�Come on! JC! These walls may be sound proof but that doesn�t mean that you can�t SEE me!� Justin said as he banged on the glass wall. JC acknowledged him by holding his finger in the air to signal he�d be ready in a minute. �JC! You did that TEN minutes ago! We are already late!� Justin looked around and saw one of the custodians opening a closet in the hallway. �Hey! Wait! Sir, can I see your keys? Just for a second?� The man nodded as Justin took his keys and quickly opened the door to the recording booth.
�We are leaving now!� Lance said as he came in the room behind Justin.
About 15 minutes later JC was successfully siting in the car after the bodyguards had threatened to carry him inside.
�Guys, I just don�t feel like hanging around these little kids all day long. I understand that they don�t have a lot going for them but it�s not my fault their parents abandoned them.� JC said as he leaned his head against the window on the black SUV.
Everyone in the car stared at him in disbelief, �I know you didn�t just say that.� Chris said, �What�s gotten into you?�
�I know I shouldn�t be lecturing you, I shouldn�t NEED to be lecturing you anyway, but I really hope you didn�t mean that. This is the least we can do for these kids.� Lance said
�Whatever guys. I just don�t feel like dealing with this today.� JC said before tuning everyone out by placing his headphones over his ears.
Joey and Justin exchanged worried glances. They knew JC well enough to know that he was the last person to let fame get to him. Lately, JC had been spending every moment on the music and usually that would be wonderful but it left no time for anything else. It had been months since he had done normal things like go shopping or out on a date. He was living his life on fast forward instead of slowing down and living each day to the fullest. It wasn�t like him to shut out everything in his life except music but he had. No one knew what had caused this abrupt change of character in JC and the honestly didn�t know what they could do to change him. All they did know was that they wanted the old JC back.
JC sighed as he looked out the window, he knew he was acting like a jerk but lately he couldn�t care less. These days the simplest things would tick him off. He also knew that today wouldn�t be any different. He no longer had the patience to be doing things like this and he could already feel the headache forming. There was a constant void in his life and he knew it could only be filled with one thing and that was something he truly never experienced before. Love.
He turned off the headset and smiled as he emerged from the car behind the rest of the guys. Flashes went off from every direction as people screamed his name. He continued to smile and wave as he made his way to the door even though the rest of the guys had stopped to talk to the fans and some reporters.
�That�s something that looks like an adventure all in itself.� Someone said as JC turned around to face a woman as she pushed a pair of brown thick frame glasses up her nose.
JC took a deep breath as he looked at the young woman. He was already in a bad mood and he just didn�t feel like making small talk, �Do me a favor,� he said, �Don�t pretend like you know me.� He smiled bitterly as he turned around to see if anyone else had entered the building.
The woman was so baffled that it took her a minute to respond. � I wasn�t trying to pretend like I know you,� she said from behind him, �It�s this little thing called �friendliness�. Maybe you should look it up.� He turned around and for a minute the woman was scared. She had never seen anyone look at her with the anger he had in his eyes. He was about to comment, but shut up when he saw the rest of the guys enter the building. �It�s about time, guys. Does anyone know where we are supposed to go?� JC said as he looked at his friends for answers that he knew they didn�t have.
�Actually, I do.� She said as she prayed everyone wasn�t as rude as JC had been.
�Great.� JC mumbled to himself.
�Hello guys. I�m Faith and I�m one of the people who arranged this today. On behalf of everyone here we would like to thank you for coming. The children are very excited to meet you.�
�It�s nice to meet you, Faith. We are very happy to be here.� Lance said shaking her hand.
She visibly relaxed when everyone shook her hand and introduced them selves, even JC.
�The kids are just down the hall and we understand that you are going to be visiting other facilities today so we won�t keep you long.� She said as she led them down the hall.
For the next hour and a half Faith watched as the guys interacted with the numerous children who were without parents. They all seemed to be having a great time playing with the children in small groups, except JC. Faith watched as the kids would ask him a question and he�d answer with one-word responses. In Faith�s opinion that wasn�t fair and she wasn�t going to let those kids be ignored.
�JC, may I speak to you please?� she asked politely
�What?� he said when he walked away with her.
�I don�t know what your problem is but you are leaving in less than 20 minutes, couldn�t you at least try to have some fun? Some of these kids really look up to you, you�re their idol and it must be hard for them to see that you are such a jerk.�
�Look, Faith, I�ve had a bad day and��
�And you�re making it worse.� She said
JC was about to speak when Justin came running over to them, �JC, it�s time to go. Faith, thanks for having us. I had a great time. The kids are so cool.�
Just than a little boy named Timmy came over, � �Scuse me, Justin? Can I�can I�have your autograph, please?�
�Sure, Timmy.� Justin said bending down to his level.
�Thanks, Justin! My sister is going to cry when I give this to her! Right now she is sick so when she sees this, I know she�ll be all better!�
Justin stood up and smiled, �I�ll be right back. Thanks again, Faith.� He said shaking her hand.
�Oh yes! Thanks SO much for having us here!� JC said sarcastically
Faith rolled her eyes at him, �That little boy, Timmy, is only 8 years old, yet he has more manners than you�ll ever have.� She said before walking away without another look back.
JC quietly got into the SUV feeling even worse than before. He didn�t know what had gotten into him. He was so rude to her and he knew it. For some reason he thought of his mother and if she were there to see him today he knew she would have been ashamed of her son. JC decided that at the next place they went to his attitude would be much different.
He turned his headphones back on and looked out the window just into to watch Faith as she walked to her car. He watched as she took off the glasses on her face and searched for the keys in her purse. JC turned away quickly when she looked up in his direction but after remembering he was behind tinted glass, his eyes tilted toward her again. He would have thought that she was staring at him if he wasn�t inside the car but he knew that was impossible. As he watched her he noticed how she looked so different than she had. He noticed that behind her glasses was a pair of beautiful blue eyes. He watched as she tucked a piece of her dark, wavy hair that flowed down to her shoulders, behind her ear. At that moment JC knew he had been rude to her and he wished he could take it back. He watched as she put her glasses back over her eyes as she adjusted the mirrors in her car and at that moment he couldn�t decided if she looked better with or with out the glasses. In his opinion he honestly didn�t care. He watched her until she was completely out of site as he cursed himself for being so stupid.
�Way to go Chasez.� He said to him self as the SUV pulled out of the crowded parking lot.
The SUV pulled up to the back entrance of a hospital about 15 minutes later. It was already 3:30 in the afternoon and they had stopped at two other charity houses. After this they all could return home.
�Come on guys. I can�t wait to meet these kids.� JC said sincerely.
Justin looked at him strangely, �Must be that time-of-the-month for JC� he thought, �So damn moody.� Between the first stop and this one JC�s attitude had changed dramatically. He was now enjoying each time he had with the children and even went out of his way to help them.�
�Hi, I�m Mrs. Holmes and if you come down this way I�ll take you to the children�s center.� The older nurse said as she led them down the hallway into a small office. Mrs. Holmes knocked on the doorframe before leading the guys in.
�This is Miss Jameson, she will be helping you out today. She is head of the Make-A-Wish Foundation here in Orlando.�
The woman was standing with her back turned until she heard her name mentioned and they immediately recognized her.
�Faith!� Chris said as he walked over and hugged her quickly.
Faith was surprised by how friendly he was being even though they had just met that afternoon but she accepted the hugs graciously.
�You just do everything don�t you?� JC said. He didn�t know what it was but she trigged bitterness in him and it didn�t matter how good he had felt earlier now all he could feel was anger toward this women.
�Umm, yeah, I guess you could say that.� Faith said trying not to start anything with him. �I wanted to talk to you all for a minute before visiting the Children�s Center. I know you guys are all grown adults but some of these children may not be the most normal looking. They�ve been through a lot and I just wanted to warn you about the state of their sicknesses��
Faith talked for a little while longer trying her best not to make it seem as if she was lecturing them. Although JC wanted to listen, his mind wandered. He could tell that she really loved these kids and JC had to admire that.
About an hour later JC left the Children�s Center in search of something to drink. He noticed that Faith had left about a half-hour before and he secretly wanted to find her.
After looking around for about 5 minutes he walked over to her office and would have gone in if he didn�t hear her talking. He could immediately tell that she was upset by the tone of her voice.
�I know it would be hard�but, yes�I understand that but what I was saying was that the Make A Wish Foundation is already spending $2,000 on the party cost alone�now that�s not including the celebrities that are going to attend. Yes�I realize that but it�s all I have to offer�in my opinion I shouldn�t have to pay ANYONE for doing a good deed�no� I KNOW THAT SHE HAS A BUSY SCHEDUALE but she already promised to be there�Right now�well�she was going to be the featured celebrity�Look SIR, I�m going to hang up the phone before I say something that I shouldn�t. All I am saying is that she already signed up and promised to be there�I don�t care if it�s Carson Daly�s birthday! Have Carson come here for god sake! I have to go. I�ll leave a message later.� He could hear as she slammed the phone down and sighed loudly.
At that moment JC made his presence known at the door by clearing his throat. Faith looked up, saw him, and groaned, �I honestly don�t know how you deal with those public relations people. They seem to just be a pain in the ass.�
�I�uhh�I just wanted to tell you that we are umm�leaving soon.� He honestly had no idea where that statement came from but he decided to work with it.
�Ok, I�ll be right down.� She said rubbing her temples looking at the papers on her desk.
He saw how stressed he looked and wanted to help her somehow, �Faith?�
�Yes?� she said looking up at him after he had paused for a moment. She took off her glasses and placed them on the desk. For a minute he was lost in her eyes as he searched his soul for something to say, �I just wanted to tell you that... maybe next time you trying booking some one who actually wants to hang around little kids all day. That might work out a little better. Do yourself a favor and don�t call me again.� JC almost slapped him self as he walked out of her office. Never in his life had he said the things he did and he had said them twice. He knew he was wrong but it was also too late for him to change things between them.
Faith sat at her desk in shock. Never in her life had she met anyone who treated her that way. JC was a bitter man and she had the sudden urge to change him.
All My Life
Losing Reality