*******
�In sync with what? What are you talking about, man?�
JC smiled a bit more easily. She really had no idea.
�No, that�s the name of the group. *NSYNC.�
Margot�s eyebrow rose even more so and a little simper took over her face.
�Oh, okay then. How do you spell that exactly?�
JC grabbed a nearby piece of paper and with the pen that had been snuggled behind his ear, he wrote *NSYNC on the sheet and handed it to her. She looked at it for a few minutes, twisting it around in her hands as if she had no idea what it was. JC rolled his eyes and began explaining.
�Margot, honey. This is the way you look at it,� he put the piece of paper right side up in her hands. �And let me explain. The letters stand for the last letters of all the guys� names. The first N stands for Justin, the S is for Chris, the Y is for Joey, the second N is for Lance-�
�Whoa, whoa. Lance doesn�t end in an N.�
�Yeah, that�s why we nicknamed him Lansten.�
Margot snickered. �Cute.�
�Yes, we thought so. And anyway, last, but certainly not least, there�s the C which stands for guess who,�
�Josh.�
�Well, JC, but very good all the same. I think our name is pretty fine if you ask me.�
JC smiled to himself and then turned to wiggle an eyebrow at her.
�But not as fine as you.�
She rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder gently.
�Dream on Bob.�
�I will always have my castle in the sky Martha. And no matter how many times you shoot me down, I will always rise again and show you that my bullet proof vest has worked.� He smiled grandly.
�That didn�t even make any sense.�
�I know, it�s too early in the morning for me to be having profound conversations like this.�
Margot walked over to the mixing board and sat down in a nearby chair.
�But since we are here and since I�m curious, how�s about you teach me a couple things.�
JC followed her, smiling slyly and stood next to where she sat.
�So are you taking me up on my previous offer?�
She looked up at him lazily.
�No.� she replied flatly. JC snapped his fingers and shook his head.
�Oh well, it didn�t hurt to ask.�
*******
JC spent the next hour completely dissecting the recording process for Margot. And she enjoyed every minute of it. She had always loved music. Ever since she was a young girl she�d had a certain fascination with the beautiful art form. JC marveled at her yearn to learn more about the little recording studio. He considered himself to be an avid music lover, but Margot was definitely giving him a run for his money. After he had told her everything there was to know about the mixing board and everything else in the room, he sat down on the floor and looked up at her.
�Can you sing?�
Margot had been busy playing with some controls on the board when JC had questioned her.
�Heh?�
�I said, since you seem to have such a love for music, do you sing?�
She turned off the steady conga beat she�d been head-bopping to and looked steadily at him.
�No. Well, yes I do sing, but nothing serious, just when I�m sitting alone with nothing to do.�
�Then what�s your passion?�
�My passion?�
�Yeah, ya know, everybody�s got to have a passion. Mine is obviously singing. Beethoven�s must have been composing, et cetera. So what�s yours?�
�Dance.�
JC was surprised. He hadn�t really noticed before, but Margot definitely had the body of a dancer, slim and fit. She continued,
�Ever since I was a little girl, I�d loved music, but when I told my mom that I wanted to get a vocal coach, she kind of didn�t take me seriously. So when I still wasn�t doing anything with my free time, I got her to enroll me in a ballet class. I fell in love with it almost immediately and as I grew, so did my love for it. In college I majored in Dance. I graduated top of my class. Which was pretty hard to do seeing that I had some serious prima donnas in my class.�
�Where�d you go to school?�
�Huge scholarship to Juilliard.�
JC�s eyes widened. She went to Juilliard? That�s like the Princeton of the arts. I am amazed everyday�
Noticing JC�s surprised look she frowned a little.
�Is it that hard to believe that I could get into Juilliard?�
He shook his head wildly. �No! No, that�s not what I meant! I was just, impressed is all. That�s really amazing.�
She relaxed visibly.
�Well, thanks. It was the best four years of my life, to be clich�.�
�Then why aren�t I hearing of world famous Margot Martin, dance prot�g�?�
�I met Lucas in college, Lucas being my ex-boyfriend. He told me that I�d never have a future in dance. He did all the supermodels� hair and stuff for runway shows. He talked me into traveling around with him and doing their makeup after he taught me some stuff. That�s how I became world famous Margot Martin, catwalk makeup prot�g�.�
�I�ve never heard of you.�
She glanced over at him and retorted lamely.
�Yeah well, I�d never heard of you either,� she saw him look up at her anxiously and she rushed to finish, �But it�s ok. Not many people not having to do with the fashion industry know about us. But whenever you decide to become a male model, you�ll know who to call.� She winked at him. JC tilted his head and peeked at her.
�So you�re saying you think I�m handsome.�
She rolled her eyes again.
�I�m saying when you decide to become a male model, you�ll know who to call.�
He stuck out his lower lip and held a hand to his heart.
�Wounded, again!�
Margot took his hand from his chest and slapped his head with it a few times before he retracted his arm and stuffed it behind his back.
�Jeez girl, no need to get violent.�
She stood and placed her small hands on her hips. JC looked at her face and stopped talking. Holding his hands up he apologized sheepishly.
�Yeah, yeah, just don�t do it again or else I�ll have to punch you for real.�
He rose from the ground and grabbed her hand. She looked down where their hands met and glanced at him nervously. He led her out of the small studio and stopped at the small door across the hall from where they had just exited.
�Well Margot, if you keep beating me up, I�m not going to show you this��
With one swift movement, the door was open and the two were inside the room. Margot�s eyebrows rose and her mouth dropped open. Taking in her surrounds, she saw the most beautiful hardwood floor, spotless mirrors all around her, and a very expensive looking stereo system; all the makes of an absolutely gorgeous dance studio. She was speechless but the look on her face said everything. JC watched her closely as she released his hand and walked to the middle of the room, eyes still wide and lips still parted.
She knelt down and ran her slender fingers along the grain of the floor. Although it had been buffed at one time, years of wear and tear showed clearly on the wood. There was nothing Margot appreciated more than an old worn dance floor. Rising from the ground, she walked to the mirror and placed a hand on it. Feeling the coldness of the glass reminded her of the many years she spent dancing her heart out in front of mirrors just like these. A sad smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she remembered her first dance class. The smile soon disappeared as her mind wandered to her last dance class.
Lucas ruined my dream�Lucas ruined my heart.
Turning away from the mirror, she walked back to the middle of the room.
Lucas didn�t ruin anything. You let your own guard down. No one is to blame for anything that happened to you besides you.
JC saw Margot shake her head slowly and it only took a few steps for him to be right next to her. He took a trembling hand in his own and patted it comfortingly. Almost reading her mind, he spoke,
�You can still dance. Lucas isn�t here to keep you from fulfilling your dreams.�
She smiled at him trustingly and looked down at the floor where her toes had unconsciously been pointing and flexing themselves. She laughed quietly to herself, realizing her love for dance had never left. She�d just stopped harboring her love for it. Turning to look through the collection of CDs next to the stereo, she dropped his hand and left JC standing along in the middle of the studio.
Lucas may not be here to keep you from fulfilling your dreams, but he probably still loves you. One thing he probably doesn�t know though, is that I want to be the one to satisfy all your wishes.
JC mentally slapped himself.
You cannot start thinking like this. As perfect as she may seem, you can�t allow yourself to get hurt again. You will cherish the friendship you have with her and that�s it.
He tried to convince himself of everything he�d just said, but his face fell when he realized his little pep talk hadn�t gotten through.
�Well, Joshua, as much as I enjoy your company and as beautiful as this dance studio is, it is way too early in them morning.�
Ugh, I don�t know why I put myself into situations like this.
�Joshua?�
Friendship. That�s all that will come out of the next two and a half months with her. She doesn�t want another relationship. I don�t want another relationship. So all is solved! I will not fall in love with her and we�ll be friends.
�Um, Josh?�
Friends. That�s it. Nothing more, and hopefully nothing less. Lets just hope I can stick to my plan�
�JC!� Margot screamed in his face. He jumped back and looked at the woman who had just yelled at him. She was so beautiful; he had no problem admitting that. Even a blind man could see that.
But she�s a beautiful friend. That�s it!
Margot watched his eyes dance around her face. Feeling suddenly self-conscious about wearing her pajamas in front of a man she just met, she looked down at her feet.
She looks so innocent. I just want to hold her forever�no! I just want to give her a friendly hug�
Agh, this is no use�
�Ok then, I think I�m going to go back to bed��
�Right, goodnight Margot.� JC replied, rolling his eyes at himself.
She snorted. �Don�t you mean good morning? It�s almost five o clock!�
He looked tired. �Yeah, I guess.� Margot turned to return to her room. Once at the door, she called over her shoulder.
�I�ll talk to you later. And get yourself together man, you look really out of it.�
If only you knew just how out of it I really am�
Only after JC heard the faint slam of a door two levels above him did he make any move to leave the dance room. But instead of going back to sleep, he returned across the hall to the recording studio. Sitting down at a cleared table, he grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil.
The soothing scratch of lead on paper echoed through the small room and JC sighed slowly, finally releasing his true feelings for the first time in the seemingly eternity of two weeks.
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