Katie nodded to herself, struggling to lock the hotel door, and hold the phone to her ear. �I�m gonna head to the studio. Yeah, I�ve got some awesome ideas- but I�ll meet up with you later? Ok, yeah, I know. Bye.� She hung up the phone and stuck it in her back pocket, turning to see Lance. �Lance! Hey!�
He smiled. �Hey Katie, what�s up?� She shrugged, shyly. �I was wondering if I could come with you to the studio today?� He nodded. �Sure, c�mon.� She grinned. �Thanks.� They head outside, to find JC waiting. �Hey! We�ll take my car.� Katie gave Lance a sidelong glance. �He�s coming?� Lance nodded. �Is that ok?� She shrugged. �Oh, I don�t care.� She got in the car, and forced a smile. �Hey.� JC smiled. �Hey.� Lance grinned. �Let�s go.�
(at studio)
Katie grinned and smiled upon seeing Johnny Wright. He grinned, enveloping her in a hug. �Katie! You here to work on some songs?� She nodded. �Yeah, is that alright?� He nodded. �Of course! If you need any help, call either me or JC, ok?� She nodded, heading down the hall. �Sure thing.�
(an hour or so later)
Katie sat in an empty conference room, humming to herself. She heard someone clear their throat and she looked up to see JC standing in the doorway. �Hey.� She smiled. �Hi.� He motioned to her work. �Workin� hard?� Katie nodded. �I�d say so. How about you?� He nodded. �Yep. I�m just trying to figure out a tune for the song I wrote.� She grinned. �Me too. Only I think I�m actually on to something...� JC grinned. �Kate, that�s great.� She smiled. �Yeah.� Matt poked his head in. �Hey Katie, let�s go record?� She nodded. �Yeah.� She stood, brushing past JC. �I�ll catch up with you later.� He nodded. �Bye.�
Mark handed her the headphones. �Here we go... I think we�ll have a new song before you leave.� She grinned. �Keep your fingers crossed.� Mark nodded. �Ok, what�s our song called?� She smiled. �Someday.� He nodded. �And on 3... 1-2-3...�
I don�t know if you�re near or far away
But I know that I�m thinking of you today
I don�t know if I even know your name
But I know that I�m praying for you just the same
Chorus:
Someday we�ll fall in love
You�ll be mine and I will be yours
Our hearts will be one
And our love will ever endure
And I�ll need you
And I�ll want you
And I�ll find you someday
And I�ll love you
And I�ll hold you
And I�ll be with you always
Our love will be so strong and pure
You will make me feel like I have never felt before
You will be perfect only for me
You will make these eyes begin to see
-Chorus-
Your faith for the Lord will be strong
Even though I know the wait is long
I know long as I still believe
That you�re out there praying for me
-Chorus-
Mark shook his head as she finished. �Wow. Who wrote that?� Katie smiled shyly. �I did.� Mark whistled. �That�s incredible.� She grinned. �Thanks. Now, let�s polish this sucker up.�
(An hour later)
Mark beamed, handing her a tape. �This is yours, I believe.� She squealed. �Awesome! Thanks!� Mark grinned. �Anytime.� She nodded, heading for the door. �Hey, can I get a room to go and write?� He nodded. �Yeah. Down the hall, 3rd door on your left.� She smiled. �Thanks again.� She opened the door and jumped, as she saw JC sitting there. �I�m sorry... I didn�t know anyone would be down here.� He grinned. �It�s alright. Come on in.� She nodded and sat across from him, pulling out a notebook. She set the tape on the table beside her and frowned, setting out to work. He spotted the tape on the table. �You record something?� She nodded. �I did.� He grinned. �Can I?� She nodded, handing it to him. �Sure thing.� He grinned. �I�ll be back.� She glanced down at her paper and sighed.
20 minutes later JC silently walked back into the room. He handed her the tape and sat down. She looked at him, inquisitively. �Did it suck that bad?� He laughed, nervously. �No... it didn�t suck at all. I�m completely shocked. Where did you learn to write like that?�
She smiled. �You should know. You don�t learn to write anything. It�s thoughts, feelings, emotions all combined in one to form words.� He shook his head. �It�s amazing.� She grinned. �Thank you.� He stood and came over to sit next to her. �Can I see what you�re working on now?� She nodded, sliding her notebook for him to read. �Yeah.�
I don�t know how I survived
In this cold and empty world for all this time
I only know that I�m alive, because you loved me
When I recall what I�ve been through
There�s some things that I wish I didn�t do
Now I do the things I do because you loved me
And now that you�re in my life
I�m so glad that I�m alive
Cuz you showed me the way
And I know now how good it can be
Because you loved me
I believe in things unseen
I believe in the message of a dream
And I believe in what you are
Because you loved me
With all my heart and all my soul
I�m loving you and I never will let go
And everyday I�ll let it show because you loved me
Because you love me
He looked up and simply shook his head. �I�m... speechless.� She grinned, and ran her hand through her hair.
Matt peered in the window and frowned at the two. He stormed off, anger seething through him.
Katie smiled. �What�d you think?� He shook his head. �I think anyone who can write like that should win a lot of awards. I guarantee you could get best songwriter for this.� She smiled. �Yeah, right.� He shook his head. �I�m dead serious.� Katie grinned. �I see that.� He shrugged. �Kates, I�m sorry.� She shook her head, slightly confused. �For what?� He took her hand. �For kissing you.� Her eyes widened. �Wha-?� He cuts her off, cupping her cheek, pulling her to him. His lips captured hers, and she kissed him back for a few moments, before pulling back. Flushed, she shook her head. �I�m sorry, JC... I can�t...� He nodded. �I get it. Don�t worry, it won�t happen again. I�m done, Katie. You�re right. I can�t keep kissing you. I want you to kiss me.� Storming out, he took off down the hall.
She sighed, and closed her eyes. �Dammit.� She threw the door open and took off after him. She caught up with him, and grabbed his arm, pulling him into a small little room. He shook his head. �Katie...� She growled, pulling him to her. �Your turn to shut up.� She pulled his head down to hers and covered his mouth with hers. A slide slid across his lips, as he wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her back with enough force to knock them both back against the wall.
(10 minutes later)
Katie sighed, as she pulled back. �I... I should go.� He nodded, trailing kisses down her neck. �Yeah... maybe.� She sighed, and broke free. �I seriously have to go.� He nodded. �I�ll see you later?� She nodded. �Maybe... no! What am I saying! JC, I can�t...� She sighed, kissing him one last time, before taking off. He smiled to himself, grinning.
She felt the cold air hit her full force and she sighed, leaning against the wall. Never in her life had she felt so low. �It was as if I had no will power... no self control. This can never happen again.�
She took off and caught a cab back to the hotel. She trudged up to Justin�s room and knocked softly. He opened the door. �Katie?� She smiled. �Hey... is Ali here?� He shook his head. �Nah, her and Jackie went shopping.� She nodded, and waved. �Thanks.� She turned around to see Matt. �Matt?� He smiled. �Hey Katie. C�mon. Let�s go for a walk.� She nodded, following him outside.
Seventeen