“Hey Kelly, can you do me a favor?” Lance questioned as he emerged from the bathroom inside the dressing room at Madison Square Garden that night as they prepared to take the stage. It was a full thirty minutes before it was time and the tension was high.
“Yes master?” There was a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“Call BBMak’s manager and check to see if Christian would be interested in singing the theme song with us. Did you ever call Mandy?”
She reached out and pulled the slip of paper with the number written on it from his hand and stuffed it into the front pocket of her backpack. “No, I haven’t had a chance to call Mandy yet.”
“Do it soon... time is running out.”
“Good God Lance! You haven’t even approached Miramax with the story line idea yet! You have time!” Kelly glared at him as he stared at her.
“Time goes by quicker than you think,” he stated as he turned and headed to the clothing racks.
I watched their exchange before I got up and headed for the second bathroom. I cleaned up and progressed to the small duffel bag that Kelly and I had drug along from the hotel with various possible outfits for the evening stuffed into it. JC entered the room as I dug through it, trying to decide what I wanted to wear. “Hey Kelly, have you decided what you want to wear yet?” I sighed as JC’s arms circled my waist.
“No, I was going to wait for you to decide.”
“You haven’t decided what you’re wearing yet?” JC exclaimed. I turned and looked at him, only to find that he was already dressed in his opening costume, that being the black puppet suit. I glanced over at Lance who was standing in front of one of the mirrors and saw that he was dressed in a white t-shirt and boxers. Kelly was sprawled on the couch, still wearing her pajama bottoms and tank top. “Well, you should decide. We only have thirty minutes. We can’t be late. It’s live you know.”
“JC, I have time to decide on what I’m wearing. Kelly and I can take our time.” The door to the dressing room burst open and Chris and Justin bound in, yelling at each other.
“Guys, what are you doing? We have... twenty seven minutes before we have to go on stage. If we arrive late, everyone’s gonna know!”
“Think of it this way,” Justin began. “They can’t start without us!” He plopped down into a chair and propped his feet up. “Take a load off, JC. We have time. It takes us like, two seconds to get dressed. You’d be better off worrying about whether or not Kelly and Briley are ready to go. They’re the ones that take forever.” I turned and made a face at Justin.
“Hey guys? Where’s Joey?” Kelly asked, looking up from her magazine.
“He was just going into hair and make up when we left,” Chris answered her.
“He was just going into hair and make up? Does he not realize how long that can take? Why did he wait so long?” JC exclaimed. He then turned to me. “Are you ready to decide on something to wear now?”
“JC, calm down. I’ll be ready.” Kelly stood and reached for the bag.
“I’ll make it easier on you. I’ll find something first.” She took the bag and made her way to the bathroom, slapping Lance on the butt as she passed.
JC looked between Justin and Chris. “You know, I think that you should go get dressed.”
“What’s the big deal, JC? We’ve already gotten our hair and make up done. All that’s left is to get dressed,” Chris replied.
“Because I don’t want to be late,” JC stated, watching as Justin stood and walked to the second bathroom. “Great, now it’s going to be forever before Justin gets dressed.”
“Bite me Chasez!” Justin yelled from the bathroom.
The door swung open and Joey bounced into the room, looking very hyper. “Ladies and gentlemen, the pilot has turned on the seatbelt sign, so please return your trays and seats to their full upright position. Our trip today is taking us from a dream and turning it into reality, and the pilot has just informed me that it is going to be a smooth trip.”
JC crossed the room to Joey and put his arm around him. “Now guys, see this? This is a person who is ready to go.” JC turned to Joey and cupped his cheeks. “Joey... you are... wonderful.”
“Thanks JC, but really, you’re not my type.” Joey pulled away from JC and crossed the room to sit down in the spot that Justin had just left. “What’s going on? JC, you look like that big vein in your head is about to pop.”
“Oh, that’s for a very simple reason,” JC began. “Because I can’t get my bandmates or my girlfriend, or her best friend to get dressed! And we have... twenty minutes before we take the stage. Don’t you all understand how serious this is?” JC began to pace back and forth, pinching the bridge of his nose. He suddenly turned to face all of us. “And what about the fact that we still have to do a hacky? We need the luck tonight more than ever.” He sat down on the arm of the couch. “I can’t do this... my stress level is like, here, right now.” JC held his hand about a foot above his head.
“Hey guys? Does this look like something the girlfriend of a boyband’s southern gentlemen would wear?” Kelly emerged from the bathroom wearing hip huggers and a black tummy bearing shirt.
“Not unless he’s from the southern town of Whoreville,” I replied, looking her up and down. Kelly looked slightly disappointed as she disappeared again, and at that moment, Justin left the other bathroom. JC began to pace again, stopping to watch Justin, and I could see it in his eyes, practically willing him to stop at the clothing racks to get dressed. When Justin passed right by the racks, JC sighed and began pacing again, checking his watch.
“What are you doing?” Justin asked, standing over Joey.
Joey looked up and knitted his eyebrows together. “I’m sitting in the chair.”
“Well, get up. You’re in my spot.”
“How is this your spot? Correct me if I’m wrong, but this couch belongs to the venue, not to Justin.”
“Well, I was sitting there.”
“But you got up.”
“I went to the bathroom! It’s not like I went to France... so, it’s my spot.”
“But how is it your spot?” Joey argued.
“Because I was sitting there last.”
“Well, technically, the last place you were sitting was in there,” I jumped into the conversation and pointed at the bathroom. Justin turned and glared at me.
“Briley, why do you insist on making me hate you?” I just smiled sweetly at him.
“Hey guys, what about this?” Kelly emerged again from the bathroom, dressed in a short pleated schoolgirl skirt and a white top with a red bra underneath.
“Kelly... is your loneliness killing you? Do you need to confess that you still believe? When you’re not with us do you lose your mind? Do you need us to hit you baby one more time?” Kelly rolled her eyes at Joey and went back to the bathroom.
“Anyway, we were saying... that’s my seat.” Justin jumped right back into his argumentative mode.
“Praise God!” JC suddenly exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “Lance, you are a gift from heaven, I swear!” Lance stopped in the process of removing his own puppet costume from the hangers. “At least someone else here understands the importance of being on time.”
Justin looked between the two before he went back to Joey. “Anyway, that’s my seat.”
“Justin, it’s not your seat!”
JC approached the two and put an arm around Justin. “Hey, I got an idea... why don’t you go get dressed while Joey sits there... and by the time you’re done, we’ll have to go do a hacky and get ready for the show?” JC nodded convincingly.
“Nah...” Justin said, shaking his head. “I don’t want to do that.” He turned back to Joey. “Get out of my damn seat!”
Joey shrugged. “Okay.” He stood and grabbed the cushions from that portion of the couch.
“What are you doing?” Justin cried out while he watched Joey make himself comfortable on the floor using the cushions.
“You just said that I have to give you the seat. You didn’t say anything about the cushions.”
“But the cushions are the spirit of the chair!” Justin argued.
“That’s right... and I’m taking the spirit!” Joey leaned back against the wall again as Justin threw himself to the couch and began to pout. Kelly left the bathroom again, this time dressed in leather pants and a sparkly pink tank top.
“Oh, that’s nice!” I clapped. “Very good Kelly.” She smiled at me as she threw the duffel bag onto the floor and sat down to tie her shoes.
“Okay... Kelly is dressed... and what are you going to wear?” JC asked, sitting next to me and patting my knee.
“Oh, I don’t know yet,” I mused.
“How about...” JC leaned over and grabbed the bag and shuffled through it. “This?”
“JC, those are Kelly’s dirty pajamas.”
“Then find something yourself!” He spat back at me.
I stared at him silently for a moment before I jerked the bag off his lap and headed for the bathroom. “Fine, I will.” I heard Lance and Joey talking about the show, JC complaining that Chris and Justin still weren’t ready, and Justin whining about the cushions from his seat. I choose an outfit and emerged. “Does this match?” I questioned, looking down at myself.
“Yes, it matches. It definitely matches,” JC answered quickly.
“That doesn’t match!” Chris exclaimed from his spot on the couch.
“Hmmp,” I scoffed and turned on my heel and ran back to the bathroom. I heard Chris defending himself with a ‘but it didn’t match!’ I finally settled on a pair of low rise Old Navy jeans and a tight, form fitting peach shirt with quarter sleeves. I stuffed my dirty clothes into the bag and went back to the dressing room to put my black boots on. I sat down on the couch and watched JC run around crazy, looking at his watch ever few seconds.
“Guys, come on...” JC insisted, facing Chris and Justin. “Just get up and go put your costumes on! We’ve got...” JC looked back down at his watch and then back up at us. “Great, my watch stopped. See, my watch stopped.” He leaned over to me and held out his wrist. “See? Mickey’s hands aren’t going around in a circle anymore.” I lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow in JC’s direction, silently telling him that he is insane.
“M I C... see you real soon!” Kelly began, but lowered her head and quieted when JC glared over at her.
He grabbed my wrist and held it up so that he could see my watch. “Great, it’s 8:45. We’re not going to have time to do a hacky, and we’re gonna suck on stage, I can already tell. My stress o meter is sky high right now!” He slammed his head down on the arm of the couch and left it there. I looked over at Justin and Chris who had silently stood and went to the clothing racks and started pulling their costumes off the hangers.
Two minutes later, the dressing room door swung open and Joe stuck his head in. “Okay guys, let’s get going! Do a hacky and get hooked up!”
JC jumped up. “Well, you know, maybe we could if those two would get dressed.” JC jerked his thumb behind his shoulder to the rest of us who were standing, ready to go.
Joe raised an eyebrow in JC’s direction. “JC, have you been hitting that crack pipe again?”
“No. Why?”
“Well, I don’t know what you’re seeing, but I’m seeing a room of five boyband members and two girlfriends are look ready and willing to get their asses where they are supposed to be.” JC spun around and looked at the six of us who were standing, staring at him as if he were a madman.
“Joe, I swear, five minutes ago, Justin and Chris were not ready to go!”
“JC, save it. Come on guys, let’s go hacky!” Joe commanded.
The five men filed out the door and into the hallway where Chris produced a hacky sack from his pocket. He tossed it up, and kicked over to Lance with his foot. Lance easily returned it, where Chris then bumped it over to Justin. Without fail, without the sack hitting the ground, all five of them hit it, and met in the center of the circle for a group hug before they were ushered off under the under the stage to get hooked up to their ‘strings.’
Joe lead Kelly and I to the entrance to the stadium, quickly introduced us to the guard there, made sure we had our badges, then, we were set free to find our seats and enjoy the show. I giggled like one of the teeny’s when I saw where Kelly had gotten us seats- front row, right side, on the end next to the center aisle. However, that was just the first of many moments during the night for both of us. As soon as the music started for the first song and JC took his place front and center, I was unable to stop smiling. I was just standing there, smiling as if I had never seen him before. I heard a sigh next to me and looked over at Kelly who was shaking her head at me as if I were pathetic.
“Briley, you should really stop,” she leaned over and yelled into my ear. “You’re starting to frighten me with all this teenylike behavior.”
“And how often do I do this? Never!” I exclaimed as I suddenly burst into a fit of jumping up and down and clapping.
When Lance came forward to do the intro for ‘God Must Have Spent,’ I looked over at Kelly again, only to see her with a giddy smile plastered across her cheeks. “You were saying?” I asked with a laugh. She just stuck her tongue out at me as the song started and Justin began singing.
“Can this be true? Tell me can this be real? You -” Justin pointed to the crowd.
“How can I put into words how I feel?” The crowd shouted back.
“My life was complete, I thought I was whole, you -” Justin continued. At this point, he caught sight of us and grinned.
“Why do I feel like I’m losing control?”
“Very nice,” Justin said with a smile before continuing with the song. They sang through the chorus and switched places, JC taking Justin’s place at the front microphone.
“In all of creation, all things big and small, you are the one that surpasses them all...” JC was leaned over a bit, his eyes closed as he sang. He then opened them as he sang the next line, saw the two of us standing down there, and a huge smile spread across his face, keeping his eyes on us for the rest of the verse. “More precious than any diamond or pearl, they broke the mold when you came in this world...”
I looked over at Kelly, found her already looking at me, and gave her a huge smile. She reached over, took my hand and gave it a squeeze as JC stood on the right side of the microphone stand for the rest of his verse and time in the spotlight. They progressed with the show, and halfway through ‘I Thought She Knew,’ Kelly grabbed my hand and pulled me away from my seat and toward the backstage area. She flashed the guard a smile and he let us back with no problems. “Kelly, what are you doing?” I asked.
“Me and you are going onstage for ‘Just Got Paid.’”
“Do they know?” I asked as a huge group of girls was herded past us. We fell into step with them as a DJ from a local radio station headed up the group.
“Not a clue,” Kelly said with a smile.
“Girls, girls, girls. Can you handle one more surprise?” The DJ asked, snapping Kelly and I away from our conversation. We then realized that he had actually said more, but we had not idea WHAT. The group screamed. “Hey Lance!” The DJ hollered.
Kelly leaned a little to the side and smiled as she saw Lance running down the hall with a handful of money. He approached among screams as he began to explain the dance contest and the thousand dollars. He looked around the group as he spoke and when he caught sight of us, gave us a strange look and small smile before turning and running away again. Then, we were shown to the stage, right behind ‘The Klub.’
Moments later, the doors swung open and we were on HBO. Kelly and I stood toward the middle of the group and danced and she smiled when Lance caught her eye and winked at her. She made a face at him as he began dancing with a girl towards the front. I looked over to find JC and saw that some girl had leaned over while he was singing and slung her arm around him and was still dancing as she did this. He didn’t do anything to push her away, so I glared in the girl’s direction and had just made up my mind to make my way over there to dance up next to JC. Kelly grabbed my arm and quickly shook her head no and pulled me back towards her to dance some more. It was then that the five went back to the front of the stage and the doors to ‘the klub’ were shut.
The security guards ushered us all off the stage, but Kelly and I hung towards the back of the group to wait for the guys, since we knew they would be headed there to do a costume change while the big, ugly clown talked. None of the guards said a word to us as we made our way over to where they would be doing their changes. Before the clown had even begun to talk, all five had changed and were taking a quick breather before “Space Cowboy.” I walked over to JC and gave him a hug. “So, do I hug better than that girl out there?”
He looked disapprovingly at me. “Briley, that wasn’t something I could help. It’s not like I asked her to do it.”
“I know. I was just kidding.” I took a step closer to him and lifted my lips to his for a quick second. “I was just teasing you...” I mumbled as I rested my hand on his hip. I stared up at him as I ran my hand around to his thigh where I just let it rest there. I gently applied a bit of pressure for a moment.
“Babe, what are you doing?” He mumbled as he looked down between our bodies.
“Nothing, nothing at all.”
“Okay guys, get ready!” Joe shouted as he ran past. JC took a couple of deep sighs, then reached down to his crotch and quickly readjusted himself.
“That’s not cool,” he mumbled to me as he turned and ran toward the stage.
I looked back to see Kelly staring at Lance’s butt as he was the last to run under the stage for the opening. I approached her. “Why was Lance blushing when he ran by?”
“I just happened to mention how cute his butt looked in those leather pants.” She gave me a smug smile. “What do you look so proud of yourself for?”
“I just... well... made him a little excited.”
Kelly’s mouth dropped as the two of us reclaimed our seats. “Briley! He gets enough crap for having that problem on stage all the time anyway! Why’d you have to go and do it on purpose?”
I shook my head. “It’s not like it’ll be THAT noticeable from the stage.” Kelly raised her eyebrow at me. “At least, I hope not.”
As soon as they rose from the bottom of the stage, my eyes went to JC and I realized that I was wrong... very wrong. JC looked uncomfortable enough in those red pants as it was, but tonight, that was amplified about a hundred times.
Kelly looked over at me. “I hope you realize that you owe him big time now... no pun intended.”
I nodded. “I noticed.”
By the end of the song, JC’s little problem had went away, so I could concentrate on enjoying the rest of the show. Before “Bye Bye Bye” had even finished, Kelly and I ran backstage and were immediately ushered into a van that took us to the hotel before the five boys. We had planned to wear the same clothes for whatever else was planned for the evening. We were reclined on a bed watching the aftermath of the concert on a local news channel when JC and Lance burst into the room.
“This bites,” JC stated.
“What does?” I asked.
“Their not letting us go out tonight,” Lance replied, pulling his shirt off.
Kelly stared at him in amazement. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?” Lance asked.
“Pull your shirt off by grabbing the back of the neck and not have it end up inside out?”
“Just a special talent, I suppose,” Lance answered. “But, tell me, how do you girls take off a bra without taking off your shirt? I mean, you reach behind, and out of nowhere, out comes a bra from your sleeve.”
“Just a special talent, I suppose,” Kelly replied, mimicking him. “Anyway, so you guys can’t go out tonight?”
JC shook his head. “Nope. We’re confined to the hotel for some reason.”
I stood and walked to the window. “And I guess it has nothing to do with the fact that several hundred rabid teenyboppers are surrounding the hotel?”
“That might have something to do with it,” Lance replied as he approached the window. He looked down and waved quickly. Even though the windows were shut, the high pitched squeals reached us loud and clear.
“This sucks,” Kelly muttered. “So what are we supposed to do now?”
I shrugged as I flopped back to the bed and picked up the remote control. I began flipping channels and eventually found a news show that was giving the highlights from the concert that evening. They showed a clip of “Space Cowboy” and it was all I could do to not start laughing. “So Jace... tell me...” Lance started to say.
“Lance, shut up.”
“But... I was just curious...”
“No.”
“But-”
“Forget it.”
“Whatever.”
I started to laugh at the two as my cell phone rang in my backpack. I fell off the bed in my pursuit to the phone and crawled over to the chair where my backpack was. I took it out and pressed the button. “Hello?”
“Hi... can I talk to Briley please?” A girl asked.
“This is her...” I replied slowly.
“Oh... hi. This is... uh... Katie... I was the girl at the Taco Bell drive thru the night you and Kyle came through.” My mouth dropped.
“Can you hang on for a second?” I turned to the room. “Hey guys, I’ll be back in just a second.” I went out to the hall and down to where the ice machine was located. “Hey... what’s up?”
“Nothing really. I got your number from Kyle.”
“Oh.”
“And we were having a party tomorrow night and wanted to see if you wanted to come. Actually, we’re having a get together tonight too, so you’re welcome to show up for it also.”
“Did Kyle mention that I’m in New York right now?”
“No...”
“Well... I am, so I can’t come tonight, but what time are you all starting tomorrow?”
“If you could be there around nine, I think that’s when Kyle is going to show up. You two will probably ride together though, huh?”
“Yeah,” I mumbled, glancing back down the hall to the room. I noticed that JC had left, holding the ice bucket, and was making his way toward me. “Listen, Katie, I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I quickly pushed the end button before she could prolong the conversation. I stayed where I was as he approached. “So... tell me something,” I began.
“If this is about the problem during ‘Space Cowboy’ that you caused, no.”
“No, it’s not,” I replied, stifling a giggle. “On ‘It’s Gonna Be Me’ where you all come in on different parts and do that leaning thing... ya know?” JC nodded. “Do you ever come in on the right note?” He just looked at me. “I swear, everytime I hear that song live, you are off key there.”
“Oh, thank you so much,” he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at me. “With you being the professional and all, I so appreciate the opinion.”
“Smart ass,” I said with a laugh as he filled the ice bucket. I stood next to him with my arms crossed. “Listen, JC, I think we need to talk.” Talking to Katie had for some reason, given me a burst of encouragement, and I knew I had to talk to him before things got out of hand.
“Talk huh? Want to go to my room?” He raised his eyebrows.
“No, JC. I mean, I really need to talk to you. Using words. Not body language.” JC stayed quiet and watched as I sat down on the floor. I stayed silent until he followed suit. I took a deep breath. “Listen... I think I need a break.”
“From... what?”
I lowered my head. “From this couple thing.” I took a deep breath and clasped my hands together. “I’m not like Kelly. I dated alot in high school, so I never actually found out what it was like to have time for me... for Briley. I think I need that time now. I need that time to be on my own. Literally.”
JC didn’t utter a word and I didn’t expect him to. “So, that’s that? You’re dumping me like that?”
“JC, I’m not dumping you. I just want to take things a bit slower... just take a little time to learn who I am.”
JC ran his hand through his hair. “Well... I can’t really keep you from doing it. But, I love you. I’m going to respect your decision about us.”
“Can you do me a favor though, JC? Maybe keep it quiet around the others? I just don’t really want them to know that I did this.”
“They’re going to find out eventually anyway,” JC reasoned.
“I know... but for now...” I shook my head as I stood.
JC sighed. “Okay.” He shrugged. “Briley...” he just shook his head and turned and walked to the room. I stayed in the little ice machine room for a few extra minutes and just thought about what I had just done. I began to wonder if I had somehow made a huge mistake. I slowly began to walk back to the room and knocked lightly. Lance opened it a second later and went back to sitting on the floor. I laid down on the bed and grabbed the remote control. The news was still playing, on the weather, but since none of us would be in town for the next few days, we had no reason to know what the weather was going to be.
I began to flip through the channels, stopping on a Christian network. I smiled. “Kelly, check it out... Veggie Tales!” She just stared at me as I stood up on the bed and began jumping up and down, singing along to the theme song. “... if a squash can make you smile... if you like to waltz with potatoes, up and down the produce aisle...” I reached down and pulled Kelly up onto the bed with me, smiling giddily at JC who just stared at me from the other bed. The two of us began jumping up and down, singing at the top of our lungs. “VEGGIE TALES, VEGGIE TALES, VEGGIE TALES, VEG-IE TALES!” We took a breath and continued singing. “Broccoli, celery, gotta be- VEGGIETALES!” It was at that moment that we were assaulted with many soft, fluffy, feather filled objects. I stopped jumping and glared over at JC who innocently pointed at Lance, who was sitting on the floor, holding the remote control to the now silent television. Lance just shrugged and pointed at JC.
“It was his idea.”
I flopped backwards onto the bed as a loud sigh escaped. “Turn it back on. We’ll be quiet. I promise.”
“You promise? I didn’t promise anything,” Kelly stated as she began jumping up and down again. For someone who didn’t want to watch it in the first place, she sure was enjoying it now. “VEGGIE TALES! VEGGIE TALES! VEGGIE TALES!” This time, we didn’t need the pillows to stop her, because loud pounding on our door did it for us. Kelly jumped off the bed and literally bounced over to the door and jerked it open, singing all the way. “Cauliflower, sweet and sour, half an hour, veggie tales!” Justin stood there, staring at her. He looked around Kelly, who was still jumping up and down to see the other three of us.
“Dude, you guys have gotta-”
“VEGGIE TALES! VEGGIE TALES! VEGGIE TALES!”
“You have to-
“VEGGIE TALES! VEGGIE TALES! VEGGIE TALES!”
“You have to-” Justin reached over and clasped his hand over her face so that his entire palm covered her mouth. “As I was saying, you guys have gotta come see this! Chris and Joey-” Justin cracked up, unable to talk, barely able to breathe. “Chris and Joey-” He started again, before continuing to laugh. Then, he just motioned to the four of us to follow.
As Justin turned and stumbled down the hall, Kelly found her chance again. “VEGGIE TALES! VEGGIE TALES! VEGGIE TALES!” Lance, JC, and I exchanged a look as we all stood to go follow Justin who was still laughing hysterically. We made our way down the hall and turned a corner when Kelly, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped, making the three of us run into each other. I glanced around her to see a sight that I hope I never see again. Joey and Chris were sitting right outside one of their hotel rooms, sitting in lawn chairs, shirtless.
“Did I hear someone singing veggie tales?” Chris shouted.
“Dude, Chris... why are you wearing an army helmet?” JC asked as he stepped out of the line that we were still in.
Joey and Chris both ignored the question. “Veggie Tales! We’re goin’ to war against Larry and Bob!” Joey yelled.
“War!” Chris echoed.
“I’m offended by that!” Kelly exclaimed, standing like a little kid with one hand on her hip. “What did Larry and Bob ever do to you to make you have to go to war against them? And what is going to war anyway? I’ll have you know, Larry and Bob are perfect examples of how to raise kids in a Christian home!”
Joey looked up at her from under his army helmet and spoke one word. “War.”
Chris stood and pointed at her. “You better be careful or we’re going to go to war against you too!” He fell backwards into his chair, almost spilling the drink in his hand. It was then that we noticed what it was that they were drinking. There were two half empty twelve packs of Budweiser sitting between the two lawn chairs.
Justin slumped against the wall, still laughing. “Is this not the funniest thing you guys have ever seen in your life?”
Lance patted his pockets, looking for his cell phone that was obviously still sitting in the room we had just left. “Justin, do you have your phone? I think we need to call Lonnie and have him straighten them out. This is just crazy.”
Chris and Joey looked at each other, laughing hysterically. “Lonnie gave us the helmets!”
Kelly, Lance, JC and I exchanged a look before yelling one word at the two. “WHAT?!” Justin began another round of laughing, sliding down the wall and sitting on the floor, staring across the hall at Joey and Chris.
“Well, you see... we were just sitting here, drinkin’ our beers, and Lonnie came walkin’ by with these old army helmets that he found backstage... I don’t know where they came from, but Lonnie found ‘em, and he came walkin’ by with ‘em while we were sittin’ here drinkin’ our beers, and we begged him to give ‘em to us. And ya know, since we were just sittin’ here, drinkin’ our beers, he did, and then, we put ‘em on and decided, ‘we’re gonna go to war against things we don’t like.’ And we did.” Joey finished by downing the rest of the beer in the can, growling, and crushing it against his forehead.
“Ooookay,” JC said slowly, nodding. “And why are you sitting out here, drinking beer, going to war?”
“Well, ya see... we were just sittin’ here, drinkin’ our beer, and Lonnie came walkin’ by with these old army helmets...” Joey began to tell his story again.
“No... I mean, why are you in the hall?” JC repeated.
“Oh...” Joey and Chris said together. Then, Joey began the story of why they were in the hall. “We were out on the balcony, and then, those... girls... ya know... the crazy- teenyboppers! Yeah, there were teenyboppers out there, and since they think that we are perfect, we couldn’t sit out there, they couldn’t see us drinkin’ our beer, and no one is supposed to know that we drink beer. And... Chris, I think we need to go to war against them teenyboppers!”
“WAR!” Chris shouted, standing up and pointing at the ceiling before sitting down again.
“We’re goin’ to war against them teenyboppers because they won’t let us drink our beer out on the balcony!”
“WAR!” Chris shouted again, jumping to his feet. A few gasps from across the hallway caught our attention and we turned to see Justin fall over, laying on his side, still gasping for breath and holding his stomach.
I had been silent up until now as my eyes slowly surveyed the scene, just taking everything in. “So, let me get this straight... Veggie Tales pissed you off...”
“No! Kelly singing veggie tales! There’s a difference!” Joey exclaimed, popping open another beer.
“Okay, so Kelly singing Veggie Tales pissed you off... and teenyboppers thinking your perfect?”
“No, teenyboppers standing outside!” Joey corrected.
“Okay, so Kelly singing, teenyboppers standing outside...”
“And don’t forget that we’re just going to war against Veggie Tales for the hell of it!” Joey exclaimed.
“Okay, so Veggie Tales, Kelly singing Veggie Tales, and teenyboppers outside...”
“Dang Briley, why do you have to make everything so hard to understand? Why do women do that? I think that we need to go to war against women, what do you think Chris?”
“WAR!” Chris shouted, standing one more time, and then, falling backwards, only to have the lawn chair collapse under his weight.
I just threw my hands up in the air and turned to leave, letting Joey and Chris going to war, and Justin laughing like a lunatic at the entire scene. “Forget it. I’m just going to go finish watching my Veggie Tales.” As I was leaving, I heard Chris stand up and shout.
“Tell Larry and Bob to watch out!”
I then, too began to laugh, leaning against a wall, out of sight, and listening to the ensuing conversation. “I want to go to war too,” I heard Justin say.
“Nope, you can’t drink beer,” Joey said. “And even if you could, we don’t have another helmet. Chris, let’s go to war against Justin because he’s too young to drink beer!”
“WAR!” Chris shouted one last time as I walked into the room, letting the door close softly behind me.
“JC, I’m so sorry,” I said softly before I leaned up and kissed his cheek. I then turned and without another word from either of us, I walked down the ramp leading to the plane. One good thing about having ‘N Sync’s travel agent plan my flights were that they were always first class, so the second that I was seated, I dug my CD player from my backpack and prepared the CD for when I could turn it on. I made myself comfortable and waited.
The plane left the gate and lifted into the air without any problems and before I knew it, a flight attendant was at my side, offering me something to drink. I took a bottle of water before I slipped the headphones over my ears and leaned my head against the window. I listened to the song that pumped from the CD, occasionally wiping a tear from my cheek as I questioned my decision regarding JC.
Before I knew what was happening, the plane had once again landed and we were cleared to leave. I stepped off the plane and down the ramp and Kyle was right there, waiting for me. Right inside the terminal. I slowly walked over to him with my head lowered. He didn’t speak, just lifted my chin with his hand. I took a deep breath and spoke the three words that I knew I would end up regretting in the future. “I told him.”
