Part 13
Alex and the guys were all hanging out on their day off. The guys hadn’t had much of a chance to go out in the last couple of weeks. But they were in New York City and they had the whole day free, so they were making the most of it.
Alex was happy to get out with the guys especially without the bodyguards that usually accompanied them. Alex knew that for the most part that they needed the bodyguards; it hadn’t taken her long to see the relative hysteria the guys could cause when they were all together. But today, the guys had wanted to go out on their own and management had let them go without much fuss, as long as they donned the requisite baseball or knit cap and sunglasses that would at least partially disguise their identities.
So, it was just the six of them and for that alone she was pleased. The guys had only asked Alex to tag along with them. She had gotten amazingly close with them in the short time they had all been together, especially JC who she’d gotten the closest with ever since the night of the party.
“Wake up!” Joey said, punching Alex on the shoulder.
She shook herself out of her reverie and punched him back. “That hurt, asshole. Don’t make me kick your butt.”
“Oooh. Big words from such a itty bitty man.” Joey grinned.
“Who are you calling itty bitty, punk?” Alex had been in the guys’ presence so much that she was even starting to talk like them. Not that she minded.
JC, who was walking beside them, laughed. “Don’t worry, babyface. Maybe one day you’ll become a big man like me.”
Alex tried to stop herself from blushing at the nickname JC had been calling her for days now. It had been a few days before when Alex had been on their bus and she and JC had been watching a movie in the back of the bus. JC had turned to look at her and really pensively said that she reminded him of a kid and that she had a baby face. She had turned red and he had grinned and stated that he was going to call her that from now on, just to embarrass her.
“That isn’t saying much, man,” Chris snickered from behind them.
“You shouldn’t talk, Tiny Tim.” JC shot back.
“Shut up, bitch.”
“Will you all just stop arguing and pay attention to what’s really important here,” Justin interrupted in annoyance.
They all stopped and looked at him.
Justin waved in the direction behind them. “We just passed Niketown and they have a shoe sale going.”
They all groaned.
Chris turned to JC and whispered, “And he says Alex is the gay one.”
They all dragged their feet and made their way to the store.
…
“You did what?” Alex faced Justin after they all lumbered out of another store.
“I got you some stuff to wear tonight.” Justin shrugged and turned down another street.
“Alex, don’t argue with it. It’ll just get him going,” Joey whispered to her.
Alex ignoring Joey’s plea, continued. “Why would you do that? What I have is fine.”
“Look, if you want to hang out with us at the clubs you have to have the right look. We can’t have you dressed in just anything.”
Alex rolled her eyes, used to Justin’s overbearing ways. “I don’t see why I can’t wear jeans and a t-shirt.”
“Oh, here we go,” Lance mumbled.
Justin turned to Alex, astonishment on his face. “Jeans and a t-shirt to Paga? Jeans and a t-shirt? That’s – that’s…sacrilege! Never let me hear you say that again.”
Alex would have laughed if it wasn’t for the utter seriousness on Justin’s face. “Ok calm down.” She put her hands up in conciliation. “If it means that much to you, I’ll wear the stuff tonight. But there better not be anything leopard print in there, Timberlake.”
Justin managed to grin in satisfaction and look innocent all at the same time.
“So what now? Food or hotel?” JC asked.
The guys called out their preferences and then decided to split up. JC, Justin and Alex were going to go back to the hotel, while Joey, Chris and Lance would go grab some food at a nearby restaurant.
“Ever been to a club before, Al?” Justin asked as JC hailed a cab.
Alex almost laughed in his face. She hadn’t been allowed to go to school dances much less anything else. “No. Then again, I’m not twenty one yet so…which reminds me, I still don’t know how you guys plan to get me in.”
“You’re with us. It’ll be fine.” JC smirked knowingly as they all got into the cab.
“So what, just because you’re in a famous group, you guys don’t have to follow normal protocol or something?”
Justin and JC looked at each other like it the answer was completely obvious.
Alex watched them and answered before they could say anything. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
They both grinned at her.
“So Paga this time then?” JC asked Justin.
“Uh huh, it was good last time. Remember that girl that I got wi—,” Justin stopped when he noticed how closely the cab driver was listening to the conversation. He didn’t want the story to be the next headline in US magazine, so he quickly changed the subject. “So you bringing V tonight?”
JC smiled. “Yeah, man. She’s never been there, so she’s all excited. She went to get her hair done and nails and stuff.”
Alex, who was looking out the window, frowned. Great, that’s all she needed. Vella hanging all over JC, the whole night.
Everything would have been relatively perfect in her life, if it wasn’t for Vella.
Alex found herself disliking the girl more every time she was forced into her company. Vella was the most superficial person Alex had ever had the displeasure of meeting and she was continuously surprised that JC put up with it. JC’s relationship with Vella seemed to be going strong and although seeing them happy together should have made Alex happy for him, it only made her feel empty.
The rest of the ride was ridden mostly in silence, the guys not wanting to disclose too much in front of the cabbie and Alex not being able to as she was hit by a few painful cramps in her stomach.
She swallowed nervously. She rarely got cramps, they only occurred when she got her…oh no.
Oh no.
Alex silently cursed the fact that she was a girl and had to deal with this stupid female stuff. She mentally catalogued what she had stuffed in her bag before she had fled home. She almost groaned aloud when she realized she hadn’t brought the things that at that moment she needed the most - pads.
She had to get some soon or she was really going to end up embarrassing herself. As soon as the cab pulled up in front of their hotel and the guys paid the driver, Alex turned to guys feigning calmness. “Where’s the nearest pharmacy?” she asked as the entered the hotel through a side door.
“A few blocks or so,” JC answered. “Why?”
“Uh…I just want to pick up some munchies.”
Why don’t you just go to the gift shop?” Justin asked jerking his head towards the store.
Alex brightened up. Maybe they’d have something there. “Yeah, I might as well.”
“Cool. So, we’ll come get you at twelve tonight. You better be wearing the stuff I got you,” Justin said as they stopped at the elevator.
“Yeah, yeah,” Alex said before turning away to head to the store. Once inside she walked through the few aisles making sure to look on each shelf carefully. It took her five minutes of doing this to come to the conclusion that her search was basically hopeless. She was about to leave when her eyes fell on a solo box. She glanced at it and picked it up. Tampons.
She’d never used them before but she knew that they were an alternative to pads and although she wasn’t sure how to use them, she figured it couldn’t be much different.
She walked over casually to the counter and put the box down. The sales clerk, a lean and tall woman, took one look at it and then at her and raised both brows.
Alex blushed. “It’s not for me. It’s for my uh …my sister.”
The woman blinked and looked at her funny before turning to the cash register. She scanned it and put it in a plastic bag. “Five seventy five.” She said in a clear voice.
Alex shoved six dollars at her and didn’t even bother to wait for the change. She grabbed the bag, stuffing it under her arm like a football and swiftly made her way to the elevator. Once she was safely inside she calmed a little, ten more floors and she would be home free.
Once she got to her floor she ran to her room. She sighed, when she got safely inside.
She relaxed as she made her way to the bathroom and then nearly jumped out of her skin as she ran straight into what seemed to be a clothing covered wall.
Leo.
She still hadn’t been able to get another roommate. Unfortunately.
“Hey Al! How you doing?” Leo asked giving her a big smile.
“Fine. Fine,” she mumbled while walking straight into the bathroom.
She shoved the door closed and locked it.
Ten minutes later Alex almost cried in relief.
They were nothing like pads; you actually had to put the damn things inside you. There were even instructions for the stupid things, not to mention a warning label. It had almost stopped Alex from going through with using them but she knew she didn’t have much choice. It had taken her five minutes just to figure out where she had to insert the thing. And it had taken her five tries before she had been able to. And although she was relieved that she finally got it, it was not the most comfortable feeling and it made her wonder if she had done it right.
A knock on the door startled her. “Hey Al, dude. Ya been in there a while. If you want some magazines or anything, I got a couple in my bag. Anyway, I’m going to go meet some of the guys and get some grub. If you want to come meet us, give me a call. I left the number on the night table.”
Alex could hear his soft footsteps on the carpet and the sound of the latch as the door closed. What had he been babbling? Magazines? It wasn’t like she was going to spend the day sitting on the toilet seat reading articles. Not like she could comfortably anyway, not with this thing in her.
She curiously peered into the leather satchel on the floor and pulled a magazine out. She blinked, Men Magazine? A buff looking guy was on the cover and he was barely wearing anything. What in the world was this?
She flipped open the magazine, looked inside and screamed. There were pictures of men, completely naked men in the magazine. She slapped it shut, dropped it back into the bag and backed away. She was disturbed. Is that what it looked like? That was the thing the girls had been referring to in school when they talked about their boyfriends? It was so…ugly. She shuddered.
She did her best to shake the image away before it seared
into her mind and then another thought hit her. Why would Leo want to look at
pictures of naked men? Why did he think she wanted to? Suddenly it all became
clear. Alex may have been sheltered her whole life but she still knew enough
about life and people to figure it out. Leo was gay and for some strange reason
he thought that Alex was too and that explained Leo’s strange behaviour. He was
after her – well not her but who he thought she was or more like who she
wasn’t.
“Will nothing go right?” she asked herself and slumped down on the cold tiled floor of the bathroom and instantly regretted it. She felt like she was sitting on a cylinder.
She prayed that things would get better for the evening. Things could only get better, right?