Intro

"JC, you coming?" the younger popstar questioned as he slipped on a tight white sweater over his muscled torso. The group had just completed the last concert in New York before they had a three week break and Joey had suggested that they go clubbing to celebrate.

JC scribbled furiously in a battered blue notebook. "I'm not really up for it, J. I thought I'd just chill here and work on some writing or something."

Justin looked at his bandmate concerned. It wasn't the first time JC had turned down time to hang out with the guys. In fact, he could barely remember the last time JC had joined them for any outing besides group stuff. It was almost as if he were a different person. Over the past year it was like JC lost that sparkle in his eye and closed himself off from the other guys. He looked at JC tentively. "Are you sure? Because I can stay here if you want me to. We can rent a movie or something..."

"I said, I didn't want to go, ok?!" JC snapped turning his head towards Justin. There were no remains of the soft and gentle JC he had once knew. His blue eyes were hard and empty.

Justin flinched, his face visibly hurt and he nodded. He grabbed his jacket off the bed and headed towards the door. He paused with his hand over the handle. "I hope you feel better, JC," he said softly as he exited the room.

JC sighed and ran a hand through his brown tresses. He hadn't meant to yell at Justin. He hadn't meant to do alot of things he seemed to be doing lately. JC felt as if apart of himself was slipping away and anything he tried to do only made the feeling worse. He couldn't seem to rely on anything. The guys didn't seem to understand his feelings about anything anymore, not even Justin whom he considered to be his best friend. He wasn't around his family enough for them to be able to grasp the situation. He couldn't rely on his writing because lately all he seemed to produce were mindless tibits of crap that made him cringe to look at. It was like for the past year music wasn't doing it for him anymore. You could almost say fame was taking his toll on him.

The frustrated young man threw down his already battered notebook and walked outside onto to the hotel balcony. The New York skyline had a breathtaking view at night. The lights in the buildings seem to swirl together with the stars in sky, making the entire city twinkle in reverence. The city seemed to buzz with excitement as the New York night scene came to life. There were at least 2 million people in the city, each of them having a story to tell. Usually the thought of just that would make the wheels in JC's mind churn with thoughts and emotions. JC snorted to himself. Yeah, but things haven't exactly been usual for you lately, have they?

JC walked back inside the hotel room, closing the balcony door behind him. The alarm clock next to the bed flashed 10:01 and he grabbed his coat off of the couch. Maybe the change of scenery would help jogg his memory.

JC hailed a cab outside the hotel and rubbed his hands furiously together as he entered the cab. It hadn't seemed this cold to JC from inside his room, but a slight chill had begun to float over the city.

"Where to?" the cabbie asked with a heavy Brooklyn accent.

"Actually I really don't know. Do you know any small clubs around here?" JC asked.

The cabbie gave JC the look over and nodded. "I know just where to take ya, man. A little hole in the wall jazz club called the 'Beautiful Moon'. Kinda quiet, relaxing; the place is crawlin' with them fancy artsy-lookin' types like yourself. 'Bout 8 or 7 blocks from here."

"Sounds alright. I think I'll go there," JC said after a moment.

The cabbee tipped his hat and drove off after starting the meter. The rest of the ride was in silence until the cab driver pulled over to the curb in front of a dirty brick building with the words 'Beautiful Moon' across the side in pink neon lettering. JC raised an eyebrow as three of the neon letters blinked out. "Are you sure this is the place?" he asked, paying the cab driver with a skeptical look.

The cab driver laughed and nodded. "You'll see. G'night." He gave a small wave and drove off.

JC shivered looking at the slowly dilapidating buliding in front of him. Well at least maybe it'll be warm, he said thinking to himself, walking towards the entrance.

"Whoa," he said softly to himself when he entered. The place was like a diamond in the rough. It had a warm ambience to it and the seductive sounds of jazz were coming from set that was playing from the softly lit stage. Comfortable chairs and tables were placed haphazardly across the main floor, giving the room a cool feel, yet still open and inviting.

JC hung his jacket on the coat rack near the door and walked towards the bar to order himself a hot chocolate. After that, he settled into a cosy arm chair near the front of the stage and held the hot mug in his hands to warm himself. "This is actually an ok place to be," he said musing to himself. He gave a silent prayer of thanks to the cab driver and took a sip of the hot drink.

When JC felt relaxed enough, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his small, slightly tattered, blue notebook and pencil and began to jot down notes or blurbs that came to his mind. He felt himself beginning to fall into his old writing groove. He started to lose himself into the familar scratchings of his pencil scribbling across paper; a lock of his silky brown hair fell across his face as concentration furrowed itself onto his brow. He barely noticed the set change on the stage or the sounds of people appreciatevly clapping in the background or the girl who had sat herself on a stool in front of him. That is, until he heard her voice.

A beautiful voice from the stage called out to him through song and he focused his attentions on the chestnut haired girl with the microphone in front of her and the spanish guitar in her hand.

You'll never see - the courage I know
Its colors' richness won't appear within your view
I'll never glow - the way that you glow
Your presence dominates the judgements made on you

But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights
The shades and shadows undulate in my perception
My feelings swell and stretch; I see from greater heights
I understand what I am still too proud to mention - to you

You'll say you understand, but you don't understand
You'll say you'd never give up seeing eye to eye
But never is a promise, and you can't afford to lie

You'll never touch - these things that I hold
The skin of my emotions lies beneath my own
You'll never feel the heat of this soul
My fever burns me deeper than I've ever shown - to you

You'll say, Don't fear your dreams, it's easier than it seems
You'll say you'd never let me fall from hopes so high
But never is a promise and you can't afford to lie

You'll never live the life that I live
I'll never live the life that wakes me in the night
You'll never hear the message I give
You'll say it looks as though I might give up this fight

But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights
The shades and shadows undulate in my perception
My feelings swell and stretch, I see from greater heights
I realize what I am now too smart to mention - to you

You'll say you understand, you'll never understand
I'll say I'll never wake up knowing how or why
I don't know what to believe in, you don't know who I am
You'll say I need appeasing when I start to cry
But never is a promise and I'll never need a lie

Never Is A Promise, Fiona Apple

The girl's voice slowly faded as did the notes that trickled from her guitar. She looked into the small crowd and gave them a smile. "Thank you," she said softly when the song ended.

Thunderous applause surrounded JC as he sat there mesmerized by the essence of beauty that was walking off the stage. He felt every emotion inside him hightened as the girl's vunerabilty through song coursed through his veins. Somehow, his issues with writer's block seemed pretty irrelevant now.