'Where did JC and Justin meet.'"
Joey looked at me with a deadpan expression and replied by saying "Juvenile Detention".
He just looked at me as I tried to decide whether to laugh or hit him.
When I didn't do anything, Joey came out with 'I was joking!'
I chose to laugh, cuz I didn't think security, no matter how nice they were, would take kindly to me hitting a member of *N Sync.
Once I started laughing, I felt a lot better. I guess I was basically letting out all my pent up emotions.
Joey seemed more relaxed after I started laughing too. I guess it was kinda obvious that I was upset.
After chatting to Joey for a few more minutes, I left so he could talk to the other people there. He was really sweet, and funny. He has a lot of charm, which I suppose comes in handy for flirting.
I found myself standing by my sister, so of course she had to call me over to where Chris was standing. I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't resist.
Pulling a page right out of Mya's book, I walked over and quickly gained Chris' attention.
"Oh Chris, I'm so glad you're talking to my sister! Mya loves you so much, she's always talking about you back at home! She even has your whole wedding planned out! She even knows how she wants you to wear your hair!"
I have no idea how I managed to keep from laughing, but it sure got me my revenge. I knew I was going to be in for it when we got home, but I didn't care.
Mya looked mortified, speechless, taken a back. Chris? He was laughing.
He turned to her and tried to stop laughing.
"Mya? How old are you again?" he asked looking for a way out of this situation.
She looked at him in silence before answering very quietly. "I'm sixteen."
Taking a deep breath, Chris told her that she seemed a little on the young side to be making wedding plans. He was flattered, not many fans were that into it, but maybe she should hold off for a little bit.
Mya nodded and meekly walked off to find some solace for her embarrassed self.
I felt a lil bad, but not much. Besides…he didn't say no, now did he?
Soon our time backstage was over, I really didn't get a chance to talk to Justin, Lance or JC, but I'm sure Catrina kept Justin busy talking. I had Lance's beeper number, so I suppose if I ever really wanted to talk to him again, I could reach him like that. As for JC…I did stop on over, just to say good-bye. Something I really didn't want to do, but I knew I needed to.
I waited until most of the girls had left before I approached him. He was sitting at a table writing something. I was about to use that as an excuse to leave him alone, when he spotted me.
"Avery! I'm glad I caught you before you left. I wanted to say bye, sorry we didn't get to talk more. But you know how it goes, when you have fifty people in a room, you can't really pick out just one person to talk to." JC flashed me a grin to show that's what he had wanted to do.
I smiled back before forcing myself to say what I didn't want to.
"Well, I guess this is good bye. You guys are leaving tonight so I won't see you around town at all. No more finding me passed out on the curb." I forced a smile that I didn't feel.
"Finding you on a curb wasn't all that bad, if we didn't, then we wouldn't be talking now. Besides, we aren't leaving till about two or three tomorrow afternoon. Our next show isn't too far from here by plane and it's not till Monday, so we thought we'd catch up on some sleep."
"Oh."
Just then, they announced that we had to clear out the room. I turned to walk away, but before I could, JC reached out and grabbed my hand. Feeling somewhat like a flash back to the meet and greet, only this time it turned out different.
Without saying a word, JC pulled himself out of the chair and wrapped his arms around me in a hug. He smelled very clean, I can say that for sure. My heart was beating about twice it's normal speed, but I managed to hug him back without fainting.
He just held me like that for a minute or so, and then slowly let go. I could tell by the look on his face that he didn't want to, but just like me, he knew he had to.
This time when I turned to leave, he didn't stop me.
As I walked past Lance, I slipped him a smile. He returned it, and I knew I would be hearing from him again. Somehow though, I couldn't walk past without hugging him too. I guess he felt the same, because he welcomed me with open arms.
Giving Lance a light squeeze as I hugged him, I very quietly whispered 'thank you'. I don't know if he heard me or not, because he never answered. He just squeezed me back and then told me I should be going before security came after me.
That was that…the concert had come and gone, it was time for them to move on. Move on and leave me behind is what I'm trying to say here.
We still had the limo to take us back home, we were all going back to our own homes. I wanted Cat and Toni to stay the night, but my mom said no. We had Church the next morning and she didn't want us to be up all night talking. I didn't mind too much though. I had a lot to think about, and I didn't want to fall asleep in Church. My Youth Pastor was awesome, even if he was a lil scatter-brained at times, we just loved him all the much more for it.
Making our way outside, we soon spotted our ride and not long after we were on our way home. Dropping off Toni first and Catrina second, we finally made our way home just a little bit before midnight.
After give my mom a sketchy account of what all had happened, I went to my room went straight to bed. I didn't fall asleep until closer to two, but my legs just wouldn't hold me anymore. I just laid there replaying parts of the concert over and over in my mind, I sure hope it wasn't a dream like I had the first time around. But it couldn't have been a dream, no dream could ever be as bitter-sweet.
Finally I fell asleep thinking of the embrace I had shared with JC, that was one moment I would never forget.
Part Ten
I didn't get much sleep that night, even though I was extremely tired I somehow woke up with the sun. I didn't see any point in going back to bed for an hour, so I just got up and took my shower.
Picking out my clothes for Church, I sat down to eat some breakfast. I knew I'd be alone for maybe another hour if I was lucky.
My stomach wasn't in the mood to eat, so I wandered back into my room. That was when I noticed something sticking out of the pocket of the pants I had worn the night before.
Reaching for the pants I couldn't recall putting anything in them, so I was curious.
When I pulled at it, it turned out to be a small envelope. It had my name printed across the front, not the neatest writing, but it was neat all the same. The cool neat, not the nice neat.
Opening it I found a single sheet of stationary from the stadium. Skipping to the end of the letter I saw that it was signed by JC. How the heck did he get that in my pocket without me noticing? Well, I had been pretty out of it when we were hugging.
Settling into my inflatable seat, I began reading the letter from the beginning.
Avery,
I realized last night that I still don't even know your last name, my bad. I really wish we could of talked more last night, but it wouldn't of been fair to everyone else. But I still would like to get to know you better. I don't know if you feel the same, but if you do, I'd love it if you could join us for lunch tomorrow before we leave.
I know it's short notice, but I didn't know our schedule until last night after the show. If your parents would allow it, I really would enjoy seeing you again before we leave. You aren't like a lot of other girls we meet, not to say they're all ditzs, some of them are really nice. But you were different, I can't explain it. Lance laughed at me when I tried -smile-. I guess you and Lance have some secrets you're keeping from me.
Don't want to take up any more of your time, so if you can meet us, the address is on the back. If not, I understand. We should be there from about one till two, hope to see you.
Peace and God Bless ~ Joshua 'JC' Chasez
Even though I had no one to talk to, I was still speechless. I couldn't even think of anything to say to myself. JC from *N Sync, had just invited me to eat with them. Me, of all people!
Now I couldn't wait for my mom to get up, I wanted to wake her up myself but I knew she wouldn't be happy with me if I did, and I needed her in a good mood.
I know it was only like a half hour before she woke up, but it seemed a whole lot longer. By the time she came downstairs I had already eaten and gotten dressed.
"Morning sweetie, you're up awfully early. I thought you would of slept in after the concert."
She smiled at me as she filled up a kettle to make some hot tea. My mom has the type of smile that can light up a room. Even though she can be strict, she's great. I just hoped she wouldn't pick today to be strict.
"Hi mom. Are we doing anything today after Church?" I asked watching her pick out a tea bag.
"I don't think so…I thought you and Mya would like to rest. So unless you have anything planned, the whole day is pretty empty."
"Well, there is kinda something I want to do."
"Hmm?" was her response as she sat down across from me.
"See, last night after the concert, one of the guys, JC, invited me to eat lunch with them today. I mean, it's not like we'll be all alone or anything, we'll be in public. I really want to go, I can even tell you where we'll be."
My mom just looked at me with a face that said 'keep talking.'
"JC is really sweet, and if I can I want to get to know him a lil better before they leave. After lunch they'll be leaving for the next show, and they won't be back for who knows how long! Please say I can go, this is something I really want to do!" I know I was starting to beg, but what else could I do? I really did want to go, and JC wanted me to come.
"I'll think about it. What time are they going to be eating?"
"From like, one till two." Knowing it would be pointless to say any more at this point in time, I just went back to pushing my leftover toast around my plate.
"Ok, I'll let you know what I decide later. Now go see if Mya is awake. She needs to get in the shower."
"Yes mom."
Slowly getting up from the table, I dropped my dishes in the sink before making my way to Mya's room. I really didn't like waking her up, she's really grumpy, and she kicks. That was the last thing I needed, a rip in my dress.
I picked it out while I was shopping for the concert. It had a plain white slip dress under it, and the dress itself was light a baby blue mesh like material. It had a really cool pattern sewn through it and a lot of lil butterflies hanging around. I had a lil trouble walking in it at first, since it was ankle length I kept tripping over it.
Mya was all tangled up in her sheets, this was going to be fun. Let me think…I could just set off her alarm. But I'd have to find music she doesn't like. She's not too overly fond of The W's…I could go get my cd from my room. Yeah, that's what I'd do.
Slipping back out of her room, I quickly found the cd on my rack.
Once I was back in her room, I quietly opened her cd player and put the cd in. What song should I play? Oh man, how much more perfect could you get than track number nine. "Alarm Clock"
Using the program button, I gave myself about thirty seconds to clear the room before the song started. I just hope my mom wouldn't get mad at me!
I had just gotten out the door when it turned on.
Woke up the morning to the sound of an alarm clock
Ringing in my ear
I rubbed my eyes, glanced at the clock
Hit my roommate James in the head with a sock
Rolled out of my bed got to my feet
And started a new week
It's an average day and nothing really stands out
I'm just skating on the same route
I'm feeling fine
I've got nothing to complain about
I'm on my way
it's just an average day
Right about there was when I heard her get up. I knew she wouldn't be happy, so I didn't stick around to see her when she came out. I just hollered for her to hurry up and take her shower, then locked myself into my room.
JC's invitation was still on the dresser. Oh, I hoped my mom would say yes. Not everyday you get an invite from someone famous you don't even really know.
I put it back into the envelope and slipped it into my Bible case. I wanted to keep it close by me, and I couldn't very well put it in a pocket.
After Mya and my mom finished getting ready, we were on our way. I still didn't have an answer, and I tried not to think about it too much, but it wasn't working.
In Sunday School we wrapped up our study of First John, we had been working our way through it for months now.
The moment Church got out I went to go look for my mom. I hoped she had decided, because if she said yes, I wasn't going to have a whole lot of time to get ready.
She was talking to some of the other ladies, and I was trying my hardest to be polite, but I didn't think I could wait much longer.
Finally she finished talking and turned her attention to me.
"Yes, Avery?"
"Mom, can I go out to lunch? I need to know, it's already noon." To myself I was pleading for her to say yes.
"I guess it will be alright. Which restaurant did you say it would be at?"
"Oh thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I wasn't prone to open displays of affection, but I gave my mom a big hug anyway.
I quickly pulled out the letter and showed her where we would be.
After getting permission to catch a ride home with some friends, I wasted no time in getting ready once I got there.
I didn't want to look like I had spent forever getting ready, but I didn't want to look like I just threw on whatever happened to be there.
Finally I decided on a light blue denim skort and a baby blue baby-tee. I pulled my hair back into a loose pony-tail, leaving a few strands out to frame my face. A little bit of lip gloss, tennis shoes, and a purse later I was heading out the door.
Not wanting to risk fainting again, I took the car to the address JC had given me. It was a small dinner on the edge of town, good food, but not a lot of people.
At The Ol' Ball Game!
Ok...The Real Ending!
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