Chapter Four: Have Some Fun

And you know
I can’t see the world I’m walking through
Cuz Baby I see only you

A strange group entered the local upper class mall that day around nine in the morning, four huge bodyguards, four guys in sunglasses and hats, and one Asian girl smack dab in the middle of it all. Right when they stepped into the mall, Rylee noticed something and burst out laughing. The other eight looked at her strangely as everyone else had been silent. "I’m sorry," she said, still laughing. "But just look around." They looked around but still didn’t notice anything unordinary and turned back to Rylee for explanation. "Augh, where’s Kevin when I need him?" she muttered.

"Hey!" Nick said, sounding offended.

"Sorry, but just look… first we have the bodyguards, then you four looking like you’re part of the witness protection program, and y’all are STILL trying to be inconspicuous…" Rylee burst out laughing again. No one else seemed to find it all that funny, so they kept looking at her like she was psycho. Rylee noticed the looks she was getting and stopped laughing. "Well, I thought it was funny…"

"Yeah…" JC said. "Anyways! Where are we going to first?"

"What? Are you guys just gonna follow me around all morning while I look for a dress?"

"Yup!" JC, Brian, Justin and Nick all answered together.

"Yeah, whatever, I guess," the four bodyguards grumbled.

"Aww, Mike, I thought you liked hanging out with me!" Rylee teased.

"What?" asked the other Mike who wasn’t paying attention.

"Hmm…this could be confusing with two Mike’s." Rylee commented.

"Not really," Lonny said. "You could just say Mike B. and Mike N., like we do."

"Wait, what does the ‘B’ and the ‘N’ stand for?"

"Mike- Backstreet and Mike- *N Sync."

Mike B. grumbled, "This blows, I risk my neck for these guys day in and day out fighting off rabid fans and hysterical future wives, and having to be on constant alert for psycho killers and they reduce me to a mere accessory without a last name."

"Yeah, tell me about it. It’s either that or they call you ‘the other Mike,’" Mike N. added. "Mean pop stars!"

"‘Mean?’ You couldn’t come up with a better adjective than ‘mean?’" Justin asked. "And I thought you guys were supposed to be smart!"

"Oh yeah?" Mike B. said, his eyes narrowing. "How about ‘dead pop stars?’ You like that better?"

"Whoa! You know I love you guys, right?" Justin said nervously.

"You just keep that in mind, Fro Boy." Mike N. said menacingly. He turned back to Rylee with a pleasant and helpful smile on his face. "So, Rylee, where is it you want to go?"

But before Rylee could answer, Brian suddenly exclaimed, "Oh shoot! I remembered I need to pick up something for Harold at Champs! But it’s at the other end of the mall, so how ‘bout I just meet y’all in, say… an hour?"

"Wait, you’re going to Champs?" Justin interjected. "Um let’s see, dress shopping with JC, Nick and Rylee or Champs…um, I think I’m gonna go with Bri!" And with that, they both started walking away.

"Whoa! Slow down, turbo! Er… I mean, turbos… if we’re splitting up, two of us have to go with you," Mike N. said practically.

"Yeah, what are you thinking, Justin? Trying to stick us with all four of them?" Nick kidded.

Mike B. turned around and glared at Nick. "So you don’t want us to stay with you, huh? Alright, how ‘bout we just take that into effect when your blonde butt is surrounded by a mob of bloodthirsty teenage girls?" He took in Nick’s scared look and replied, "That’s what I thought! Now, Trevor and Mike, you guys go with these two…and me and Lonny will go dress shopping with the ladies…"

"Ladies?!?!?" JC and Nick exclaimed at the same time.

"Yeah right, whatever, thanks, let’s go, boys!" Rylee said herding them towards the nearest formal store. "We’ll see you guys later!"

 "Me and Lonny will be floating around out here keeping an eye out. Holler if you need us!" Mike B. called after them.

"Sure!" Rylee called back over her shoulder, still pushing Nick and JC ahead of her. They entered the first store, a classy formal wear store, with silver accents everywhere. And everything that wasn’t silver was either marble or glass. "Niiiiice…" Rylee said appreciatively. "Oh the whirlwind life of a pop star! Bodyguards, expensive stores, formal parties…this is what’s it’s about right here, baby!" she continued, talking to no one in particular. "Where do I begin?"

JC took the opportunity to take a little charge. "Well, Ry, I think you should start by deciding what kinda dress you want. There are about five hundred dresses here, and I don’t think we have time for you to go through each and every one, so…style, color, length…anything would help here…"

Rylee looked a little shocked at JC’s ramblings, while Nick just smiled knowingly. "Um, well.." she started, her eyes sweeping the many racks around the store. "It is summer, so I’m thinking light colors, and for the length it doesn’t really matter…but nothing too revealing," she added, glaring at Nick, who had his hand on a stretchy red, super short dress.

"Dang!" Nick exclaimed.

JC just laughed and said, "Why don’t you guys start on this side and I’ll start on that side, k?" He turned and walked in the opposite direction, still laughing at Nick’s first choice.

"May I help you, sir?"

JC looked up, startled, to find a diminutive silver haired lady at his side. One quick glance told him that this was the owner of the store. "Yes, actually. My friend, over there," he said, pointing to the other side of the store where Rylee was arguing with Nick over a black beaded bra-top and matching skirt. "She needs a formal dress for a party tonight. Could you start a room for her? She said she wants light colors, but I’m thinking something in white. I think she looks like a four."

The woman turned a professional eye over at Rylee mentally assessing her. "Hmmm… yes, a four and I think white is a perfect choice for the young lady," she said after a moment, turning to JC. "I’ll set up one of our private rooms for her. What is the young lady’s name?"

After hearing JC’s answer, the woman turned toward the back of the store, with one last backward glance at Rylee. "Yes," she said quietly, "white is perfect."

Five minutes later, Rylee was standing inside a very impressing private dressing room. It had an outside area with an upholster couch for JC and Nick, mirrors everywhere, and the closed off changing area with an actual rack inside. "Niiiiice!" Rylee said again.

The silver haired lady, who turned out to be the store's owner, knocked quietly and entered the interior room with her arms full of clothes. As she hung them one by one on the rack, she said to Rylee, "Now, Miss Kwan, here are a few to get you started, and there are many more outside. I believe the two gentlemen would like to see each one also. I will be just outside if you need any assistance." And with that she left.

"A FEW?" Rylee stated in disbelief, then she noticed something odd about the dresses. She poked her head into the outer room. "Um, Jace…why are these all white?"

JC got up from his place on the couch and walked around Rylee into the room. "They’re not ALL white. This one’s not." He said holding up a long shimmery dress that was pale blue. So pale blue, in fact, that it might as well have been white.

"Yeah, whatever, JC. And what are you trying to accomplish with all this white anyways?"

"Just trust me, Rylee."

By this time, Nick had joined them and added, "Just trust him, Rylee!" He smiled knowingly.

Rylee looked back and forth between them skeptically. "Explain, Nickolas."

"Okay, JC’s got this ideal of you…and to make that ideal a reality, he’s planning for all white." Nick said.

"Okay, yeah, that explained a lot!" Rylee said sarcastically.

"Yeah, Nick, I think I’m a little confused by your explanation, and it was my idea!" JC said, smiling. "Anyways," he said, turning back to Rylee. "I’m just playin’ off the little ‘angel’ thing that Brian has…"

"Huh?" Rylee asked, puzzled.

"Look, all I’m saying is that you have this whole innocence thing going on, and I just think that by wearing white you’re playing through to the whole angel package that Brian sees you as," JC explained matter of factly.

Rylee stifled a laugh. "Um, Jace, I hate to break it to you, but Brian calls me ‘Angel’ because my middle name is Angeline, and little Baby Brian couldn’t pronounce it right, so he shortened it."

"Really?" JC looked surprised. "Whoa! I thought…huh…man! I was wrong? That blows!" He folded his arms and pretended to sulk. "Man!" he said again. "So, that’s it, huh? No romantic undertones at all?"

Rylee’s eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t say anything. 

JC turned to Nick to find that the younger man was struggling to keep a straight face. "Oh, man, he's pretty good! I'm impressed by your insight, JC!" Nick explained.

"Nick! Shut up!" Rylee exclaimed, mortified that Nick had just given away her "secret" to someone she had virtually just met. Sure, that someone was JC Chasez, but still, she wasn't really too comfortable with him knowing the secret she had kept hidden for so long.

"What?" JC said slowly. Then he exclaimed, "Oh!" as realization set in. "Wow, and I was only joking… so…" he turned back to Rylee. "So you really do have a thing for Brian?"

"No, I don’t have a ‘thing’ for Brian, Jace…I just…"

Nick interrupted, just then by exclaiming, "Whoa! Dawson’s Creek flash back!"

They both looked at him weirdly before Rylee said, "Whatever, Nick can explain it to you, since he's so eager to share information today!"

"Well, anyways, I still think white would be the perfect color for you…trust me." JC gave her a knowing grin.

"Alright, alright, alright." Rylee conceded. "Now both of you get out of here, so I can start trying on this mountain of white dresses." She all but shoved them out room. Once they were outside, she turned to the rack of dresses and pulled the first one off, "Well, I might as well get started."

Half and hour and a dozen dresses later, Rylee was starting to get frustrated. Every dress she tried on was dismissed by either Nick or JC, mostly by JC. No matter how gorgeous, lavish, or expensive the dress was, they had a criticism about every one. "Too short, too long, too poofy, too tight and too sparkly" were just some of the comments they gave. Nick even supplied her with one "the waist is too long," and he received a strange look from both JC and Rylee.

"What?" he said defensively. "I'm not a complete moron when it comes to shopping!"

Rylee just rolled her eyes and turned to the next rack of dresses. There were several that she had liked, but for some reason, they just didn’t speak to her. Not that she expected them to SAY anything; she wasn’t psychotic. But she wanted the dress to be special, something that, as corny as it sounds, made her feel special. She just hoped she’d find it soon.

Three discarded dresses later, Rylee’s hand closed around a full skirt with a matching top. Pulling off the rack, she cocked her head to the side to examine it. "Hm…this could be the best one yet." Hurriedly, she pulled it on. She gave herself an cursory glance in the mirror, before throwing the door open and stepping outside. They were both engrossed in a conversation about Rylee as Nick recounted the events of the last night. "Hey guys?" she called. "What do you think?"

They both stopped their conversation and looked up when they heard her voice. Both of their jaws dropped when they saw her. "It’s perfect!" they both said at the same time. It was white, of course, and had a billowy skirt that shimmered in the bright lights of the dressing room. It hung low on her hips, about an inch below the satin top that had thin straps made of the same material as the skirt. The top hugged her figure perfectly but wasn’t too tight. With the pure white of the satin and the shine of the skirt contrasting with Rylee’s long dark hair, the effect was perfect.

Rylee gave them a sideways grin as she saw their reactions. "So I’m guessin’ you like this one?" she said wryly.

Nick nodded his head vigorously while JC stated, "De-fin-ite-ly!" stressing each syllable deliberately. "Dang, girl!"

Rylee’s grin widened. "Yeah, I like it, too…but there’s only one problem…" She turned until her back was to them and lifted her hair up. The back of the top was pretty much open but was tied with two ribbons of the shimmery material.

"It’s cute…" JC said. "What’s the problem? You don’t feel comfortable?"

"Oh no, I love it!" Rylee said.

"You're afraid it won't stay on?" JC guessed again.

"No, it feels pretty tight."

"Your parents would kill you if you wore it?" JC said, still guessing.

"Well, my mom and my sister would like it, but my brother and my dad would kill me…" she answered, wrinkling her nose.

"I say wear it if you like it. Male relatives are generally too overprotective anyways. Besides," he said with an evil grin. "They’re not here."

"Yeah, but…" Rylee started to say.

"But," Nick interrupted. "Brian is."

"Ohhhhh!" JC said as he understood. "But I still say, wear it. Brian might flip out at first, but that dress is too perfect for you. And then you could do your hair like Clare Daines in Romeo and Juliet. It’ll be perfect with that dress! Trust me…"

"You really have all this planned out, don’t you?" Rylee teased. "And you know, you keep saying to trust you, now I’m wondering why I should?"

"Cuz you know I’m perfect and I’m never wrong?" JC supplied helpfully.

"Sure, Jace," Rylee said with a smile as she turned to walk back into the dressing room.

"So does this mean you’re getting it?" Nick asked hopefully.

"Yeah, Nick, I’m getting it. Brian’s just gonna have to deal with it!"

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Don’t ever doubt
Your trust in me
I’ll give you my heart
So honestly
Deep in my soul
Baby you’ll find the truth
I’ll never change

After purchasing the dress, Rylee and the guys caught up with the bodyguards and went in search of the rest of their party. Once they were all together, Brian and Justin tried to talk Rylee into showing them the dress.

"Come on, Angel! Just let me see!" Brian pleaded.

Rylee was about to give in when JC interrupted. "No way, Bri. You’re just gonna have to wait until tonight."

Brian pouted and Rylee was about to question JC, but he shushed her and whispered, "Trust me… It’s all about the effect!"

Rylee looked at him skeptically but dropped the subject. The little entourage walked around the mall for a while, checking out random stores, until Justin started getting hungry. They humored him even though it was only eleven and no one else was that hungry. So they made their way to the food court and settled down to eat.

The flow of that lunch went pretty much like dinner the night before minus several people. They laughed and talked and tried to forget for the moment how hectic their lives normally were. They teased each other and picked on their bodyguards and had fun being semi-normal for the afternoon. For Rylee it was nice to relax away from the pressures of college, and having Brian there made it all the more better. She was still a little stressed thinking about the previous night’s events, but she had come to sort of a decision. Brian was her best friend, and he had been for as long as she could remember. They had spent countless hours together, despite his constantly being on tour. And she loved him. Not just was in love with him, but she loved him for who he was and what he meant to her. He was her voice of reason, her sanity, and her laughter. She could see changes in their relationship that she wanted, that she wanted so badly. But that wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted the security of knowing she was there, without having to worry about romance. He wanted the best friend he had in elementary school who shadowed him and made him slow down when she thought he might be overtaxing his heart, who had looked him straight in the eye and told him that all boys were "icky" except for him because he had angels watching out for him and who told him when she moved that she would always be his angel and take care of him. Rylee looked at him, watching him laugh with Justin and Trevor. That’s how he wanted it; he "didn’t need a girlfriend" at the moment and "had too many other things going in his life." So no matter what she wanted and how much it hurt, her friendship was the first priority. And that’s what she would give him, and not another word would be said by her about taking it further. Well, at least she wouldn’t say anything more to Brian about it, but she had a feeling she would be discussing it with Nick and probably the other guys, and now that JC knew, the more the merrier.

On Rylee’s other side, JC and Nick were in deep conversation, observing Rylee lost in her own thoughts. "Look! Did you see the look she just gave him?" Nick whispered excitedly.

"She is so totally in love with him! Man! That’s so sweet!"

Nick looked at JC weirdly as he heard his last comment. "What?" JC said, defensively. "You know you would love it if some girl looked at you like that!"

"Well, yeah," Nick admitted. "But hopefully, I won’t as dense as Brian is and realize it before it’s too late!"

JC chuckled. "But Brian does realize it, he’s just too dense to do anything about it!" he said, referring to the talk Brian and Rylee had.

"Yeah, you’re right. But after that seriously open talk, something has to happen! I mean, now Bri’s aware that Rylee can see him in a different light. That has to be running around in his mind when he looks at her. I just hope he hurries up and does something about it."

"Me, too. I think this summer’s gonna be the perfect opportunity. You said this is the longest concentrated time they’ll be together since they were both in Kentucky, right? A lot can happen in two months. I bet it’ll happen this summer."

"Definitely, although you’re not really betting, cuz no one I know would bet against those odds!" Nick said with a smile.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

The group was just relaxing and taking it easy when Rylee turned to Brian with a crooked smile and asked sweetly, "So, Bri... How’s Ted?"

Brian returned her grin before responding, "Well, Ted...he’s alright, I guess. You know, I haven’t really heard from him in a while. He’s probably flying around Europe still. Although, you know what he did last time he was here?" Then Brian launched into a strange story involving house plants, showers and renegade vacuum cleaners.

Justin and JC looked at each other strangely. They were about to say something, but just then Brian and Rylee got up to throw their trash away. They were still laughing and talking animatedly.

Nick walked up to them from getting more food. "What’s up, guys?" he asked, having missed the previous conversation. After hearing JC’s version of the strange topic, Nick just rolled his eyes.

"What?" Justin asked, still puzzled. "I don’t get it! Who the heck is Ted?"

"Ted?" Mike B. said before Nick could answer. "They’re talking about Ted again? Shoot, they had me running around for a whole day once, ‘in preparation for Ted’s arrival!’ I swear, I was gonna bust those two children’s butts for that one!"

Seeing Mike’s exasperated expression and Nick’s look of amusement, Justin was even more confused. "What? Who the heck is Ted?"

"Ted is a friend of Brian’s," Nick explained. "An IMAGINARY friend of Brian’s."

If it was possible, Justin got even more confused, so Nick explained a little more in detail. "You guys know that Rylee moved to Kentucky before high school, right?" He paused, waiting for them to nod. "Well, they missed talking to each other and they couldn’t talk on the phone all the time, cuz it’s really expensive. But their parents let them talk for an hour, every other week. They would even set special days and stuff, to make sure they got in as much talking as they could. Well, I think, once, they didn’t have anything more to really talk about, but they didn’t want to waste an hour, so... they made something up to talk about: Ted."

Justin and JC both gave him weird looks. "Sure..." JC said, skeptically.

"No, really," Mike B. said. "Ted’s like this immortal, thirty-six year old white guy who can fly and goes around doing stupid stuff. And they made this up when they were both in high school. Seriously, I think those two were dropped on their heads as babies."

"What..." Justin paused, searching for the right word to describe Rylee and Brian. "...dorks!"

They all laughed at that and at the pure insanity of their two friends, who just happened to walk back finally.

"So I guess Nick told you about Ted, huh? Isn’t he cool?" Rylee said.

"Yeah, Ted’s the best! He’s coming soon, too! Isn’t that cool?" Brian added, excitedly.

Nick and Mike B. groaned while JC and Justin laughed.

"Seriously! He is! I promise!" Brian insisted, but it just made them laugh harder.

"Bri, babe. I think you can stop now!" Rylee said. Even she was giggling now.

"No! Why won’t you believe me?" He said in an injured little boy voice. "He’s really coming!"

"Anyways!" Mike B. said as he stopped laughing. "I think it’s time for us to exit the building. So let’s go, gang!"

"Really, he is coming! He’s gonna play basketball with me this time. He said so!" Brian pretended to start crying.

"Aww!" Rylee put her arm around him and started leading towards the doors. "It’s okay, honey. I believe you."

Brian fake sniffed once more and then gave her a big smile and a hug.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

*chapter three*

*chapter five*

*back to novels*