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| Chapter Two | |||||
| The phone jangled endlessly, awaking me from sleepy land. "R, get that, will you?" "Your phone," she answered and pulled the covers up over her head. I blindly fumbled for the phone and held it to my ear. "Hello?" "Um, is this Ocean?" a vaguely familiar male voice asked. "Yeah," I said warily, fearing the voice belinged to a telemarketer or someone of the like. "Hey, this is Lance!" My eyes opened all the way. "Hey, what's up?" Rainbow opened one eye to look at me. "Lance?" she mouthed. I nodded as Lance answered, "I was wondering if you wanted to eat lunch with me today." "Lunch?" I asked, utterly lost in confusion. "yeah-it's like one o'clock," Lance replied. "Oh my gosh! Are you serious?" "Yup." "Oh geez." "What's wrong?" "I didn't realize we had slept that late!" "Oh. Well, do you want breakfast then?" Lance offered. "I'd love that," I said. "I'll come pick you up in about an hour okay?" "Yeah." As soon as I hung up the phone, I bolted out of bed and into the shower. When I got out, Rainbow was sitting up and sleepily looking at me. "What's going on? "I'm going to lunch with Lance!" I exclaimed a little too gleefully. "I have *nothing* to wear!" "Wear something comfy," Rainbow suggested with a yawn. I finally decided on a pair of the same type of pants I wore the day before, a light blue t-shirt I had gotten from my dad and a big blue hooded sweatshirt that had a bunch of religions on it. I put my hair up in a messy bun. "Do I look okay?" I asked, doing a full twirl. "Perfect," Rainbow said. "Remember-you have rehearsal at four thirty. This is your opening night, don't forget." I took a deep breath. "Right." Someone knocked on the door. I clapped my hand over my mouth. "Oh my gosh!" "Calm down, O. I'll get it," Rainbow said, getting out of bed and opening the door. "Hey Lance!" Lance grinned. "Hey Rain. Is Ocean around?" "Yup, she's right here," Rainbow said, stepping aside to reveal me, who was shaking until I caught a sight of Lance's smiling face. My knees became solid and I was no longer a quivering bundle of nerves as Rainbow nudged me forward. "Ready to go?" Lance asked. I nodded. "Yup." "Alrighty then-I'll see you two later," Rainbow said and shut the door behind us. Once we got into Lance's car, I asked where we were going. "Umm...where do you wanna go?" Lance asked. "Doesn't matter to me, but IHOP *does* sound good," I suggested. "IHOP it is then!" Lance glanced over at me, a smile playing on his lips. "What are *you* smiling about?" I asked. "I'm not smiling!" Lance protested indignantly, a huge smile breaking out across his face. "Don't lie to me, Lance! What are you smiling about?" I repeated. "Nothing, nothing...just felt like smiling, that's all," Lance replied as he parked the car in the parking lot outside of the IHOP. After we had ordered our food, Lance rested his chin on his folded hands and looked me in the eyes. "So, tell me more about you." "Um, well, I love alternative music, I love writing, the beach, acting, Ryan Phillippe, stuff like yoga and spirituality, philiosophy...what about you?" I asked. "You already know tons about me. I wanna hear more about you. You like acting-are you in any kind of theater group?" "Yeah, actually I am. Opening night for one of our plays is tonight," I said. "Really? What play is it?" "Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. I've loved Shakespeare ever since we read R and J in my freshman AP English class," I said with a wistful smile. "Really? What part are you playing?" "Juliet," I answered quietly, feeling butterflies in my stomach due to the thought of kissing Craig who was playing Romeo. Not butterflies in a good way-in a nervous way...I hadn't ever really kissed a guy until doing this play with Craig. "Juliet, huh? Can we come see it?" "You mean like Justin, JC, Chris, Joey and you?" I stammered. Lance nodded. "Yeah." I shrugged. "Sure, why not?" By now our food had come and we began eating and discussing various things between bites of food. I had never felt this relaxed and comfortable around a guy ever before. I wondered what Lance would think if he knew I had virtually never been kissed before-Craig didn't count. He was strictly business. The fact that I had never been kissed seemed to turn all the guys that had shown interest in me away. In high school, it crushed me every single time, but i became used to the fact that I would always be alone. Would my secret turn Lance away too?' We finished our meal, paid and slowly strolled outside laughing and talking. Sitting in the car, Lance studied my face intently for a second and broke out into a grin. "You've got whipped cream on your face." "Where?" I began patting my face, searching for the dollop of white cream. Lance leaned over and gently wiped the goo off my face, our heads close together. We just stared into each other's eyes for the longest time. He was moving closer and I wanted to be closer too, but I panicked and pulled away. What if he knew I'd never been kissed? Would he be able to tell? "Oh wow, look at the time. It's almost four thirty. I've gotta get to rehearsal.: Lance looked surprised and confused. "It's that late already? Whoa, it seems like we've only been here for an hour..." "Yeah, I know. Funny how time goes by so quickly," I said. "No kidding. Well I guess I better get you back for rehearsal. What time does the play start?" Lance asked, driving back to campus. "Um, seven. Aren't you afraid of being recognized?" I asked. "Having screaming masses of girls running after you?" Lance shrugged. "We'll wear disguises and sit in the back. No biggie." "So I can expect to see five guys in the back row wearing glasses and dark bushy moustaches?" I asked with a laugh. Lance smiled. "Don't forget the large pale plastic noses." "Hey and don't forget the trenchcoats and hats," I added. "What about unibrows?" "Umm...it wouldn't go with you guys," I said, shaking my head. "Turn here. Lance, I've had an awesome time-thank you so much!" "Thank *you.* I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time and I'm a pretty laid back guy," Lance said. "So I'll see you later tonight?" I nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you later." I waltzed into the building, smiling and humming. "Hey, everyone!" "Hey Ocean..what's with you?" Craig asked, giving me a strange look. "Nothing. I just had an awesome time and I'm really *really* happy," I replied. Tanya was watching Lance drive away. "An awesome time with a cute guy who's got nice wheels? Who *is* that guy?" "You wouldn't know him-he's not from around here," I said nonchalantly. "He looked familiar. What's his name?" Tanya pressed. I shook my head. "Like I said. You wouldn't know him." "Oh, I see. keeping it a secret. Well, O, I'll find out his name sooner or later," Tanya said. I shrugged. "Go ahead, do as much sleuthing as you want Tanya. Have fun." At six-thirty, it was utter chaos backstage. Everyone was running around frantically, calling out last minute directions and tips, but somehow through the chaos, a bouquet of flowers had found their way to my dressing room. I was trying to find a quiet moment before the play to calm down and concentrate on my character. I dashed into my dressing room, shutting the door and locking it. Sitting down at my dressing table, I discovered a bouquet of roses. I smiled and wondered who these could be from while inhaling the sweet smell. I found the card and opened it, anticipating who it was from. Hey Ocean, Good luck on opening night-I'm sure you'll be great. Look for the guys with the moustaches in the back-we're rootin' for ya. Love always, Lance Bass After reading the card, I bit my lip and murmured, "How sweet." I'd never had a guy send me flowers before. It was always my parents sending me flowers or my friends. Craig knocked on the door. "O, can I talk to you for a sec?" I got up and unlocked the door. "Yeah, Craig. Come in." "Are you okay? I mean, you've been in here for awhile," Craig said. "I'm fine. Just trying to calm down cuz it's like total chaos out there," I replied. "Who are these from?" Craig asked, pointing to the dozen roses on the table. "Lance Bass? That name sounds familiar..." "You wouldn't know him," I said quickly. "He's not from around here." "Is he gonna be here at the opening tonight?" Craig asked. I averted my eyes. "Um, I don't know...I doubt it, but he might be..." Tanya poked her head in. "Guys-five minutes to showtime!" "Break a leg, Ocean," Craig said with a grin. "I'll try-you break two legs," I replied with a smile. "I will." Craig kissed me. Not a stage kiss-a real kiss that I felt no sparks emanating from. "Let's go." Kissing Craig felt like I was kissing my brother. Yuck. During the balcony scene (my *favorite* scene in the entire play), I looked out over the audience, studying each and every face in the crowd. "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!" Craig started. I got to the back row, where sure enough, the guys were sitting there, complete with bushy mustaches. I almost began laughing, but I encorporated my smile into the scene by transforming it into a smile that had come from thinking about Romeo. Looking over again, I saw Rainbow and JC sitting next to each other. Rainbow sent a small wave my way. A couple seats away from Rainbow was Eddie. "Ay me!" I exclaimed. "She speaks! Oh speak again, bright angel..." Eddie smiled at me. Too many weird things were happening tonight. After the play was over, I was backstage getting high fives and hugs from cast members and such, talking to strangers who were complimenting me on my performance, and giving autographs to people who told me I'd be famous someday. "Ocean!" Someone called. I spun around, looking for the source of the voice. It was Rainbow along with Lance, Justin, JC, Chris and Joey. "Hey, you guys!" Rainbow hugged me. "You were *awesome* O." I pointed sternly at the guys. "You almost made me bust out laughing during the balcony scene." Lance smiled. "I *told* you we'd come in disguise." Chris was scratching the skin around the mustache. "This is getting itchy. And by the way, Ocean, you've totally changed my view on Shakespeare. You were that good." "Can we take this stuff off? I don't think throngs of ecstatic teeny boppers are going to attack us here," Justing said, JC nodded, ripping his mustache off and wincing. "Yeah. Lance talked us into wearing these to be funny." Joey wrapped me in a huge hug that lifted my light frame off the ground. "You were great." "Yeah, you really were," Lance said with a smile. Geez, that guy like to smile. "Thanks, you guys. You do *not* know-" someone tapped me on the shoulder. I watched Rainbow's eyes widen then I turned around to see who was behind me. I looked up into familiar chocolate brown eyes. "Eddie?" I choked out. Eddie smiled and nodded. "Ocean, you were fantastic." "Oh my gosh Eddie, thank you," I said, hugging him. "Hey Rainbow," Eddie said when he caught glimpse of her. Rainbow hugged Eddie too. "Eddie! Geez, I never thought we'd see you again!" "That's what I thought too, but when I transferred here, someone told me that you guys were going here too," Eddie explained. "Eddie, this is 'N Sync-Lance, JC, Justin, Joey and Chris. Guys, this is Eddie," I introduced them. "Do you guys wanna come and chill out in our hotel?" Chris asked. "You too, Eddie." "Sure," Rainbow, Eddie and I agreed. Craig came over and kissed me on the lips, to which I pulled away immediately. "Ocean, you were great." I smiled sheepishly. "Thanks, Craig. You were great too." "So you wanna get something to eat?" Craig asked. "Um actually, I was gonna go hang out with these guys," I replied. "Craig, this is Justin, Lance, JC, Joey, Chris and Eddie. And you already know Rainbow." "Is this the Lance who sent the flowers?" Craig asked. I nodded. "Mm-hm. And Lance, thank you so much for the flowers. That was really sweet of you." "You're welcome," Lance said as I hugged him. "Well, shall we get going?" JC asked, jangling his keys. "JC, you've gotta be kidding me, man-we can't fit people in your car," Justin said. "We can take my car too," Eddie offered. "Why don't Ocean, Lance and Justin come with me and the rest of you can all go with JC. We'll follow you." "Sounds good, " Joey said. Lance, Justin and I climbed into Eddie's car, which had that new car smell. "When did you get a car, Eddie?" I asked as I buckled my seatbelt. "I remember in high school you never had a car. Always driving around with Tiffanie or Kelly." "Yeah, I got sick of that. I got this car about a month ago," Eddie replied. "Everyone buckled up?" "Of course. Wouldn't want us exiting the windows, now would we?" Justin said from the backseat. "Eddie and Ocean up there would exit first-test the asphalt for us, okay guys?" Lance joked. I turned around and stuck my tongue out at him. Lance replied to that by sticking his tongue out at me and laughing. I made another face at him and he made a face at me. We went on like that until we pulled into the parking lot of Domino's Pizza. "What? This isn't where we're staying," Justin said as we got out of the car, looking confused. "What's up with this guys?" Lance shouted at JC parked three cars away. "We're hungry. Thought we'd get some pizza," Chris yelled. We finally made it back to the hotelwith lots of pizza. Joey struggled to balance the pizzas in one hand and fish the room keys out of his pocket. The rest of us watched Joey with amusement. "Hey! Don't just look at me and laugh!" Joey exclaimed. "Help me out here!" "Okay, okay," Rainbow said, grabbing a couple pizza boxes while Eddie took the rest. "Thanks you two. The rest of you are gonna get it when we get in the room," Joey threatened. "Oh, you're scarin me Joe," Chris said sarcastically as we entered the room. "Yummy yummy pizza," Rainbow said, setting the pizzas down on a table. "Justin, grab her," Chris ordered, shutting the door. Before I knew what was going on, someone grabbed me from behind and picked me up. "Damn, girl, you are *light.*" Justin said. "What are you doing?" I shrieked, slapping Justin's strong arms and trying to pry his hands off. "It's payback time, Osh," Joey said patiently as he approached me. "After this, you will be a better person indeed." And with that, he began to tickel me mercilessly, even when I struggled and kicked. Justin merely held me tighter and called Lance over to hold my legs which Lance obediently did with a devilish grin on his face. After awhile, Joey finally stopped and Justin and Lance let me go so we could eat the pizza before Chris, Rainbow, Eddie and JC ate it all. "I'm thirsty," Justin said through a mouthful of cheese. "Why don't O and I get us some drinks from the Coke machine in the lobby?" Lance offered, wiping his hands on a napkin. Everyone gave us money and their orders, so Lance and I left the room and made our way down to the lobby. "I'm having a really great time tonight," Lance said. "None of us have been this relaxed in like, forever." "Hey, same here. With rehearsal and classes and homework, I have no time to have fun anymore," I said. "And Rainbow...I haven't seen her laugh like this in awhile." "I haven't seen JC act so happy and carefree in a long time either," Lance added. "Funny how some things and some people just help you let go of everything," I said wistfully. "It sucks that you guys have to leave after tomorrow." "Yeah," Lance agreed. "I love it here. It is so awesome-awesome beaches, awesome people." He looked at me when he said the last part and I blushed and looked away. "Well, there are awesome people *leaving* here," I said softly. "These awesome people should keep in touch, don't you think?" Lance suggested as we came to the soda machine. "Yes they should," I agreed as I put money into the slot. "Okay, read me off what everyone wants." Around two in the morning, the party began to wind down and people started yawning with droopy eyes. "Well, we should be getting back to the campus, shouldn't we?" Rainbow said sleepily. I nodded with a yawn. "Yeah, I've got an eight o'clock class tomorrow morning." Eddie stood up. "I'll drive us back." "We'll walkyou down," JC said and we all trekked out of the room talking softly with the occasional burst of laughter. "Do you wanna do something tomorrow before I leave?" Lance asked quietly. "Yeah, that'd be great. I wanna see you guys before you leave," I said with a smile. "How does dinner sound? At that China Garden place?" Lance suggested. "Okay," I agreed. "I love that place." "Good. I'll pick you up at six?" "Sounds good to me," I said as we arrived in the lobby. After hugs and goodnights from everyone (a "Good morning, rise and shine" from Chris), Eddie, Rainbow and I tiredly crawled into Eddie's car. "Oh man. I never thought hanging out with a boy band could be so much fun," Eddie said with a grin. "Aren't they great?" Rainbow saidfrom the back. "O, JC wants me to do something with him tomorrow." "Oh right on! Go for it!" I exclaimed. "I'm going to dinner with Lance tomorrow." "This is awesome," Rainbow said. "I'm guessing you two have a thing for JC and Lance," Eddie said looking a bit forlorn. "Do you guys still have a thing for me?" I shook my head apologetically. "Nope, sorry Eddie." "Hey, whatever happened to Tiffanie?" Rainbow asked. Eddie laughed and shook his head. "We broke up like, two weeks after graduation...imagine that. The cutest senior couple breaks up shortly after graduation..." "Well, that stinks," I said. "Were you okay? No tears shed over her, right?" "Who broke up with who?" Rainbow asked. "I broke up with her. She was getting too fixed on getting married and having kids and all that crap..and I couldn't handle that kind of thing that early," Eddie explained as we pulled up to Rainbow's and my dorm building. "well, I'll see you guys later." "Bye!" Rainbow and I chorused as we stepped out of the car. We waved to Eddie and went inside the building, entering the elevator and going into our room. "Oh my gosh!" I squeaked. "This is so great!" We talked a little while longer, then fell asleep |
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| Chapter Three I Just Want To Be With You Index Back to the Gravy, oh baby, oh baby |
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