After the startling revelation that Lance's kiss had not emerged from pure passion, Vanessa had jostled her way through the club and out the exit door, feeling like a complete idiot for thinking that Lance could actually be attracted to her. Like a knight in shining armor, Lance had followed her, begging for an explanation as to why she was running away.
She didn't answer him, for she was too frightened that she'd start to cry even harder. Vanessa had then quickly retrieved a taxi and sped home, leaving Lance in a cloud of confusion, like Julia Robert's character in 'Runaway Bride.'
They were heading to the second show on the tour; Pasadena, California. Since the town was so close to San Diego, it would merely take less than one or two hours. Vanessa sighed.
She hadn't spoken to Lance since last night and didn't plan on doing so. She shifted in her seat, her nylon, navy blue, Express, track pants rubbing against the leather couch, which caused the only noise in the silent tour bus. Wearing a cotton candy colored, Baby Phat T-shirt and Charlotte Russe flip-flops to complete the ensemble, Vanessa had decided to keep her outfit casual or as in Gillian's words "scrubby."
Besides, no one really paid any attention to her anyway, so who was she trying to impress? Gillian was off on Nsync's bus, probably drooling over JC. Lance, along with the rest of the guys, was also on their own bus.
So as usual, Vanessa was alone. All of a sudden, the bus came to a halt. Vanessa glanced out the window; they were in front of their final destination, a gigantic, massive, elegant hotel called The Imperial. Vanessa stood and headed to the front of the bus, then down the stairs. She quickly snatched three out of her six bags from the trunk, which was on the side of the bus, figuring the bellhop would take care of the rest.
As Vanessa rolled her suitcases up to the door of the hotel, Lance came out of the second bus.
"Vanessa!" he called, hoping she'd at least turn around. Vanessa's steady walking faltered; the temptation to walk over and pretend last night never happened lingered above her head.
[What would you say to him? You have nothing to say. Just keep walking], she thought.
Vanessa quickly resumed walking. She eventually would talk to Lance again.
Except not here.
And certainly not now.
*~*~*~*~*
"I'm hungry," Gillian announced behind the doors of their hotel room. It was one-thirty in the afternoon and both hadn't eaten since eight am. Vanessa, who was laying on her stomach on the second of the two, queen sized beds, aimlessly flipped the channels of the TV in front of her.
"You know, for once, I actually agree with you," she replied. Gillian, who was seated in a tan, wicker chair by the door, picked up the room service menu from the nightstand and searched the selections.
"Nope. Nope. Nope. All this stuff is crap," she mumbled. Vanessa flicked off the TV and sat up.
"Why don't we just go out to eat?" she suggested. Gillian pondered the idea for a moment, then carelessly tossed the menu back on the nightstand and nodded.
"Sure. Hey! And let's invite the guys, too," she proclaimed. Vanessa bit her bottom lip.
"Uh..I'm not sure that's a good idea.."
But before she could protest, Gillian had grabbed a pair of sunglasses, shoes and her wallet and scuttled out the door and down the hall where Nsync's rooms were located.
Vanessa flopped down onto her stomach, throwing her face into the crisp, freshly cleaned, white pillow.
Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth and let out a series of horrified screams.
*~*~*~*
After everyone had gotten ready, the group headed downstairs and to the two cars the guys had rented; a Jeep and a Mercedes Benz, which Vanessa and Gillian had no trouble figuring out who had insisted on renting.
Not to Vanessa's benefit, she had been put in the Benz with Justin and Lance. JC, Gillian, Joey and Chris were all piled into the Jeep, which could only fit four people. The group had come to a consensus that lunch would be eaten at Constantine's, a popular restaurant among the locals.
Justin was driving, Lance was in the back seat and Vanessa was in the passenger seat, next to Justin. The car ride was eerily quiet, with the exception of the radio, which was on the station of 107.7, which played a variety of songs, like MTV's TRL. Vanessa almost wanted to laugh at the irony of the song that began to play.
When I was a child, the stories would say
Somebody would sweep you off your
feet someday, that's what I hoped would happen
with you, more than you could know
I wanted to tell you that my heart's in your hands
I prayed for the day that I would get the chance
Just when I worked up the courage to try, much to my surprise
You had somebody else, Yeah, Cuz these
feelings I keep to myself
I may never get to hold you so tight, I may
never get to kiss you goodnight, I may never get
to look deep in your eyes, Or so it seems, I always will be
wishing you were mine, I think about
what could be all the time, All the happiness that
I could find, Baby, A girl can dream
(A Girl Can Dream by PYT)
"So..uh..how's everything going so far? Do you like how the tour is evolving?" Justin asked, trying to break the silence.
Vanessa glanced at Justin, his eyes covered by dark Ray-Ban sunglasses.
"It's great. I'm really proud of Gillian; she's doing phenomenal, considering how hard she worked and how little time she had to prepare. You guys are doing great, too," Vanessa meritoriously answered.
Justin smiled. Vanessa smiled back; why had she failed to notice how contagious Justin's smile was and how much it lit up his face.....
"Thanks. And I agree with you, about Gillian. She's better than I think anyone expected."
Vanessa nodded and glanced in the rearview mirror at Lance. He hadn't said more than two words the entire car ride. He caught Vanessa's gaze in the mirror and began to offer a surrendering smile. But it abruptly ceased when he beheld the scowl on his friend's face.
Vanessa faced Justin again.
"So, I don't mean to sound rude or anything but is what everyone says, true? Is Justin Timberlake really as arrogant as everyone says?" she demanded. Justin shook his head.
"You know, you can believe what to believe. But I know I'm not like that. The media loves to create these hyped up stories just for the sake of attention and at first it pissed me off like you wouldn't believe. But now, I really don't care. You really have to take what they say with a grain of salt, you know?" Justin candidly confessed.
Vanessa smiled. Though she hated to admit it, she had been on the opposing side of the debate concerning Justin's ego. She had always thought the egocentric player people perceived him as, was truly his identity.
"You know Justin, I think I'm going to like getting to know you."
Justin chuckled.
"Me too." Vanessa glanced back at Lance, who was pretending to be preoccupied with the view but she knew he was listening to their conversation.
[Time for a little payback, Lance!]
Vanessa leaned forward.
"Speaking of which, what do you say we continue this discussion over dinner?" she asked. Justin pulled into the parking lot of Constantine's and swung into an open space. He then turned to her, a grin slowly spreading on his lips. Lance quietly opened the door and got out of the car, taking his time on heading over to the rest of the gang, in the Jeep.
"Is this a date or something?" he asked. Vanessa shrugged.
"I guess so," she slyly replied. He laughed.
"Ok. How about after tonight's show? Just you and me?" Justin suggested. Vanessa kissed him lightly on the cheek, pulled away then got out of the car. She leaned against the closed passenger door, facing Justin.
"It's a date."
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