*"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
"Looks like Justin has some competition!"*
Vanessa reluctantly pried open her eyes, the harsh lights of the tour bus blinding her vision. Two blurry figures stood in front of her, studying the scene before them. She blinked and the two figures finally came into focus.
"Gillian, JC? What are you guys doing; I thought y'all were watching a movie?" Vanessa croaked.
"We've stopped driving for the day and just arrived at the hotel," JC informed. Vanessa nodded and glanced out the window, which revealed the pitch black, night sky. The only exception to this dark canvas was the twinkling of the white stars.
"What time is it?" she curiously asked. JC quickly took a peek at his watch.
"11:30."
"Now, let's change the subject. Just what's going on in here?" Gillian quickly interjected, with a gleeful smirk. Vanessa furrowed her brow.
"What are you talking about?" she demanded. Gillian laughed.
"You and Lance look pretty cozy together," Gillian teased.
Vanessa frowned, then turned her head to her left to be greeted with the peacefully sleeping face of Lance. The scent of his cologne, Adidas Moves, slithered into her nose, tickling and teasing it. A small smile was present on his face, as though he had a secret no one else in the world knew. His arms were securely wrapped around her waist, her whole body lightly resting on top of his.
[We must have fallen asleep when we were watching Meet The Parents....], she thought.
After watching My Best Friend's Wedding, Lance had chosen to watch Meet The Parents. Vanessa remembered watching the first five minutes with him and that was it.
Vanessa gave a blissful smile, not bothering to untangle herself from Lance's grip.
"We were watching Meet The Parents together; we must have fallen asleep," Vanessa concluded. Gillian rolled her eyes and nudged JC in the side with her elbow.
"I think someone's lying...," she teased in a singsong voice.
"Yeah..whatever. And just so you know, Lance and I are secretly married with three kids," Vanessa sarcastically answered, her statement nothing but fictitious wishes.
Gillian laughed.
"Well, wake Lover Boy up, cause we're all going to go check into our rooms, unless you want to sleep on the bus," Gillian ordered. Vanessa sighed.
"Yeah. Ok. We'll be there in a few minutes," she confirmed. Gillian then followed JC out of the bus and into the parking lot that led to the Hilton Hotel.
Vanessa glanced back at Lance, wishing they could stay like this forever. The thought of Gillian and JC's comments suddenly came back to mind.
[Ugh, they already think something is going on between us....I'd better hurry up and get out there. The longer I wait, the more of a crazy story they're gonna make up about us..]
"Lance..Lance, c'mon, get up," she softly urged. There was no response from Lance. Vanessa let out a frustrated breath of air and sat upright, so she was sitting on Lance's lap, her legs draped across his and dangling over the side of the couch.
"Lance! Get your ass up off this couch!" she exclaimed, shoving him lightly. Lance groaned, his eyelids fluttering.
"LANCE! Get up unless you want to spend your night in this bus, cold and alone," Vanessa yelled.
He laughed but didn't open his eyes.
"I heard you the first time. Besides, how can I get up if your fat ass is sitting on me?" he joked.
Vanessa gasped, pretending to be deeply offended.
"James Lance Bass, how dare you insult me! You know you're just jealous cause you can't have any of this J-Lo booty," Vanessa teased, her eyes twinkling.
"Don't lie to yourself, Nessa. It's a bad habit," Lance playfully shot back.
"You know, just for that comment, I'm not letting you get up," Vanessa firmly replied. Lance rose an eyebrow.
"Oh, really? Well, what if I said I could change that", he defiantly argued.
"I'd say, let's see you try," Vanessa challenged. Lance laughed.
"All right." He quickly scooped one arm under her legs and one under her back, then lifted her off the couch and began walking down the bus and out the doors.
"Lance! What do you think you're doing?" Vanessa shrieked, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Amy, who had been waiting outside the bus for everyone to get off, smiled at the couple as they breezed by and then went to lock up the bus.
Lance chuckled, his grip never loosening on Vanessa and walked through the automatic sliding doors of the Hotel and into the Front Lobby, where Gillian was waiting with JC. Vanessa rolled her eyes as she caught Gillian give JC's side a little nudge.
"What took you guys so long? Too busy enjoying each other's company to notice the time?" Gillian guessed, a sly smirk glued to her face. JC muffled a laugh, glancing back and forth between Lance and Vanessa.
A blush spread onto Vanessa's cheeks, her face turning as hot as the surface of the sun and as red as a ripe tomato. Lance let out an uneasy laugh and noticing that he was still holding her, abruptly let go.
Vanessa's arms fell to her sides as she put some distance between herself and Lance.
"I should say the same thing about you and JC, Gi Gi!" Vanessa heatedly snapped. Gillian laughed.
"Touchy, touchy. Well, the rest of the guys already checked into their rooms. Lance, you're rooming with JC and V, you're with me," the pop star informed. Gillian snatched the silver key from the counter and JC took the second.
They headed down the plushly carpeted, brightly lit hallway and to the elevator.
"So, Gillian, ready for your debut tomorrow?" JC asked, as he pushed the up button. Gillian nodded, her mind wandering to the events that would take place tomorrow.
The metal doors slid open with a ping and the group squeezed into the tiny space; JC and Gillian side by side in front and Lance and Vanessa standing next to each other; behind them. The doors quickly shut as Gillian pushed the tenth floor, which Vanessa and her room was located.
"Honestly; no. I'm scared shitless," Gillian bashfully admitted. JC gave her a comforting smile.
"I know the feeling. But you have nothing to worry about; I've seen you perform and there's not a single person who can't say they had a bad time. You've got to have confidence in yourself and know you can do this," JC advised. Gillian smiled.
"You really in believe in me?" she asked, her voice swelling with gratitude and surprise. He nodded.
"Yeah, I do. And it's not just me; Vanessa, your family and your friends; they all do too," he added.
"Wow. Thank you, thank you so much."
"Don't worry about it," JC breezily comforted. The two pop stars shared a smile, just as the doors slid open to the tenth floor.
"Well, this is our floor. See you guys tomorrow," Gillian announced.
"Bye," JC responded.
"Bye, Gillian. See you tomorrow, Vanessa," Lance called. Vanessa looked over her shoulder as she followed Gillian out the elevator and into the peaches and cream carpeted and wall papered hallway. She warmly smiled.
"Later!"
As the girls quietly wandered down the deserted hallway to their room, Gillian grinned.
"What?" Vanessa sharply asked.
"You so are in love with Lance," she quickly replied. Vanessa laughed heartily.
"Look who's talking, Mrs. Chasez!" she pointed out.
"You can tell?" Gillian asked.
"That's like asking if I can tell if Bridget's a skank; of course!" Vanessa bitterly confirmed. Gillian sighed as she ran the card-key into the slot. The door light turned from red to green, signaling the verification and an unlocked door.
"I really like JC. But with our jobs, us ending up together is a thing only time can tell."
*~*~*~*~*
Her stomach felt like she had eaten everything known to man, then immediately taken a three mile jog in the brutal Sahara Desert. She tried to put on the masquerade that she was confident, but the word was the farthest of her emotions at the moment. She wanted to throw up, laugh, cry and scream all at the same time, all these emotions eating away at her insides like battery acid.
Every bone in her body and each vein buzzed with adrenaline; her heart pounding wildly and uncontrollably. Gillian was decked out in her concert attire, which was a pair of low-rise, hip-hugging, dark denim jeans that laced up on the sides with tan cords and a black, crop top with the words Control Freak splattered across the top in jagged, sparkling white letters. Her long, blond hair had been curled into soft, bouncy, frizzles waves like the Chili from TLC. On her feet were a pair of new Nikes. She let out a sigh; in all her life, Gillian had never felt the way she was feeling now.
It was 8:27 and in three minutes, she would be on stage; on stage in front of an unfamiliar mass of strangers, all controlling the fate of her career in their unsuspecting hands.
What if they didn't like her? What if she was booed off the stage? Without fans, Gillian Canova would become the person she feared the most; a nobody. She shuffled to the thick curtain and surveyed the crowd, like a nervous elementary school actress before their first play. What seemed like a billion pairs of eyes stared back at her and that was all she needed to abruptly close the curtain and back away, as though she had been standing in the middle of the road and at the last second, had jumped out of the way to avoid a car.
"I can't do this. I can't do this," she frantically mumbled to herself.
A strong pair of hands latched onto her shoulders, causing her to let out a screech of fright.
"Hey, hey, calm down. It's only me," a male voice soothed. Gillian turned around was greeted with the mesmerizing eyes of JC Chasez. He was still dressed in casual attire, a pair of jeans and a dark green T-shirt, since the guys weren't going on stage until 9:30.
She let a nervous giggle.
"I'm sorry. It's just that I'm so damn-"
"Nervous?" JC finished. Gillian nodded, his eyes somehow calming her down slightly. He smiled sweetly, thats context wasn't of amusement or disgust.
"Don't be. I can remember the first time we, as group performed. We all were nervous, especially Justin. But once we got into the show, we seemed to forget about everyone else. I sometimes still get nervous about performing. But trust me, once you get on stage, you'll forget about everything. And then, before you realize it, it'll all be over," JC assured.
"Really?" she asked, her voice filled with hope. JC nodded and stepped closer.
"Yeah and if not, then I have just the thing to take your mind off your anxiety," he softly suggested.
"And what's that?" Gillian wondered, just as softly. Without another word, JC swooped Gillian into his arms and kissed her. Hands grazed hips, tongues intertwined and their souls connected. Gillian broke away first, struggling for rhythmic breath.
"JC?"
"What?" he whispered, his eyes never leaving her's. She smiled.
"Thanks."
He chuckled and backed away.
"No problem."
Suddenly, Vanessa appeared, two bottles of Evian water in her hand and a lavender, Mudd messenger slung across her shoulder. She was dressed in a long, jean skirt that had a slit up to her knee on both sides. For a top, she was wearing a red T-shirt with a picture of a sky blue Care Bear sitting on a sky blue cloud. Her shoes were a pair of open-backed Skechers.
"Hey Gillian, here's the water you wanted...," Vanessa began. Her eyes darted back and forth between Gillian's flushed face and JC's blissful expression.
"Am I interrupting something here?" she curiously questioned. Gillian laughed.
"No, no. JC was just wishing me good luck, right Jayce?" Gillian prompted. JC nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, that's it," he replied, quickly coming to her rescue. Vanessa laughed.
"Ok. Whatever you say. Well, Gillian, get ready because you're on stage in about five seconds," Vanessa informed. JC turned to Gillian.
"Good luck, Gi Gi. I'll talk to you later," he vowed. Gillian nodded.
"Thanks." To her surprise, he leaned in and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into a hug. Gillian returned the embrace, securing her arms around his shoulders. After a minute, he let go and headed off the stage. Gillian stared at his retreating figure, a surge of confidence flowing through her veins. She sighed then turned to Vanessa.
"You know, now that I really think about it, this show is going to be a peace of cake."
*~*~*~*~*
Both shows indeed, were spectacular arrays of talent and passion for music. Gillian, despite all her prior worrying, performed flawlessly and gained new fans, along with respect of the old fans. Nsync, never the ones to leave you demanding for your money back, threw one of the many tremendous performances, never showing they were tired. To celebrate, so to speak, the guys of Nsync, Gillian and Vanessa all decided to go to the most lively club in San Diego, The Hot Spot.
Since the performance clothes had been pretty binding, everyone had come to the conclusion to go semi-casual, with the exception of Vanessa.
Vanessa was wearing a slinky, spaghetti-strap, black dress that stopped about six inches above her knees. It was what we women liked to call, "the infamous, little black dress." Her black shoes were considered rather more platforms than high heels; chunky and three inch heels. The only jewelry present on her were tiny, gold hoop earrings.
Gillian was wearing a pair of black pants and a fire engine red one shouldered, tank top with diagonal blue stripes. Her hair was straight again, pulled back with a silver barrette into a half-pony tail. For shoes, she had chosen a pair of comfy but stylish, Skechers.
All five guys were wearing expensive jeans and designer shirts. Clouds of smoke from the fog machine swirled around them like fairy dust and the sounds of "Luv U Better" by LL Cool J consumed the air. Dozens of flashing lights and lasers sliced through the air and the sounds of the crowd were nothing but a dull buzz, underneath the roar of DJ Clue. Over all, The Hot Spot certainly lived up to it's name.
Everyone couldn't be happier; their show was a complete success, their fans adored them and life was generally wonderful. Everyone, that is, except Vanessa. She sat, scowling at two people dancing down below, a few feet in front of her. The VIP section was on a balcony, overlooking the dance floor. Sitting in the corner of the VIP section, next to Gillian, JC and Justin, she sipped her Sierra Mist, hoping that a spiked boulder from the ceiling would suddenly fall onto the female dancing with Lance. That female was none other than Bridget. After Nsync's performance, everyone had gotten showered and changed, then decided to go clubbing for a few hours. Bridget, who was a professional hair stylist to the celebrities, who lived in California, just so happened to be in the San Diego area. Once Lance had found this out, he didn't hesitate to event her along.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Gillian hissed, breaking away from a conversation JC, Justin and she were having. Vanessa sighed.
"Nothing."
"Nothing, my ass. Tell me what's wrong," Gillian firmly demanded.
"Fine, you wanna know what's wrong? What's the matter is that Bridget is rubbing her gold-digging hands all over my best friend. If they were grinding any closer, we could call them official Siamese twins," Vanessa spat out.
Gillian laughed, her eyes following Vanessa's sinister stare. Disgust crossed the pop star's eyes, at the sight before her; Vanessa wasn't exaggerating, the couple were so close, if Bridget moved one centimeter closer, she'd literally be on top of Lance.
[I don't know what Lance sees in Bridget...if only I could somehow get Vanessa and Lance together, I know neither one would regret it. They both love each other, the only problem is, they both won't admit it!], Gillian thought.
"That is pretty disturbing. But I really don't see why it's bothering you so much. Do you have a thing for Lance or something?" Gillian questioned, trying to sound clueless.
"Ugh. No! I was just pointing out the obvious; none of us came here to lose our lunch," Vanessa quickly reasoned. Gillian nodded and laughed.
"Well, while you try not to blow chunks over the table, I'm going to dance with JC. I'll talk to you later," Gillian informed. Vanessa nodded.
"Ok. Later." Gillian turned to JC, said a few words, then got up and began walking down the stairs and onto the dance floor, hand in hand. As Vanessa kept her scowl on Lance and Bridget, the song "Dirty" by Christina Aguilera began playing.
"Hey, do you want to dance?"
Vanessa turned to her right and was faced with the anxious eyes of Justin. Vanessa smiled, thinking for a minute. Did she really want to go down there and watch Lance and Bridget's freak show?
She opened her mouth to decline when a thought came to mind.
[If you can't beat them, join them! If Lance wants to flaunt gettin his freak on with Bridget, then I guess he has no choice but to watch as Justin and I do the same. Boy, I can't wait to see his face; he's no doubt going to be beyond jealous], Vanessa deviously planned.
"Sure, Justin!" Vanessa eagerly accepted, with a beaming grin, that lit up her whole face. He smiled and she followed him down the stairs and onto the dance floor. Latching onto his hand, she led him to a spot right next to her target; not even twelve inches away. To Justin's shock and delight, she pulled him close and immediately began shaking and grinding her stuff all over him.
Lance glanced over at Vanessa, his eyebrows rising in surprise. Vanessa gave him a sickeningly sweet smile and slightly waved. The look of bewilderment never left Lance's face but he returned the wave and tried to focus his attention back on Bridget. The keyword here, ladies and gentlemen, is tried.
Vanessa's smile never left her face as she faced Justin again, knowing Lance couldn't control his need to glance over every few second but not bothering to respond to this action. For once, Lance was transfixed under her spell.
*~*~*~*
Lance tried to keep his eyes from wandering to his best friend, but he couldn't help it. Her sparkling eyes, her sea of curls, her smooth, caramel skin were like a spell, or in his situation, a curse. He suddenly needed to have her in his arms; he needed to be the one dancing with her, not Justin. The fact that the slinky, black dress she was wearing hugged every one of her curves didn't help either.
"Baby, I'm going to go sit down for a while. These heels are killing my feet. Will you sit with me?" Bridget pleaded. Lance took a quick glance at Bridget, then let his eyes linger on Vanessa, who was laughing about something Justin had said.
"Yeah. Sure. In a minute. I just need to talk to Vanessa for a minute," Lance agreed. Bridget took a peek at Justin and Vanessa and rolled her eyes. Lance, was too busy longingly staring at Vanessa to notice his fiance's childish response.
"All right. You know where I'll be," she called, as she departed. Lance swiftly walked over to Vanessa and cleared his throat. Vanessa and Justin didn't seem to notice.
"Uh..hey, Justin. Can I talk to Vanessa for a few minutes?" Lance asked, his voice increasing in volume. They both looked up, Vanessa fixing him with a blank stare.
"Yeah, sure man. I'm gonna go get a drink, ok Vanessa?" Justin informed. Vanessa nodded.
"I'll meet you up there in a few," she promised. Justin smiled and turned his back to Lance and Vanessa; beginning to weave his way through the masses of bodies.
"So, what do you want?" Vanessa snapped, the coldness in her voice startling him.
"Uh...well..I was just wondering if you wanted to dance?" Lance questioned. The tempestuous scowl bubbling beneath the surface of her face vanished completely and was replaced with a smirk of satisfaction.
"Really? What about Malibu Barbie?" she sarcastically wondered. Lance stifled a chuckle and slowly smiled.
"She had to go back to her pink beach house," he joked. Vanessa laughed just as the sounds of "Addictive" by Truth Hurts flooded the speakers. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to her, her scent of spring flowers after a rain shower intoxicating him.
"So..you and Justin, huh?" Lance asked, gazing down into her large eyes.
"What do you mean?" she asked, with clearly no genuine confusion. He laughed.
"Are you guys a couple now or something?" he demanded. Vanessa crinkled her nose and shook her head.
"No. I was just having an innocent dance with him, that's all," she informed. Lance snorted.
"Innocent my ass."
"Jealous, are we?" Vanessa teased. Lance smirked.
"That's for me to know and you to never find out." She laughed. He loved it when she laughed; her eyes glistened and her whole face seemed to give off an imaginary, radiant glow.
"Well, well, well. That was pretty decent, considering the fact it took you all night to think up," she playfully responded back. He smiled, then his expression turned grave. Without thinking, his hands slid down to her hips, their thighs grazing each other's.
"I was also up thinking about something, or should I say someone else", he informed. Vanessa's face then transformed into a canvas of fear, nervousness and anticipation.
"Really, who?" Without skipping a beat, he answered: "You."
They stopped dancing, captured in each other's embrace.
"Why were you thinking about me?" Vanessa whispered. He gazed at her lips; oh, how he would give anything to stop talking and express all his bottled up emotions through just one kiss.
"I wanted to tell you something. But right now, I can't remember."
"Oh," she simply replied. His hand cupped her chin and the bottom of her face, drawing it so close, their rushed breaths mingled.
"So, let me jog my memory, ok?" he hoarsely replied. She nodded. Without another word, he leaned down and her trembling lips met his. More fireworks than a display on the Fourth of July ignited, the rest of the world fading into the background. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist. He deepened the kiss, easing his tongue into her slightly opened mouth and finally meeting her's in a sort of feverish dance. He didn't want the moment to end.
Suddenly, Vanessa broke away, small tears running down her cheeks. He frowned and wiped them away, then gave her a quick kiss on the lips again.
"Nessa, what's wrong?" She sniffled.
"Your breath. I can tell, you've had too many drinks tonight," she babbled.
"So?"
"You didn't mean any of what you said! Tomorrow, this is going to be a vague memory of a dream that you'll never have come true. You won't remember any of this!" she exclaimed, tearfully.
"Why?!" he demanded.
"You're drunk, Lance! You're drunk!"
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