| ~The Part of Me I Never Had 21~ |
| I changed into a purple mini skirt and a matching purple halter-top. I walked cautiously to his dressing room at 5:55. Then I knocked softly on his door. �Come in.� I opened the door and saw the room dark, except for the light of one flickering candle, which was sitting on the table. I walked to the candle, but once I got close to it, I felt arms around my waist from behind. �Hey Jessie,� came a soft smooth voice. �Hey,� I replied. He turned me around so I could face him. He wasn�t dressed for the concert yet, but I concentrated on his face, which was looking tense. �What is it?� I asked worriedly. �Jessie, I have to tell you something. It�s really important.� �Yeah?� I asked nervously as we sat down on a couch. The candle was making his face look mysterious and luring. The light was casting shadows on his face. He took a deep breath. �Do you think it�s too early to say�that� I love you?� I was shocked. I was running the words through my mind. He loves me. Like I loved him. I decided to speak. �No, it�s not too early. In fact, I love you too,� I said quietly. There was certain happiness in his eyes that I couldn�t even find the words to describe. It gave me a sense of joy. He leaned in and kissed me. It was slow and passionate. My mind was spinning. My heart was pounding like crazy. My stomach was doing summersaults. When we parted, I was a bit light-headed. He turned and when he turned back, there was a ruby velvet box in his hand. A bunch of thoughts went through my head. �This isn�t what I think it is, is it?� I asked nervously. He smiled and said, �No. It�s not a proposal. Don�t worry. It�s just a bracelet. It�s for you.� He handed me the box. I opened it slowly, anticipating the surprise. I gasped when I saw it. It was a chain of hearts, I different letter in each one, spelling out the words, I love you. For the hearts that did not have any letters, they had a small diamond in the middle. I just stared at it in shock, surprise, and love. I looked up to JC, who was anticipating my response. �It�s beautiful,� I gasped. He took the bracelet and put it on my right wrist. It gleamed with beauty in the candlelight. �A beautiful bracelet, for a beautiful girl,� he said simply. I smiled. �It�s to symbolize my love for you. I promise you that my love will never stray from you, and that you are the best thing that has happened to me since *N Sync. I love everything about you, your personality, your beauty, your voice. And it also means that I�ll love you forever,� he said sincerely. �Oh JC�you�re the best thing that has happened to me ever. You were there when I needed someone the most. I love you with all my heart.� He kissed me again, with even more passion than the first. It was short and sweet. I had never felt this way about anyone. I cared more about JC than I did Heather. My heart was beating so fast, I could barely tell one beat from the next. We just sat, staring at each other. Finally, our stares were interrupted by a knock on the door, piercing the silence. �Hey JC! We gotta get to makeup quick!� came Lance�s voice. �Ok. Be with you in a minute!� JC shouted. He looked at me, and took my hand. He blew out the candle and turned the lights on. Then he opened the door. Lance stood there, shocked to see me. He quickly regained his composure and said, �C�mon, everyone�s there already.� He looked at me and said, �You can come too.� I nodded and walked with JC to the make up. The guys looked surprised to see me, but then greeted me warmly. Justin looked at me and eyed the bracelet. �Told ya,� he mouthed. I just smiled at him. *************************************************************************** We ran to the bus. The concert was over and we were headed to the bus. I had never known for girls to be so loud. I swear I had gone partially deaf. Once safely on the bus, the guys collapsed onto the lounge couch. I sat down next to JC�s left, Justin�s right. Justin bent over and whispered, �See, didn�t I tell ya?� �Shut up Curly,� I said in a normal voice. �Shut up about what?� JC asked curiously. �Remember that one day in the hotel room when Justy wouldn�t shut up?� �Oh yeah.� �What are you guys talking about?� asked Chris. �Nothing Chris. Nothing at all.� I stood up to leave when Lance said, �Whoa Jess. Where�d you get the bracelet? Never seen you wear that one before.� �Yeah. Where did you get that?� Chris joined in. �Looks pretty expensive to me.� I hid the bracelet from view, feeling very nervous. �It�s nothing,� I said, glancing at all of them, then JC, who looked as nervous as I was. I looked at all of them so I wouldn�t be caught looking at JC. �Doesn�t look like nothing,� Joey pressed. �It�s none of your business. Now please don�t ask,� I said exasperated. �Ooh. Ok,� they retreated. Once I was out of their sight, I listened in. �Hey, how come you two haven�t said anything?� asked Chris. �We just don�t want to get into anyone�s business,� said Justin. �Oh come on Justin. You�re as bad as me. If you�re not sayin� anything, it must mean that you know something,� came Chris�s voice. �Just because I don�t want to get into JJ�s business does not mean I don�t wanna know.� �Good lying� �And you JC?� �I have nothing to do with this,� he said calmly. A little too calmly. �Oh my god!� they cried. �God, do they know?� �Oh my god what?� asked JC, obviously nervous. �You bought her that didn�t you?� accused Joey. �What? No, of course not. I-� �You�re lying. I can see it in your eyes,� pressed Lance. �I am not saying another word,� said a frustrated JC. �You bought it,� the three chorused. �Justin, aren�t you gonna say something?� asked Chris. Then he paused. �No! You helped him didn�t you?� �What? I did nothing of the sort. I-� �You helped him buy it. You�re lying,� Lance said. �That Lance is just a human lie detector isn�t he?� �I�m not gonna say another word,� said an equally frustrated Justin. �So you admit it!� shouted Joey. �Shut up,� said JC and Justin together. I could hear shuffling. �I�m going to bed.� �Yeah me too.� I practically dove into my bunk and pulled on the headphones of my CD player. The curtains opened and Justin�s face popped up. �Did you hear anything?� �Uh�no,� I lied. �You heard it didn�t you?� �No!� �I can tell by how your CD player isn�t on.� He had caught me. �Ok so I heard the whole thing. Is that so bad?� �Nah. Well, see you tomorrow,� he said, then he disappeared. �Jess?� came a soft voice across the hall. �Yeah?� �Should we tell them?� �When they�re ready. They didn�t see the words though,� I said. �Thank goodness for that. They would�ve really gone wild.� Then, silence for a while. �Sweet dreams Jessie.� �You too C.� *************************************************************************** I heard a couple of hisses, which awakened me. I listened hard. �Ok guys, we�ll open the curtain, look at the bracelet, and be gone before anyone notices. I heard Jessie and JC saying something about that there were words on it.� It was Chris. �That dirty chipmunk!� �But what if someone catches us?� asked Lance, who obviously sounded uneasy. �No one is gonna catch us Lance. Besides, if someone caught us�� he went on. �Fight fire with fire� I was too busy writing a note on a piece of paper to listen to the rest. Remov-ing the bracelet and hiding it, I taped the paper onto my wrist. I smiled to myself and pretended to sleep. �Ok ready?� Chris asked. �Yeah.� I heard the curtains open and I felt the note being ripped off my wrist. From the corner of my eye I could see a dim source of light. �Chris, Lance, and Joey have no business in anybody�s personal life and should stop being so nosy,� I heard Chris mutter. �Damn them. They found out our plan! We�ll try next time then. C�mon guys. Let�s get to bed.� I recovered my bracelet and put it back on. I for sure didn�t want to lose it. *************************************************************************** My eyes were pulled open by JC. �Wake up sleepy head!� He let go of my eyelids and sat down. I blinked and my eyes focused. �Where am I?� I asked sitting up. �The hotel room.� �How�d I get in here? I don�t remember getting up,� I asked, perplexed. �What other way? I carried you in here. Of course, then I had to pry your arms off, but�� he laughed as I hit him. �What time is it?� �7:00.� �What about the other guys?� I asked, still trying to get the sleep out of my eyes. �It�s the strangest thing. I knock on the door and Chris answers right? He talks to me very weirdly, like I did something really bad to him or something. It�s just weird.� I suddenly remembered. �Oh JC! I have the funniest thing to tell you!� �Will it explain why Chris is acting weird?� �Yeah.� �Ok. Hit me.� �Well last night I heard someone hiss, so I woke up. I listened in on them and found out that Chris, Joey, and Lance were gonna look at the bracelet. It seems that they heard us talking last night about the words on it,� I stopped and watched JC�s eyes widen. I continued, �Well, I grabbed a pen and paper and wrote, Chris, Joey, and Lance have no business in people�s personal lives, and should stop being so nosy, and-� I got cut off by JC�s snickering, �And I taped it to my wrist and took off the bracelet. They read it and went away saying they�ll get it next time.� He shook his head. �He thought I had something to do with it�maybe that�s why�� �Why don�t we go over and apologize?� I suggested while combing out my hair. �Sounds good.� *************************************************************************** We knocked on the door. It was answered this time, by Lance. �Hey,� he said in monotone. �Lance, I had nothing to do with it!� JC said, cutting to the chase. �You didn�t?� asked Chris. �No, you guys just woke me up so I planted that on my wrist, and you know the rest,� I apologized. Chris, Joey, and Justin, who had obviously come to visit, had appeared at the door, listening intently. �Oh. Why didn�t you save us the trouble and just tell us what it says on there?� asked Chris. I pursed my lips, thinking if I should tell. I looked at JC, who seemed to be thinking also. Then I looked at Justin, who was shaking his head when no one else was watching. He caught JC�s eyes and shook his head. �Sorry guys, not happening. Not until I feel ready to tell you,� I answered. They looked disappointed. �But hey, if you act more understanding, I might tell you sooner.� They brightened. �C�mon C, let�s get breakfast. You wanna join us Justy?� I asked. �Sure. Just let me grab my stuff.� �Why�d you invite him but not us?� Joey pouted. �Forget why. Justin! Hurry!� I called. �Alright let�s jam!� he called back. And we headed down together. *************************************************************************** �Justin, how many times must you look at that bracelet?� I asked, irritated. �Just enough,� Justin said as he handed the bracelet back. Then he turned to JC, �Didn�t I tell you she�d like it, C?� �No you did not. I picked it out on my own. You only decided to get the one with diamonds, not ruby.� �I would�ve accepted anything you would�ve bought me. It�s the meaning that counts, remember?� �But I wanted it to be nice,� he argued. �I have to say that it�s too nice.� �Nothing�s nice enough for you,� JC answered softly. �Am I gonna have to put up with this the whole day?� Justin said to the air, sitting loudly back in the seat. �No, cuz you are gonna go back to the hotel later,� replied JC, not taking his eyes off the road. �Really? Why?� �Yeah really C, why?� I asked. �Cuz Jessie and I have some business to take care of,� he replied mischievously. �Ok, but let�s worry about that after breakfast ok?� I responded, feeling the emptiness in my stomach. �I�m goin� with JJ on this one C. I am starving!� JC shook his head and kept driving. *************************************************************************** �Sure you guys will be ok without me?� Justin asked for the millionth time. �YES!� JC and I shouted. �Ok, ok. I�m leaving.� Justin got in the limo that came to get him. �JC, you mind telling me where we�re going?� I asked as he started the car. He just smiled and said, �You�ll see.� |
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