about. The Prince Charming only Disney could create; the Mr. Right you prayed would walk into
your life because all you've dated were Mr. Totally-Wrong's. The guy who you know only exists in
those cheesy, teen chick flicks, who always call after the first date, open doors for you and make
you say: "Aww, why can't I find a guy like that."
Well, I have a news flash for all you girls out there; he does exist! Yes, that's right, this fairy tale
mirage of a guy created by corporate America actually is no phony! I repeat, this is no joke, the
perfect guy is somewhere out there! The only problem is, this one guy could suddenly show up and
flip your whole world upside down without you even realizing it. He could be your long time
next-door neighbor, your science lab partner, the mysterious rebel, lurking in the back of the
classroom. Or, he could be the one person standing there all along. That's because he could be
the guy you'd least expect; your best friend. How do I know all this? Because I experienced it first
hand. It all started when James or should I say, Lance and I met in elementary school. I was a
prissy, daddy's little Princess and he was shy, squeaky-clean and friendly. The kind of guy that
helped old ladies cross the street and had your parents saying: "why can't you be more like
Lance?"
It was no surprise that I didn't like him at all and it certainly wasn't a shock that I wasn't on
his top ten list of favorite people. But one day on the playground, during recess, that all changed. It
was third grade and I had bragged to anyone that would listen that I could swing from bar to bar on
the monkey bars, like Tarzan does from vine to vine. I ended up banging my chin on the rusted,
metal bar, causing me to bite down extremely hard on my tongue. The end result? A swollen,
punctured tongue that was gushing more blood than a blood bank. I climbed down from the
monkey bars, huge tears starting to flood my eyes, when all of a sudden, the person I least
expected hurried to my side; Lance. He grabbed my hand, his fingers lacing into mine as he began
leading me past the spectators and to the nurse's office. I, too shocked to speak, let him lead me.
He glanced at me, his jade colored eyes giving me a sympathetic look.
"It's ok if you wanna cry", he replied. I laughed. Well, it was the closet thing to a laugh, considering
the current state of my tongue.
"I ain't gonna cry, I had somethin in my eye", I quickly corrected. He shook his blond little head and
gave me a knowing smile. We kept walking, hand in hand, neither caring to stop or even wanting
to, when Lance spoke again.
"Why'd you do that?" he asked, referring to my earlier stunt.
"Cause, everyone wanted me too. Besides, I already told `em I could, so if I didn't, I'd look stupid. I
wanted to look cool", I explained, a little exasperated. Why did he need to know? Why did it
matter? He smiled, shyly at me.
"I think you're great the way you are." And with those words, we became the best of friends. I think
fate has a sense of humor, because it obviously wanted to get a laugh by putting together Lance
and I. Nevertheless, we stayed friends through elementary school and high school. Sure, I had
close friends that were girls and he had close guy friends but the bond Lance and I shared was
rare and one of a kind. We didn't have the same tastes in everything but we weren't complete
opposites either. We were the type of friends that could be totally comfortable around each other
without worrying if we looked stupid or geeky. Nothing could separate us. Or so, I thought.
Fast forward to the summer of 1996; the fourth of July. Lance was seventeen and I was sixteen.
Our families were having their annual barbecue at my house. We had all eaten dinner and now
were waiting for the fireworks display to go off. There was a very steep hill in my backyard and
Lance and I were laying in the grass, at the bottom of it, gazing up at the twinkling stars. The sky
was a silky, dark blue; almost black but not quite. A full moon hung in the sky, glowing so bright I
could clearly see Lance. And as we waited for the fireworks, he rolled over on his side and faced
me.
"Vanessa, there's something I need to tell you", he replied with a hint of nervousness. Still laying
on my back, I asked: "What?"
"Well, I'm leaving for Europe in two days". I'm gonna be in a band", he informed. My eyes widened.
Lance, in a band? I hadn't see this coming! It was like walking down an empty road and then
suddenly getting hit by a trailer truck. Shock, then anger, then sadness, then shock again passed
through me. When did this happen? How and why? Question after question whirled through my
head as I tried to imagine a life without my best friend. I turned my face to his.
"But, why? How did this happen? Why didn't you tell me?" I softly demanded. He sighed and rolled
over on his back again, searching the stars as if they had all the answers.
"My old vocal coach contacted me cause this guy named Justin was looking for a bass voice. He
and three other guys are starting a band. I didn't tell you sooner because when I first met them, I
didn't think it was going to work out. But once we all sang together, we harmonized perfectly. You
should have heard us, we were great."
"But what about college?" I questioned. Lance had gotten a full scholarship to Dartmouth. Would
he really give up that opportunity for a stab in the dark?
"College can wait. This band is the start of something big, I just know it!" Lance enthusiastically
reassured. I sighed and turned my head away from his. I couldn't believe it. My best friend was
abandoning me! Ok, so I knew once college rolled around that'd cause some problems but this
was different. Over seas in a band, traveling every day, with practices and rehearsals? He'd
certainly forget about me in a matter of minutes, although I could never forget about him. I wanted
to be happy for him, I honestly did. And deep down inside, I was. But at the moment, my heart was
aching too much to pretend.
"Nessa, what's wrong?" Lance questioned. I was silent.
"C'mon, tell me", he pleaded. I sighed and faced him again.
"Do you think I'd take this easy, letting my best friend run off to Europe and forget about me?" I
snapped. Lance frowned.
"I could never forget you. And a few thousand miles can't tear us apart", he comforted.
At this point, all the emotions I'd been hit with couldn't be bottled up any longer. Silent tears began
to turn into rickety sobs. I was half aware of the shiver I felt when Lance moved closer and
wrapped his arms around my waist. I buried my head into his shoulder as one his hands broke free
of my waist and began stroking my mass of milk chocolate colored curls. I pulled back a bit and
looked up into those amazing eyes of his.
"I'm going to miss you so much. I want to be happy for you and I am. It's just that I'm so scared of
losing you", I confessed. Lance kissed my forehead and sighed.
"I'm going to miss you too, Nessa", he whispered. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
"You promise to write, call and e-mail as much as you can?" I demanded.
"Oh boy, you sound like my mom", he teased. I laughed.
"I'm serious, you promise?" I persisted. He smiled.
�I promise", he vowed. As soon as the words left his lips, the fireworks began. We were silent,
holding each other, lost in thought as we watched the glittering colors rip through the night sky.
Contrary to his promise, Lance did forget about me. At first, the e-mails and phone calls were
frequent; it was like he had only left yesterday. But pretty soon the amount of e-mails and phone
calls diminished to nothing. I wasn't being selfish, I knew he was going to be a big star and didn't
have time to sit back and relax. He was a busy man with a busy schedule. But I couldn't help
feeling hurt. Despite the fact he hadn't vocally expressed his feelings for me, I knew he cared a lot
about me. And if he cared so much about me, you'd think he try to make a greater effort in trying to
keep in touch with me. We had been best friends for years and maybe even something more.
Seeing his face plastered everywhere on TV and magazines constantly reminded me how much I
missed him. In a way, it was like being mute. I could never talk to Lance but I would always see
him. I always wondered the same things; did he care about me like I did for him? Did he even
remember me? Losing my best friend was a permanent open wound on my heart thats pain went
down to my soul. I guess I was angry at him too but my heartache was stronger than my anger.
Now, even though I wasn't on the best terms with Lance, I couldn't deny the fact that he had grown
up to be beyond handsome or gorgeous or hot. Sure, he'd been attractive before his stardom but
now, it was like WOAH! But to me, seeing him again and actually returning the more-than-friend
vibes I had developed for him was nothing but a farce, seeing as how I had moved out of
Mississippi and into New York City. After high school, I had gotten accepted into Columbia
University. Lance was in Nsync, traveling around the world and I was his forlorn and forgotten
friend, staying in one place. What were the chances we'd ever meet again? Zilch, nada, zip. Or at
least that's what I thought, until I bumped into him, six years later and experienced the roller
coaster ride of a lifetime.
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