"Mom," Chaz tugged on Ash's shirt excitedly, "You do realize who that was don't you?"
She saw he was indicating the group of guys that had just left the front door. Ash knew she'd seen them somewhere before, but with all the nervousness, she hadn't been able to completely place them. She looked at Chaz questioningly and he rolled his eyes at her.
"That was NSYNC," he exclaimed. "I can't believe you're going to be working with them."
Chaz rambled on and on all the way out to the car while Ash mentally kicked herself. She felt like such a complete moron. They all probably thought she was an idiot now. Ash and Chaz got into the waiting car and she leaned her head back, staring out the window. She'd even used their dance moves and some of their music for teaching. How could she be such a dope?
Ash turned the cd case over and over in her hands. It was the remix of songs that would be played at the first awards show. She would listen to it tonight and start working on the moves in the next day or so. She had to envision how it should look, especially for five people. Once her thoughts turned to work, she put her embarrassment out of her mind. They pulled up in front of the loft and she and Chaz bid the driver goodbye before entering the building.
Since they were both hungry, Ash looked through the cupboards to figure out what to fix for lunch. She decided on roast beef sandwiches and some vegetable soup. As she was heating up the soup and pulling out the fixings for the sandwiches, Ash caught herself looking at the cd case again. Oh what the hell, she thought.
She popped it in the cd player and pushed play. The first time through, she just listened to it, her mind a blank slate. It went seamlessly from one song to another and she recognized them right away. She still couldn't believe that she hadn't realized who they were. She smiled to herself as she slathered mustard on her sandwich. The cd ended and she stopped it for now. She'd go back and listen again after they ate.
She turned to the stove and checked the soup, making sure it was hot enough and called Chaz to come and eat. He came bounding out of his room and hopped up on the stool at the counter. They ate quickly, Chaz stuffing his mouth as full as he could get it.
Ash shook her head at him, grinning. She wondered if all thirteen year old boys were as ravenous as he always seemed to be. Chaz popped the last bit of sandwich in his mouth and licked his fingers. He picked up his bowl and saucer and rinsed them off before heading toward the bedroom again.
"Hey Chaz," his mom stopped him, "I wondered if you wanted to help me with something." She been thinking of this, but wanted to see what he said.
"Depends on what it is," he said suspiciously.
"Well," she replied, rinsing her own dishes, "I was wondering if you'd want to listen to that cd with me and offer me some suggestions."
Chaz's eyes widened and he cocked his head, staring at her in disbelief. "Serious?"
"Yeah, I thought maybe we could work on it together. That way, I stay fresh and it'll give you something to do too." Chaz shrugged his shoulders and said sure. Ash ruffled his hair as she passed him. "Just let me get changed and we'll get started."
Wow, Chaz thought. He was shocked that his mom had asked him to help her, yet again. It showed him that she was starting to trust him as a dancer and he was excited to be able to work with her. He knew his mom was good. Real good. People stopped and stared in awe when they watched her dance. He hoped to be as good as she was someday. He knew his dad would have been proud of them.
Ash came back out into the living room and Chaz pushed thoughts of his dad away and focused on what she was telling him. They were going to listen to it a few times and just throw in their ideas. Right now they were just brainstorming and in the next few days, they'd start to put it together, a piece at a time.
Three hours and endless plays later, Ash and Chaz were both sitting on the floor, sweating and catching their breath. They'd worked hard and Ash was surprised to find that Chaz was better than she thought. Some of the steps he was trying out had looked really good. Chaz jumped up and said he was gonna go take a shower so Ash got up and stretched.
She shut off the cd player and walked over to the windows that looked over the city. It was like being in a dream. Ash still couldn't believe she was here. As she stared out over the lights twinkling in the darkness, she thought back to the meeting that morning. It seemed like they were going to be an interesting group of guys. She already knew they were very talented, but getting to know their personalities was going to be fun. Her thoughts took her to the way Chris had acted. Again, she thought it was kind of weird. He hadn't acted so shy when they'd first met. She didn't understand why he'd withdrawn so much and wondered if it was something she'd said or done.
Shaking her head, she dismissed that thought. Oh well. Ash shrugged and hearing the water shut off, she turned from the busy city below to go get her things ready so she could jump in the shower herself. She wouldn't worry about it. She was here for the job and that's all she planned on concentrating on.
~**~
"So, how's it going out there in Celebrityville?"
A huge smile broke out on Ash's face at the sound of Aprille's voice. She'd been thinking about calling her to see how things were going and because she missed her, but she didn't want Aprille to think she was checking up on her.
"Hey, girlfriend," Ash said warmly. "It's completely wild here, how're things back in boring old Ohio?"
"Oh, you know, same old. Everyone misses you, but don't you dare come home." Ash laughed and immediately they started chattering away, catching up on things. By the time they said goodbye and hung up, Ash felt great. Sure, she missed them too, but she knew she was doing the right thing, being here.
Just as she turned from the phone, Chaz came bounding in the door with his friend, Ian. They'd met their second day there. Ian lived just up the street with his parents and Ash had met them that same evening when they had walked Ian home. Chaz and Ian had become fast friends and they were both pleading with her now to let Chaz spend the night at his place. Ash quickly called Ian's mom to make sure it was okay and told Chaz he could go. Both boys whooped and went to get Chaz's stuff.
After they left, the apartment was quiet and to Ash, a bit lonely. Having just moved there, she didn't really know anyone and she was a little to wary of the huge city to try venturing out on her own yet. Ash walked over to the couch and sat down, flipping on the tv. She went through every channel she had, but nothing interested her and she hit the off button, sighing heavily. Just as she was getting up from the couch, the phone rang again. Ash raised her eyebrow, wondering who it could be and picked it up on the third ring.
"Ashtyn?"
The male voice on the other end was one that she didn't recognize and Ash was cautious when she answered him. "Yes, who's this?"
"It's Justin, you busy tonight?"
His tone assumed that she knew who he was and Ash furrowed her brows, not having a clue as to who this Justin might be. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid you must have the wrong number, I don't know a Justin."
Ash heard a chuckle come from his end. "I'm sorry Ash, it's Justin Timberlake, we met a few days ago."
"Oh."
That was all she could say. Again, she felt stupid for not realizing whom it was when he'd said his name. Not realizing her embarrassment, Justin started talking again and Ash had to ask him to repeat himself.
"I asked if you'd like to join us tonight," he said. "We're goin' out to a club and thought you might wanna check it out, see if it inspires you."
Ash heard the mischief in his voice and she had to chuckle herself. She didn't really have anything planned tonight and Chaz was going to be at Ian's so she decided what the hell. She told Justin she'd go and he said that a car would be there to pick her up in an hour. Ash hung up the phone and immediately went to look for something to wear.
What the hell do you wear to a club here in LA, she thought, standing in front of her closet with her hands on her hips. It took her the whole hour to decide and she finally went with black, hip-hugging pants that flared around bottom and a sparkly shirt. She loved this shirt. The hem at the bottom hung low on one side and rode up on her hip on the other. The sleeves where long and flared around the wrists and the neckline showed just enough cleavage without making her look like she was hanging out all over the place. She slipped on her short black boots just as the buzzer rang and, grabbing her money, keys, and ID, she left.
When she got to the car, she was surprised to find Justin sitting in the backseat, grinning at her. Ash got in and he told her that picking her up was on the way from his place so he just decided to save them a trip. Plus, she wouldn't have to walk into the club alone and try to find them. Ash thanked him and they talked about the upcoming awards show on the way there.
As they pulled up in front of the club, Ash could see the line of people waiting to get it and worried that it would take them forever. Justin just looked at her and shook his head. He grabbed her hand as soon as she got out of the car and they walked right in, the bouncer just waving at Justin. It was going to take awhile for Ash to get used to stuff like that.
When she entered the club, holding tight to Justin's hand, she couldn't believe the amount of people inside. Justin quickly led her through the crowd and to a table where JC and Lance greeted her happily and Chris sat, scowling. Joey was out on the dance floor as usual and Ash took a seat. This was going to be an interesting night. She'd get to see how they really acted. When the cameras were off and the guards were down. Ash couldn't wait.