“Why don’t you just go tell Jade to make up her mind or else?!” Nick yells at me suddenly. I stare at him in shock. We have been watching a movie in silence but he’s obviously been busy thinking about Jade and Brian.
“Because it’s her choice and she’s finding it hard enough without me turning ultimatum girl on her!”
“Well, I hope she knows what she’ll lose if she chooses JC.”
“And what’s that?” I ask.
“All of us,” he states, folding his arms.
“She won’t lose me or AJ,” I tell him angrily. “And if you are so shallow as to forget a pretty good friendship then you’re not worth keeping.”
“You can’t stay friends with her!”
“Uh, excuse me?! Since when did you get the right to choose my friends? I was friends with Jade way before you came along and I’ll be friends with her way after you’ve gone!”
“Ali!” he stares at me. “But you’re supposed to love me!”
“I DO love you! But Jade is my best FRIEND!”
“So she’s more important than me?” he sulks.
“No, but you have no right to tell me what to do!”
“Fine,” he stands up. “At least I know where I stand now.”
“Nick,” I groan as he walks to the door. “Where you going?”
“To hang out with my REAL buds,” he states and disappears.
“Ugh,” I groan exasperatedly. The boy can be pretty damn childish at times. To be honest, I’m hoping Jade chooses Brian cos if she doesn’t my life will be a nightmare. How can I keep seeing Jade regularly if I’m on this tour? And if I leave, Nick will freak out. Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.
After spending an hour or so catching up, Britney and I decide to get some dinner in the hotel restaurant. We catch the elevator down and head into the spacious dining room. We find a table for two in a corner and sit down. I pick up the menu and scan it.
“Anything sound good?” Britney asks.
“Uh, I’m just gonna have a club sandwich,” I hand the menu to her as a waiter walks over.
“Hello, what can I get you?”
“A coke and a club sandwich please,” I smile.
“Sure thing,” he grins and looks at Britney as she looks up from the menu. His eyes widen in recognition and his mouth drops. It’s kinda funny.
“Hi, uh, I’ll have the same,” she says.
“Anybody tell you that you look a LOT like Britney Spears?” he stutters.
“ALL the time,” she rolls her eyes and I giggle as he walks away.
“So what, the guy thinks you’re a lookalike?” I exclaim.
“You’d be surprised how many people do,” she grins. “They all think Britney Spears wouldn’t possibly eat in their restaurant or walk down their street.”
“I guess they must think you float or somethin’,” I grin and she laughs.
“I wish! So, how do you choose between JC and Brian huh?”
“Ohh,” I groan. “Can’t we talk about something else?”
“Nup,” she shakes her head annoyingly. “You gotta sort this out and I am here to help you.”
“Fine,” I sigh. “Any ideas?”
“Ok, let’s get shallow – which one’s the better singer?”
“No contest,” I roll my eyes.
“You’re right – JC.”
“JC?!” I exclaim. “Brian is WAY better!”
“He is NOT! Have you HEARD JC sing? I mean, REALLY sing? The boy is so soulful…” she sighs. “I mean, Justin has this weedy little boy’s voice but JC…”
“I kinda like Justin’s voice,” I laugh. “But actually, I’ve never heard JC sing live or anything.”
“You gotta!” she exclaims and then her eyes light up. “I got an idea! Girl, you and me are goin’ dancing tonight.”
“Uh, I am not in the mood Brit,” I mutter.
“C’mon! It’ll take your mind off of this whole thing.”
“Fine,” I give in. “Anything for an easy life.”
“Great!” she claps her hands together excitedly. “Ok, do me a favour – call Justin and get him down here.”
“You wanna see him?”
“No, YOU wanna see him,” she states.
I give her a long look and then pull my cell out of my pocket with a shrug. I dial Justin’s cell and he answers pretty quickly.
“Hey Jade. What’s up?”
“Not much. Just gonna eat in the restaurant. You wanna join?”
“Sure, I’m hungry. JC too?”
“Uh, just you.”
“Ok, I’ll be right down,” he hangs up and I look at Britney.
“He’ll be right down.”
“Great,” she stands up. “Then I’ll be off.”
“What?” I stare at her. “But you told me to invite him!”
“Yeah because I need to talk to JC and I don’t want Justin there. Meet me in the lobby, say 11pm?”
“Sure,” I agree and she heads off as the waiter comes over with our food.
“Does your friend not want her food?” he asks, setting the plates down.
“I guess not,” I tell him as I see Justin walking towards us. “But leave it, my other friend might want it.”
“Hey Jade,” Justin greets and sits in Britney’s recently vacated chair. “Already ordered?”
“Yup. Do you want that club sandwich?”
“Sure, looks good.”
“Ok, thanks,” I tell the waiter who is staring at Justin.
“Y’know, I recognise you now,” he tells me. “There was a picture of you guys together on MTV before. I heard you broke him and Britney up. But…why was Britney sitting with you before?” he adds, confused.
“Don’t believe all you hear on MTV,” I tell him wryly and he walks away.
“Britney was here?” Justin asks.
“Briefly.”
“So, any closer to choosing JC?” he takes a bite out of his sandwich and I groan.
“Can we talk about something else?”
“Sure,” he shrugs. “See the basketball game?”
“So, that’s my idea,” Britney finishes telling JC.
“So, you want me,” he says slowly, “to sing a song tonight in some club to help Jade make up her mind between me and Brian?”
“Yeah,” Britney nods proudly.
“Sorry but that’s a dumb idea!”
“It is not!” she defends. “Think about it. Jade has heard Brian sing so many times. He’s even written songs for her! She has no idea how good you are JC, so show her.”
“She’s not gonna want to be with me just because I can SING!” he exclaims.
“I know but…” she sighs. “It’s hard to explain this but when we get to see our guys on stage, we kinda turn into fans and it makes us fall more in love with you than before. It’s like relationship teenyboppers.”
“It is?!” he laughs and she nods, wide-eyed.
“True. Ask ANY girl, she’ll tell ya.”
“Fine. Say that I’ll do it, do I just stand in the middle of a dancefloor or what?”
“I’ll sort something out. A karaoke bar or something. So, you’ll do it?”
“What would I sing?!”
“I don’t know,” she stands up. “But whatever it is, you have three hours to practise.”
“THREE?!” he yells and she opens the door.
“You can do it,” she grins and walks out. She heads to her room and calls her press agent Kelli who lives in Philadelphia for any good club ideas. She comes up with a place where people dance to live music and Britney calls the club to arrange for JC’s one-off performance. They get pretty excited when she names him as one of NSync and she wouldn’t be surprised if they arrived that night to a huge billboard announcing his presence. Britney calls JC with the details and then heads into the shower, feeling satisfied with her work.