| I Run To You Part One "Come on, go with me!!??! PLEEEEASE?" Sasha Scott pleaded with her friend. "Agh! Fine! But only cuz I think they are hot. This is not one of your attempts to make me like your church more, OK??" Emily Clark replied. "Fine, fine! Although I wish you would at least listen to what they are saying. Their message is so-" "Stop right there." Emily held her hand up to stop her friend. "OK. I'm done talking, let's go." "OK, and why is it that Stacy couldn't go again?" "She got sick." Sasha said, starting her car. "OK, what do I owe you for the ticket?" Emily asked, retrieving her wallet from her purse. "Don't worry about it." "Oook." She said, returning her wallet to her purse. 'This should be fun...a plus ONE concert. I don't even like them...at least their cute.' Emily thought to herself. Emily Clark was 18 years old, and loved her freedom. She partied every weekend with her friends and barely made it through her classes during the week. She had been to church maybe 3 times in her whole life, hated people who were to 'preachy', and wasn't so sure she believed in god at the moment. Somewhere during all of this she had met Sasha at school and they had clicked instantly and become friends. Sasha was an active member of the bible club at school and got straight A's in everything. She never partied or did anything like that, but still had a really good group of friends. She had tried to get Emily to go with her to church and to youth group, but usually got nowhere. Tonight she had tickets to see her favorite group, plus ONE, in concert. She and her friend Stacy had planned to go until Stacy got sick. Not having anyone to go with her, she asked Emily since Emily at least knew who the guys were, even if she didn't think to highly of their music. She always said it was way to preachy for her. So here they were, watching the opening acts for the guys, Sasha out of her chair, hollering and having a great time; and Emily, sitting down and occasionally yawning as the acts performed. "Hey, could you at least try to have fun?" Sasha asked, plopping down next to her friend and smiling. "I already tried, it just wasn't working out for me." Emily replied, yawning again. "OK, I'll let you sit for now, but when the guys come on, I'm dragging you out of that seat whether you like it or not!" Sasha laughed. "Yeah, yeah." About a half hour later all the openers were done and the lights dimmed as the beginning music for plus ONE started. "Get up!" Sasha laughed, grabbing Emily by her wrists and pulling her up out of the seat. "Fine, I'm up." she groaned, her attention falling to the stage where plus ONE had just entered and began singing. She watched and listened and was surprised to find herself actually liking what she hearing. The song wasn't half bad, they could dance pretty good, and they were all really cute. Sasha looked over at her friend who was now captivated by the 5 guys performing up on the stage and smiled to herself. 'please lord, if I can't get through to her, maybe they can.' Sasha thought to herself before returning her attention back to the show. <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 "So, how did you like that?" Sasha asked as she and Emily grabbed their purses to head out of the venue. The concert had just ended. "Not bad, considering I don't like them whatsoever." "Right." Sasha said. "Let's just go, OK?" "OK." Walking outside, they saw a gathering of girls and went over to see what was going on. "Excuse me, what are ya'll doing standing here?" Emily asked one of the girls standing by her. "Plus ONE is supposed to be coming out of these doors and so we are gonna try to get some autographs." The girl replied. "Oh, OK." Emily replied. Then an idea popped into her head. "Hey Sasha, you want plus ONE's autograph?" "Yes, but I don't want to wait here." "You don't have to, follow me." Emily grabbed her arm and began pulling her around to the other side of the building. "Where are we going?" "My dad knows the guy who owns this place, where those girls are isn't where the guys will exit. They leave on the other side where no ones thinks they are." "Really?" "Yup. So let's go before they leave." "OK." They took off running towards the place where the guys would exit. <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 "Everyone ready to go?" Mitchell, plus ONE's manager yelled into the dressing room. "Yes." The five guys replied from inside. "Good, we go in 5." "OK." they replied in unison. "That show tonight was so awesome!" Jeremy Mhire said, a huge grin on his face. "Yeah, the audience totally rocked, I think we were really get through to everyone." Nate Cole replied. "Definitely." Jeremy said back. "Come on guys, lets get our stuff and go." Jason Perry said, rising from a chair and grabbing his belongings and then heading out to the bus. Each guy grabbed their stuff and followed Jason towards their tour bus. <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 "Alright this is it. I'm gonna go talk to Dan." "OK, I'll come with you." walking over to the door where the guys would exit, Emily smiled at the man standing outside. "Hey Emily, how's your dad?" "He's great Mr. Marshall, how are you?" "I'm great. You saw the show tonight?" "Yup, my friends a huge fan so I came with her when the other girl she was going with got sick." "Oh great, did you enjoy the show?" "Yes, It was great." "Glad you thought so, if you wanna stick around, the guys should be out any second. I'll introduce you." "OK, sure. This is my friend Sasha by the way." Emily motioned to Sasha to come closer. "Hi Sasha, nice to meet you, I'm Mr. Marshall." "Nice to meet you sir." Sasha replied politely. A moment later the backstage door swung open and Jason Perry walked out. Sasha's jaw dropped slightly, but she quickly recovered. "Jason, could you come here a sec." Dan asked as Jason walked by. "Mr. Marshall, nice venue sir, what can I do for you?." Jason asked as he walked over and set his things down on the ground. "I just wanted to introduce you to a couple friends of mine. This is My friend Andrew Clark's daughter Emily and her friend Sasha. They saw the show tonight." "Awesome." Jason smiled at the girl, "What did you think." "It was pretty good." Emily replied. "It was awesome! Ya'll are such amazing singers!" Sasha gushed. Emily threw her friend a weird glance and Jason chuckled. Glancing at Emily he smiled. "Not as big as of a fan as your friend I'm guessing." "Honestly, not really, but you guys weren't bad." "Well I'm glad that you didn't think we were terrible." "Yeah." Emily smiled back warmly. The rest of the guys walked out from backstage and Jason called them over to where the girls were. He introduced them to Sasha and Emily and they all stood around for a moment talking about random things. Finally their manager Mitchell appeared and said the guys needed to get on the bus if they wanted to have time to eat that night before going to the next city. "Oh, there's an idea. Have you girls eaten?" Jason asked the two girls who were getting ready to go. "No." Emily replied. "Would you like to go catch some McDonalds with us?" "Sure, why not." Sasha said. "Awesome." Jason explained which McDonald's they were headed to and then the girls headed off to Sasha's car. 10 minutes later they arrived at the McDonald's Jason had told them to go to and headed inside to find the guys already in line for their food. "Sasha, Emily." Jason motioned for them to come cut into the line next to him, "So, what you gonna get?" he asked, nudging Emily in the side. "Chicken of some sort. That's what I usually get." "Yeah." The reached the cashier and placed their orders, receiving them a few minutes later and then headed over to a table. "So, how old are you guys?" Nate asked the two girls. "I'm 18, Sasha's 17." Emily replied. "Cool." The conversation continued, everyone chatting and asking questions about each other. Jason sat, watching Emily and wondering about her. 'What church does she go to? Does she even go? She doesn't strike me as the type.....but I shouldn't stereotype her. Hmm...' Curiosity getting the better of him, he finally spoke up, "What church do ya'll go to here in town?" "I go to Sunrise Community Christian." Sasha smiled. "I don't go." Emily said quietly. "Oh, looking around for a church you like?" Sasha bit her lips nervously as Emily eyed Jason. The rest of the plus ONE guys looking on. "Where is the next stop on your tour?" Emily asked, changing the subject and looking away from Jason's questioning eyes. "Tallahassee." Jeremy replied. "Cool." They continued the conversation for a few more minutes before finishing up there food and heading outside to say goodbye. After exchanging hugs and giving the girls autographs and taking pictures, the guys started to load onto the bus. Jason hung back, wanting to talk to Emily alone. "Hey Emily?" "Yes?" she replied. "I just wanted to say that if you ever need someone to talk to about anything, and I do mean anything, you can always call me, OK?" "Umm..OK.." Emily trailed off. "Here. Take this, and please call me. I'd love to keep in touch with you." "OK, "Emily looked down at the piece of paper in her hand. Written on it was Jason's cell phone number and his email address, "Thanks." "No Problem. Nice meeting you." He reached his hand out and she shook it firmly, "Bye Emily." "Bye Jason." she replied as he walked off and hopped on the bus. She watched as it drove off into the distance and then turned and walked over to Sasha's car. "What was that about?" Sasha asked. "Look at this." Emily replied, handing her the piece of paper. Sasha looked it over quickly, her eyes widening slightly. "Emily...Oh my gosh.." she giggled. "Yeah, I know." Emily said, taking back the piece of paper and placing it in her wallet. When she arrived home that night, she placed the paper into a little jewelry box, something telling her not to get rid of the number just yet. <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 2 months later "Hey, my youth group is having a party tonight if you want to come." Sasha informed Emily as they walked to their 6th period class. "Oh, sorry, I've already got plans." Emily replied. "OK. Never mind, next time maybe?" "Maybe." Emily forced a smile. After the plus ONE concert, Sasha had continued her quest to get Emily to go to church with her, but Emily had yet to say yes. Sasha was worried, she knew that Emily was going to the party at Mike Stone's house that night. She also knew through the grapevine that their would be a lot of people drinking and doing drugs at the party. She knew she could only pray for Emily to realize that what she was doing was only going to hurt her in the end. "Alright, later." "Bye Sasha." Emily ducked into her 6th period science classroom. Since the concert she hadn't contacted Jason- she had never seen the point of it. Tonight was going to be fun though, she and her friend Amanda were going to a party. Emily hoped she could catch some attention from the guys at her school. <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 "Awesome party, Mike." Emily yelled in Mike Stone's ear as they danced in the middle of his house. "Thanks, Emily." he responded. Noticing a group of his friends off to the side, he grabbed Emily and pulled her over to where they were sitting. "Come hang with us." "OK." Emily replied. A shot glass got passed her way, filled with a clear liquid that she didn't recognize. Glancing around at everyone else drinking, she quickly downed the drink, wincing at the way it burned as it ran down her throat. 'Vodka..' she thought to herself. The guy next to her refilled her shot glass and with a deep breath she quickly downed it. 10 shots later, Emily was drunk. Drinks were still getting passed her way and she was downing them left and right, no longer feeling a burn as they went down her throat. Amanda was now seated next to her, also downing drinks as fast as she could. She felt the guy next to her nudge her. "What?" she slurred at him. He pressed 2 pills into her hand and then did the same to Amanda. She looked over at Amanda who had already downed the pills and had grabbed 2 more from the guy. Emily grabbed the bottle of vodka next to her and quickly took the pills, not caring what they were. A dizzy feeling came over her quickly. She glanced over at Amanda just in time to see her pass out and fall backwards, hitting her head on a wooden chair leg behind her. Emily wanted to tell someone to go get help but before she could, everything went black. <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 *beep beep beep* Emily slowly came to in an unfamiliar room, it was very white and all she could hear was a beeping and machines, which she could barely hear over the intense ringing in her ears. "I see your awake." A woman in a white coat said, looking down at Emily. "Who-" Emily croaked, but stopped when her throat began to burn as she talked. "Who am I?" Emily nodded. "I'm Dr. Williams,and you are at the Baptist Medical Center." "Why?" Emily whispered. "Well, you were partying with a friend and you both got a little out of control and O.D'ed, so here you are." "Manda....Is she OK?" Emily managed to get out. A solemn look crossed the doctors face and tears began to well up in Emily's eyes. "She had a bit more than you. I'm sorry, but, she didn't make it." Tears ran down Emily's face as she thought of what had happened that night. "You have some visitors, may they come in?" Dr. Williams asked. Emily nodded. "Emily!" her mom and dad came rushing in. 'Oh gosh, what must they think of me. They are going to hate me, I can't believe I'm putting them through this.' The thought made Emily cry harder. "What were you thinking, Emily, how could you?" her mom said, tears rolling down her face as she embraced her daughter. "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry." Emily whispered through her tears. Noticing her dad standing back, trying to jkeep his composure, she stretched out her arms towards him. "Daddy. I love you, I'm so sorry." "I'm just glad you're alive." her father said, breaking down, "you scared us so bad. We love you, you know that right?" "I know." Emily cried. "Please don't scare us like this again, please." "I won't, I promise." and as the three of them sat, hugging and rocking each other; she knew she meant it. <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 "Hey you." Sasha said, coming into Emily's hospital room 2 days later. "Hey Sasha." "I brought you something." Sasha handed her a card and a bag. "Thank you." Emily smiled at her. Opening the card, she smiled. It was from Sasha's youth group. All messages saying they were praying for her and hoped she got better. "Thank you." Emily smiled up at Sasha through tears that were starting to form. "Don't cry, Emily. Open the bag." "OK." Emily said, wiping away her tears. The first thing in the bag was another card. It was from Sasha. Emily, I hope right now this helps you feel better like it helps me...besides, I figured a few cute boys would do you some good. Hehe :) love you! ~*Sasha*~ "Huh." Emily said, puzzled. "Open it!" Sasha laughed. "OK, OK." she reached in and pulled out a cd. The plus ONE cd "The Promise". A smile came over her face, "Thank you Sasha." "Open it up." "OK." Opening it up, a piece of paper fell into Emily's lap, "What's this?" "Well, I figured you kept it and i looked in your room and sure enough..." "Jason's number and email." "I know he told you to call if you ever needed to talk. I figured maybe some day soon you could put that number to use." "I think I just might." Emily replied, still looking down at the piece of paper in her hand. "Listen, I gotta go, but enjoy the cd, alright." "I will, thanks again." "No problem." as soon as Sasha left, Emily grabbed her portable cd player and popped in the cd. After the third song, she reached into the cabinet by her hospital bed and pulled out the bible inside. Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened it and began to read it 4 days later at Amanda's funeral, she still had the cd player attached to her ears and couldn't stop reading the bible she had found. Setting both things aside for an hour, she stood up and walked towards the podium to give a quick speech about Amanda. Taking a deep breath, she looked out at the gathered crowd, and began to speak. "I've known Amanda since we were in 7th grade. She was one of my best friends, a really great girl who I could go to about anything. We got involved in something bad, really bad, that we didn't know how to handle. Everyday I wish she were still here. I'd tell her that how we were acting was wrong and that we needed to stop our careless behavior. The way we acted finally caught up with us and it hurts to know that I'll never see her again because we made stupid mistakes that could have been stopped. To anyone listening, please, turn your life around, realize your mistakes and make everything good and right in your life. Do it, if not for your self, then for Amanda." Emily returned to her seat and listened through the rest of the sermon. After wards, she returned to the hospital to get her things and go home. Noticing the piece of paper next to her hospital bed she knew she had to do it. She had to call Jason. <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 <><+1 "What ya doing?" Nate asked Jason, as they sat in their home in Nashville, doing nothing. "Checking my email." "Anything interesting?" "Eh, no, not really." "That's no fun." "Hey, wanna know what I was thinking about the other day?" Jason asked suddenly. "Sure." Nate replied. "Remember that one girl we met? Emily?" "Umm, vaguely." "I was thinking about how she never called or emailed or anything." "Yeah, that's too bad." "Yeah, she seemed like she really needed someone. I really hoped she'd call." "Yeah, I understand." Nate said, returning back to the magazine he had been reading. *ring ring* "My phone, where is it?" Jason said as he searched for it frantically. On the third ring he spied it and grabbed it quickly, hitting the talk button. "Hello?" "Jason?" "Yes, who is this?" "Emily." "Emily? The Emily I met in Jacksonville?" "Yes, I really need someone to talk to. Do you have a minute." Jason smiled to himself, walking into his bedroom and closing the door. "Of course I do." Part Two |