"Yeah, Nsync was short of an opening act, so they called Greg and of course he booked
it", Gillian giddily informed. All the color drained from Vanessa's face like water being
squeezed out of a sponge.
"But-But what about the promotional tour? I mean, you can't just cancel all those dates!"
Vanessa exclaimed, her chalk-white face horrified at the thought of encountering Lance
again.
Gillian shook her head.
"I'm only doing the first three dates and then after I finish the tour, I'll complete the rest.
Besides, I'll have a much larger audience; it's an opportunity I'm not going to let go", she
firmly argued.
[Ugh, a whole three months with the one guy who's ever managed to break my heart and
still love him? No thank you!] Vanessa darkly thought. She had to find an excuse to get
herself out of this disaster and as far away from Lance as possible.
"Um, but what about your set list? You've only learned six songs", Vanessa pointed out.
"That's fine. My set is about thirty minutes so six songs should be enough", Gillian
reasoned.
Vanessa sighed. There didn't seem to be any way she could convince Gillian to change her
mind. The only solution to this problem was obvious; avoid the asshole as much as
possible. Little did she know, it would be easier said than done.
Vanessa forced a smile on her face that probably resembled a twisted frown.
"Well, I'm really happy for you Gi Gi. Anyway, let's go get some pizza. I'm starving", she
declared.
Gillian nodded and opened the Eclipse door and began walking to the restaurant. Vanessa
glanced in the rearview mirror, pondering the situation a little more.
[Two and a half months with Lance on their Celebrity Tour? How in the world am I going
to survive!] Vanessa thought. She sighed and followed Gillian into the restaurant.
*~*~*~*
Dressed in a pair of low-rise, dirty denim jeans that laced up on the sides and a sky blue,
spaghetti-strap, Tommy Hilfigher tank top and matching Adidas sneakers, she floated
across the stage like a butterfly, her loose, blond hair sweeping behind her like a velvet
cape. She stopped every so often to touch the outstretched hand of a fan. Rapid flashes of
camera bulbs added to the mixture of excitement and as she belted out the last note of
'Romeo' it reminded Gillian of how badly she desired the destiny of being a star.
"Thank you Orlando! You've been a wonderful audience!" Gillian cried into the
microphone headset.
The audience roared with enthusiastic energy, crowding the metal stage like it was her last
performance ever. Vanessa and the rest of Gillian's crew had kicked off the short tour at
New York, then flown to Chicago and finally Orlando. Today was the last day before
touring with Nsync; Gillian was itching with anticipation while on the other hand, Vanessa
was dreading it like an appointment for a root canal.
Gillian beamed at the crowd one last time, then proceeded to stroll down the rickety steps.
Waiting behind the stage was Vanessa, dressed in a denim mini-skirt, a fire engine red
colored, V-necked, T-shirt that had scrolled across the chest, in rhinestone letters was the
word: Be Be. On her feet were tan, platform sandals. Vanessa had swept her mass of curls
into a high ponytail.
"Great job! The crowd completely loved you", Vanessa sincerely complimented. Gillian
laughed and snatched the bottle of Evian her friend held out.
"Thanks! You wouldn't believe how nervous I was. I was having flashbacks from the time
I tripped down the stairs at a chorus concert in ninth grade", Gillian confessed. This time it
was Vanessa's turn to laugh.
"Well, don't let your traumatic ninth grade woes haunt you for too long; you've got the
whole Nsync tour to worry about", Vanessa advised. Gillian nodded while taking a huge
gulp of the ice-cold water.
"Tell me about it. Anyway, what time is it?" she questioned. Vanessa took a peek at her
watch.
"It's 2:30. Why?"
"I'm hungry", Gillian proclaimed. Vanessa let out a jokingly, frustrated sigh.
"You're always hungry! Are you sure you didn't have your stomach switched with a
sumo-wrestler when you were young?", she teased.
Gillian gave her a light shove.
"Shut up. Besides, after all that dancing a girls gotta eat." Vanessa nodded.
"You've got a point. So, where to; McDonald's, Papa Gino's or Taco Bell?" she offered,
naming the fast food places off with her fingers.
"Ew, skip Taco Bell. Who knows what they put in their meat. I vote for McDonald's",
Gillian answered.
"Aight. Mickey D's it is", Vanessa replied. Gillian grabbed her purse, which was lying on
the floor. The two began walking to the record store exit, Gillian's newly-hired bodyguard,
Jacob on their heels.
Just as Gillian pushed open the door, a male voice stopped Vanessa dead in her tracks.
Her heart skipped a beat as she slowly faced the man behind her. She already knew who it
was; all the years of shock, hurt, love, anger and happiness bubbling to the surface.
"LANCE?"
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