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[Het] [N'sync] [PG-13]
Steal My Heart
(At Jive’s Lobby.)
“Alyssa... it’s... it’s my turn already?” Naomi was turning pale. Her face was the colour of sour milk and porridge gone bad. “It can’t be... not yet!”
“Oh yes it is!” Alyssa pulled Naomi to her feet and nudged her. “You can do this! We’ve been waiting for so long! Go and get it over with! At least you can say you got to meet N’sync live and in person!”
“Please Ally... I can’t do this! I just can’t!” Naomi made a mad dash for the door as the security guard continued to call her number, getting more and more irritated by the second. “I can’t do this!”
“Yes you can!” Alyssa dragged Naomi away from the door and shouted, “Here!” The guard took one look at them and practically drooled all over the floor. He gulped and a funny expression came over his face. “Come on! They’re all waiting for you! And that guard’s got it bad...” Alyssa gave Naomi a wicked grin.
“Can you come with me?”
“Well...”
Alyssa relented when she saw Naomi’s pleading expression. “I can try to worm my way in. It shouldn’t be too difficult. Now come on!”
Naomi allowed herself to be dragged to the lift. The guard was still smiling goofily at them and when Alyssa leaned over and whispered, “Please sir, my friend here is going to be sick... she needs someone to accompany her all the way. I’ll only be there for a little while... just for moral support. She’s not feeling very well and I’d be heartbroken if anything happened and I couldn’t be there to help.”
“I’ll help you any way I can, miss. Heartbroken, eh? That’s probably how I’m going to feel after I’ve done all this.” The guard ushered both of them in, to the protests of the other job candidates. He ignored them, however, and the trip to the N’sync dressing room was relatively peaceful.
Naomi’s head was spinning and she leaned her hot forehead against the cool mirror. What am I going to say? I mean... there has to be some way I can get out of this stupid mess I created for myself... again. Can I just try to run for it? As soon as the lift doors slide open, I’ll dash out and... and... right, Taylor, you’re gonna run out of the lift and jump down a window... smart move. Real smart.
Alyssa noticed Naomi’s distraught and tightened her grip on Naomi’s shoulder. Naomi smiled and felt comforted by the knowledge that her best friend was going to be there with her through the whole thing. Okay... I’ve made it this far. I can’t and won’t turn back now. It would be a stupid, childish thing to do. I’m not letting anything stop me. Not now. Naomi managed to muster up the ghost of a smile just as the lift shuddered and came to a stop. At first, Naomi thought they had reached their destination when she realized the lights in the lift had gone out. They were in complete darkness. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. Her knees felt wobbly and she collapsed onto the floor.
The girls started to scream and even the security guard was panic-stricken. Alyssa sighed in frustration as a frown creased her forehead. “Great. Just great. Naomi finally gets into the lift and what happens? We get stuck. Heaven must be playing a joke on Naomi... damn! Now how am I going to convince her to go for it?” That’s when Alyssa realized Naomi was hyperventilating on the floor. Dammit! Alyssa almost screamed. Naomi has a phobia of dark places. How could I forget! Naomi, don’t pass out!
Alyssa bent down and tried to help Naomi but nothing she did worked. Naomi was panicking and if nothing was done, Naomi was going to pass out right there and then. “Someone please get help!”
(The N’sync dressing room.)
Justin stretched and yawned widely. “Man! We must’ve checked out a thousand girls and none of them seem to be what we need. They never last more than three seconds! What do we do now?”
“Hello? We’re superstars. Most of them were super-fans. It’s natural for them to freak out after looking at the state we’re in. I’d hate to realize that I’ve lost all my charm already! I’m not even thirty!” Joey put his thumb and index finger under his chin and tried to look suave.
“Charm?” Lance asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He giggled at Joey’s pose. “What charm? Never knew you had any to begin with.”
“Guys... let’s check out this last batch and then go home...” JC couldn’t hold back a yawn. “I’m tired. I want to go get a good night’s rest before our photo shoot tomorrow. Besides, the girls don’t seem very interesting...”
“Who’s talking interesting?” Chris demanded. “We’re talking gorgeous here. You know, not brainy. Ugh!”
JC rolled his eyes. “Well, our girl better have a brain or I’ll feel like I’m talking to a live Barbie doll. And can we stop talking about girls this way? I know we’re pop stars, I know we’re famous, I know YOU are all chauvinistic pigs... unfortunately, I am not. They are as human as we are. And it makes me sick the way we talk like they’re tools to manipulate.”
Lance tilted his head and looked at JC funnily. “Grumpy much?”
“Sorry... not enough sleep,” JC raised a hand in apology. The rest of the gang turned to look at JC with an identical ‘spit it out’ look on their faces. “Okay... I just... I just don’t think we’re doing the right thing. I mean, this money is out of our own pockets and yeah, I guess we can afford it, but it just feels so wrong. I mean, we shouldn’t be doing this... we... man, I don’t even know what I’m trying to tell you.”
Justin jumped onto JC’s back and horsed around for a moment before answering thoughtfully. “I think I know. You’re trying to say women deserve respect and we shouldn’t be lying to them about the whole ‘we need a chaperone’ thing. Look JC, relax. We’ll tell the lucky candidate what we really want after we find one.”
“But... do you think they’re lucky to land this job? I mean, music is our passion and we expected the buzz long before we started this band. But... what about the girl who gets the job? She’s going to have to give up all the normalcy in her life. She’s going to be hounded by the media, and goodness knows how our fans are going to react to us having a girl hanging around us all the time. Doesn’t it just make you feel guilty?” When three out of the four of them shook their heads, JC threw his hands in the air in exasperation. Justin was flung off his back and he moaned when his head hit the floor. “Well, you’re the only one who agrees with me, Lance. You say something,” JC demanded.
Lance looked thoughtful for a few seconds before saying, “Well, I think that this girl is going to have to get used to the busy schedule... but if she can’t handle it, she’s free to walk out that door. I don’t think we should force this on anyone-”
“Force?” Chris’ eyebrows were raised disbelievingly. “And here I thought we had about five hundred of them fighting for the job. Damn, my calculation must’ve been way off track, huh Lance?”
“Look, they don’t know the conditions to this job. They don’t know how dangerous it could be for them. What about all those crazy fans who would just love to rip the heads off of any girl who comes more than five meters close to us?” Lance sighed wearily. “Forget it, okay? I don’t want to argue or debate anything. All I want to do right now-”
“Is to drive home and get some rest,” JC finished, high-fiving Lance in a very un-JC like way.
Joey chuckled. “The Heads of our group have spoken.”
Justin rubbed his sore head and grinned, “Okay, Mr. Smart Guy. Your wish is our command. Now I wonder what’s taking those girls so long...? We’ve actually had a seven minute break!”
“I’m beginning to wish we hadn’t wasted our day off here,” Lance groaned.
“Beginning to wish?” JC smirked disbelievingly. “I’ve been wishing nothing but that the whole time.”
Chris was about to attack Justin again when the door flew open and a guard burst in. “What the...?” JC was dumbstruck.
“Sir, there... there’s been... the lift... it’s stuck just between this floor and the floor below... and... there’s... a girl’s close to passing out... something like a phobia of dark places... she... we need back-up... but no one will get here in time...”
JC sprang to his feet and ran to the lift with the others at his heels. Security was unsuccessfully trying to pry the doors open and Chris gave an exclamation of impatience when his eyes met the scene. JC pushed the guards aside, muttering ‘useless idiots’ all the while. Then, both he and Lance heaved at the door and slowly, it creaked open. At first, Justin thought the girls were cheering because they were finally going to get out of the lift, but finally, it dawned on his that they were actually cheering because two N’sync members were rescuing them! He puffed out his chest proudly and winked at Joey.
Justin helped to push as the doors continued to open slowly. JC wiped his forehead and looked down. He saw Alyssa trying frantically to keep Naomi awake and called for Joey to help push the doors. Then he bent down, trying to ignore the frantic hands of the girls as they tried to grip his hair, shirt... anything they could get their hands on. “Hey!” he called to Alyssa and she looked up, panic in her eyes. “ Yes you! Hurry and get that girl over here! Come on! She needs help!”
Alyssa nodded and quickly steadied Naomi. But the crowd of excited girls wouldn’t budge and Naomi was forced to stay at the back of the lift. JC punched the lift door in exasperation. “Dammit!” he cursed. “Okay, tell her to close her eyes and think of something besides being here. Maybe her boyfriend, or her parents or something...”
Alyssa raised her eyebrows skeptically. She doesn’t have a boyfriend... thinking of Marcus is no way going to help... and thinking of her parents... damn! Who can she think of? I’m here but it doesn’t seem to be helping her... she needs to think of someone she’s counted on... James! That’s it!
Alyssa’s eyes lit up with hope and she stroked Naomi’s pale face gently. “Come on Mayo. You heard the guy. Close your eyes and think of James. Come on!”
Naomi nodded fervently and closed her eyes. But the image of James wouldn’t come to her. She gripped her necklace around her neck and the image of Chase popped up in her mind. “Chase... Chase... Chase... think Chase...” she whispered as the darkness seemed to melt away. Alyssa felt Naomi relaxing in her arms and she sighed softly with relief. She looked up to see JC smiling with an encouraging expression on his face.
“Damn, he’s cute!” Alyssa couldn’t help whispering.
Naomi was completely relaxed by that time. JC was comforted by the look on Naomi’s face so he stood up and helped the others push the doors open. As soon as they could, Lance, Joey and Chris bent down and pulled the over excited fans out into the open. Some of the fans swooned at their touch, some sighed, some started crying and screaming, and Alyssa couldn’t help giggling at the stupidity of it all.
Finally, Naomi managed to stand shakily. JC leaned over to help Alyssa out and Alyssa couldn’t help giggling and blushing a little. Lance finally pulled Naomi out of the lift and she collapsed shakily into his strong arms. She was still trembling and Lance was worried. JC dusted Alyssa off and turned to Naomi. “How are you feeling?”
Naomi couldn’t believe her ears. Is that JC Chasez talking to me? Out of the fifteen frenzied fans here, he’s talking to me? She and Alyssa had always dreamed of meeting N’sync, but not under these circumstances. Naomi managed a somewhat shaky smile, “I’m... fine. Thank you.”
Chris and Joey led the other fourteen candidates to the waiting room and Justin looked worriedly at Naomi. “You don’t look too good. Lance, why don’t you sit her down somewhere and let her catch her breath?”
Alyssa’s eyebrows were raised at Justin’s concerned tone. So I guess they are as nice as everyone claims, she thought, smiling shyly at Chris as he returned from the waiting room. He returned her smile graciously and she quickly grabbed Naomi’s hand - partly to comfort Naomi, and partly to calm herself.
“Come on, you should go along and wait with the rest. Lance will take care of her and-”
Alyssa held up a hand and interrupted Justin. “Sorry, I’m not here for the job interview.” She giggled at his shocked expression. “Naomi is. I’m just accompanying her. She’s a bit, um, shaken.”
“I can see that,” JC bit his lip. “Are you sure your friend is going to be okay?”
Alyssa knelt down beside Naomi as Lance gently sat her down in a chair. Alyssa pressed her hand onto Naomi’s cool forehead. “I think so. She’ll be fine. By the way, that was a rather useful tactic... you know, the one for getting rid of her fear of dark places.”
JC smiled, “I used to have a friend who was afraid of dark places too... I lost contact with her about a year ago...” JC stopped himself and chuckled. “I barely know you and I’m pouring my heart out to you. You’re good.”
Alyssa raised her eyebrows and grinned. “Oh, you ain’t seen nothing yet,” she reassured him. “Anyway, I’ll get Naomi to the dressing room as soon as she’s feeling better. It should take a couple of minutes.”
“We’ll be waiting,” Justin winked at Alyssa and she went weak in the knees. Damn those eyes! She mentally cursed. Alyssa smiled at him and nodded.
She heard them laughing as they trudged back to the dressing room. They were all sweating. “Well, you got your vigorous workout, Justin, baby. What more could you ask for?” she heard Joey laugh.
“Shut up Joey.”
“Hey!” she heard Lance call and she looked up again, eyebrows raised questioningly. “I think your friend’s a bit shocked. Maybe you should fill her in on what just happened... is she an N’sync fan?”
Alyssa turned to look at Naomi and almost laughed at Naomi’s star struck expression. Star struck... Alyssa grinned. What a choice of words!
JC gave them one last look before shutting the door to the dressing room. In a few seconds, Alyssa began giggling again as the screams started yet again.
Naomi stared incredulously at Alyssa as she watched her friend giggle hysterically. “Ally?” she shook Alyssa’s shoulder. “Alyssa?”
“Huh? What? Oh... what’s wrong Mayo?”
“What... just... happened... here?” Naomi said the words slowly and purposefully. “Did we just talk to N’sync? Was Lance carrying me here? Was JC asking if I was okay? Was Justin worrying about me?”
“Uh... yeah...” Alyssa took one look at Naomi and knew she was going to explode. Seven... six... five... four... three... two... one... she counted the seconds to Naomi’s explosion mentally.
“OH MY GOD, THAT WAS N’SYNC!”
“Shh!” Alyssa hissed. “I know, I know... and there’s no one more amazed than me that they were actually talking to us and joking with us and taking care of you, believe me! But you have to calm down. Judging by those screams, it’s probably almost your turn!”
Naomi’s eyes were bulging as she slowly grasped the situation. “I... what? My turn? Now?”
Alyssa nodded and helped Naomi to her feet. “I know you can do this, Mayo. After I saw the way Lance and JC were looking at you, you probably stand a better chance than most. And, like you said, you’re not the most expressive person, so it won’t show even if you’re scared or uncomfortable and you’re definitely not going to make a fool out of yourself by screaming, right? So just go in there and blow them away!”
Naomi hardly heard Alyssa’s words of encouragement. She clutched her necklace so tightly her knuckles were white. But she was numb to the pain in her fingers and all she could focus on was the fact that Lance had been carrying her. She swallowed with some difficulty and tried to smile. It didn’t look normal. She took a deep breath and forced a bright smile. She rehearsed a few times with Alyssa anxiously urging her on.
But when her number was called, she almost tripped and fell. She took a few more breaths and with a mind of their own, her feet directed her to the door. She hesitated a few seconds before pushing the door open and walking in.
Alyssa watched her in amazement. She knew, without a doubt, that Naomi had been too distracted to hear anything she had said for the past few minutes. “She didn’t run for it... she actually went it there! Wow... she’s got more guts than I give her credit for!”
When Naomi walked into the room, everyone was suddenly silent. Justin and Chris stopped fighting, Joey stopped giggling, JC and Lance stopped talking, and everyone turned to look at her. Naomi’s eyes were focused on the floor and she could feel the intense stares directed at her. That was why she kept her head down. She couldn’t bring herself to face those stares... or the eyes directing them.
Naomi knew they were probably checking her out. And she knew that they were probably going to drool in the next few seconds. As modest as she was, she knew that red looked great on her. Well, actually, virtually anything looked good on her. She swallowed a few times and the room remained silent.
Finally, Naomi managed to drag her eyes away from the carpet and she looked up slowly. What she saw amazed her. Justin’s eyes were on her and his jaw was hanging inches from his mouth, Chris was trying in vain to push Justin’s jaw to meet his mouth, Joey was chewing on popcorn, JC was intently studying a book, Lance was smiling slightly at her, and when her eyes locked on his, the faintest of blushes crept onto both their cheeks.
Naomi looked away and said, “I... I like your carpet.” Immediately, she wanted to kick herself for her stupid remark. How am I going to get the job when I stand here talking like an idiot? Their carpet? Where did that come from? Dammit Taylor! Get a grip on yourself, okay? It’s not the end of the world and they don’t know how scared you are. Your face isn’t giving anything away.
Naomi looked up just as all five members of N’sync jerked their heads up and turned to stare at each other, an amazed expression on each of their faces.
“She didn’t scream...”
“She didn’t faint...”
“She didn’t cry...”
“She didn’t swoon...”
“She certainly doesn’t look like she’s died and gone to heaven,” Naomi heard JC remark with the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Then, all five of them turned to her. Naomi had stared at their photos thousands of times... but actually meeting them in person kind of took her breath away. Her eyes swept from one guy to another as she spoke. “Good morning, Mr...”
When her gaze landed on JC, her eyes widened. She stared into his intense blue eyes and suddenly, she recognized him. She realized why he always seemed so familiar to her... realized why he always seemed to have been a close friend. She took a few steps towards him, her gaze never wavering. JC stared back at her, confusion written all over his face. But Naomi could see clearly the intrigue in his eyes, just as he had clearly seen the fear on her face as she entered the room.
Four pairs of eyes were locked on her as she continued forward to JC. But none made any move to stop her. They could see that she meant no harm. And they were all curious as to why she was behaving so weirdly towards JC. I didn’t see his face clearly just now... I was too bewildered... but now I’m almost sure... it looks like... but it can’t be... but they look so alike... I wonder...
“Chase?” she whispered. And all the other four groaned.
“It’s pronounced Sha-zay, my dear,” Chris corrected her. But he was interrupted when JC tilted his head and looked funnily at her.
Naomi was now standing directly in front of JC. Slowly, she reached out and four pairs of eyes followed her hands. But her eyes were still locked on JC’s and he was still gazing back at her... she reached out and ruffled his hair. And four voices gasped in unison. “Chase?” she whispered again, before pulling her hand back.
“Damn,” Justin muttered, “And here I thought we had a winner. She’s got one hell of a body.”
JC’s mind was racing with confusion. He looked at Naomi slowly. His eyes traveled from her long legs... to her small waist... to her beautiful facial features... to her hazel hair... back to her beautiful, clear, blue eyes. And suddenly, recognition dawned on him just as Joey was gently leading her away.
JC jumped up so vehemently that his chair toppled backwards. The room grew silent once again. Lance, Chris and Justin were staring at the chair while Joey and Naomi were staring, transfixed, at JC.
He walked up to Naomi and his eyes swept down to her neck. What he saw made him smile, and he knew at once who she was. But he had to be sure. “Is that really you, Catch? Am I dreaming?”
Naomi’s smile grew wider and wider. She pulled out of Joey’s grasp and flung her arms around JC’s neck. “My Chase!” she whispered, clinging to him as if she would never let him go. “My Chase.”
“Yes... yes, it’s me Catch,” he pulled back a little to study her face. He grinned when he saw that she was all smiles. “It’s so good to see you again. Why didn’t you write me any letters for so long? I waited and waited for your reply, but it never came.”
Naomi’s smile remained, but JC could sense that her spirits had dropped when he had mentioned the letters. To the others, though, she looked unaffected. And they were still shocked by JC’s show of emotion. Usually he didn’t show as much emotion as the others. He was basically more of a reserved and private person. “What’s wrong, Catch?” JC whispered, gently pushing a strand of her hazel hair behind her ear.
“Nothing...” Naomi was surprised that JC had realized it when her mood had been affected. The reason she had stopped writing to him... she couldn’t tell him... not yet... she wasn’t ready for it. She was so happy to be reunited with him again that nothing else mattered. “I’ve missed you.”
“Me too,” JC’s face fell for a while, before he smiled brightly. “But now we can stick together, right?” He turned to the others with Naomi still in his arms. “She is so hired, right? Isn’t she the perfect candidate? She didn’t freak out when she saw us...” JC’s voice faltered because he knew she had been scared when she entered the room.
“Yeah!” Justin nodded. “She looked so calm and composed. It was amazing! Finally! A woman who doesn’t throw herself at our feet!”
JC’s eyebrows were raised skeptically. “I think you’re one of the few people who can read me, Chase,” Naomi whispered playfully in his ear. He grinned and sat down, with Naomi still in his lap.
“And she is... whoa!” Joey whistled and shaped an hourglass with his hands. Lance and Chris half-expected her to blush but instead, she gave them a confidant, cocky grin and said, “You think I’m pretty?”
Justin’s eyes widened but all of them, with the exception of JC, nodded. Naomi laughed, “Then just wait till you check out Ally.”
“Ally?” They all asked in unison, even JC.
“Let me in! Come on! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME! Come on, sweetie, look,” Naomi heard Alyssa kissing someone just outside the room and then she heard a male giggling. “Now can I go in? Thank you.”
“Speak of the devil,” Naomi declared, pointing at Alyssa as she entered the room noisily. “That’s Ally.”
Alyssa was just about to say something when she noticed that Naomi was in JC’s arms and the two of them looked just about ready to kiss each other. “Ahh... did I interrupt something?” she asked pointedly.
Naomi didn’t blush and neither did JC, which the guys found amazing. “I told you I knew him, Ally. I told you!”
“Well, now I believe you!”
“And I believe what you said about her! Mmhmm... whoa... is it just me or is it getting way hot in here?” Joey grinned evilly at Alyssa.
“You need me to help you chill out, don’t you, baby?” Alyssa slipped easily into the routine. She was just being herself. She giggled when Joey nodded, his tongue practically hanging out of his mouth. She walked up to him and gave him a playful kiss on the nose.
“Whoa!” Joey looked dazed and he had a goofy grin on his face. “That was good. I’m chilling... I’m chilling... do it again?”
Alyssa smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes flirtatiously at Justin. “Right after Curls over there does that to me.”
Justin grinned wickedly. “Oh man, she’s good! You can lock me up and torture me, girl. I’m all over you, baby!”
Lance giggled and Chris smiled, “They’re just what we need, JuJu. Do you two come in a package or do we have to hire each of you individually?”
“Oh, no, I’m not here for the interview,” Alyssa protested. “As much as I love you guys, I love my teaching professionalism more. The school’s closed down for renovations though, so I’m here to give Naomi over there a bit of moral support.”
“Aww man...” Justin pouted. “And here I thought I was going to get a two-for-one kind of thing.”
“In your dreams, Curly,” Lance laughed as he ruffled Justin’s hair. “Hmm... maybe if you lose the fro...”
“Hey! That’s my trademark!”
Chris groaned. “Not the ‘my fro is my life’ thing AGAIN!”
Naomi chuckled as she watched Alyssa flirt playfully with the guys. JC smiled. “Okay guys. Fun time can come later. Right now, I want to get Naomi on the job and I want to do it now. Get Johnny outside to tell the other girls that we’ve found our girl. They can stop wasting their time and go home now.”
“Aren’t you even going to go through with the rest of them? There might be a better candidate...?” Naomi asked slowly. JC stared steely at her.
“And here I thought you were on my side...?” he told her accusingly.
She smiled sheepishly, “Sorry.”
Chris grinned and jumped onto Justin’s back. “No need to say sorry. But you’re definitely the one. I mean, you’re pretty, you and JC are close, your friend is fun and she’s going to be hanging around for a while... what more can I ask for? Aww... come on, J... give poor old Chris-y a piggyback ride won’t ya?”
Justin shook Chris off of his back and rolled his eyes. “Go find your own horsie to play with, Chris old man. I’m going to, ahem, disappoint the ladies.” Justin winked at Lance, who winked back and chuckled.
Chris raised his pleading eyes to Alyssa. “You’re not going to let him do this to me, are you, honey?”
Alyssa raised her eyebrows but she broke into a sly smile. “Of course not, you poor baby. Justin, you should be ashamed of yourself, letting this poor old man here sit and rot.” Alyssa walked coyly towards Justin and grinned, “I’ll give ya a little something if you help him out there.”
Justin’s eyes widened and he picked Chris up immediately. “Come on Chris-y! You’re going for a ride!”
After a few seconds, Justin dropped Chris and ran back to Alyssa, much to JC and Naomi’s amusement. “Okay, gimme, gimme, gimme... please?”
Alyssa dropped a kiss on Justin’s cheek and licked her lips as she stepped back. Justin grinned and said, “Ooh baby. Chris, I’m all for your piggyback rides if I get a reward like this every time!”
“Man! I ask you to punish him and you... ugh! Women!” Then Chris got up and walked penitently to Justin. “J-man... do me a favor... ask ME for a PIGGYBACK ride! Please, please, please!”
The whole gang dissolved into laughter when they heard Chris’ plea. Lance got up and went to the door. He flung it open and shouted, “Johnny! Tell everyone to leave! We’ve got the girl we wanted!”
Then Lance turned around to face Naomi. “Do I get a reward for that?” he asked playfully. Naomi considered for a moment. Then she pushed her own worries aside and motioned for Lance to come over. He knelt down in front of her. “Oh fair maiden, I have come forth to ask for a reward after ridding the town of its icky rats.”
Naomi giggled and pressed her lips gently against Lance’s forehead. “There’s only one reward - and that’s for pulling me from the giant lift monster’s big belly just now.” Then she kissed JC tenderly on the cheek, “And that’s for helping me get over my fear of the monster. Thank you, both gallant knights.”
Lance bowed and grinned. “I am at your service.”
“I can see that,” Naomi giggled. “Um, shouldn’t we be getting the paper work done?”
At Naomi’s words, the room seemed to freeze. Alyssa and Naomi looked questioningly at each other. “What’s wrong?” Alyssa asked.
“Well, actually...” Joey fidgeted nervously and Chris hopped from one foot to the other out of nervous energy.
“You see,” Justin began. But Lance cut in, “We aren’t really looking for a chaperone - ... Naomi, right? - well, we... actually we... we’re sick of having crazy girl fans around us all the time. We want someone - a girl, more specifically - that we can all relate to and befriend. That’s basically the whole idea. Yeah, you’ll have to watch over us, go to pubs and make sure we behave and everything... but this wasn’t Jive’s idea. We’ll be paying for you out of our own pockets...” Lance held up a hand when Naomi began to protest. “We definitely have more than enough to pay you... but we just wanted you to know the whole truth. This job is more like advertising for a girl pal for all of us, rather than just a chaperone. Do you get what I mean?”
Naomi nodded slowly. “I get it...”
“Will you still... you know... will you still work with us?” JC asked fearfully, hoping beyond hope that she would still agree.
Naomi smiled, “Definitely,” she said. “But I’d feel really bad making you guys pay me... Do you think this is a good idea? I mean, I’ve known Chase forever and... it’ll be kinda awkward for me to get my pay from him... you know?”
Lance nodded slowly. Justin’s face fell, “So does that mean you don’t want to, you know, be friends?”
“Oh no...” Naomi shook her head. I’d love to. But this job...”
“Look Catch,” JC spoke sternly. “I don’t care if you think it’s gonna be awkward. I want you working here with us. And I don’t want you working for Jive anyway. If you work for Jive, and one of us starts to date you, that wouldn’t be allowed, because it’s against the rules. But if you work for us, we have no problem with that at all, right guys?”
Joey nodded fervently. “Oh yeah... no problem at all.”
Naomi looked from one pleading face to another. Lance and JC were looking at her with so much hope in their eyes that she didn’t have the heart to turn them down. But she couldn’t turn down the pay either. With this job, there was no way she would be able to get another job and work full-time. But at the same time, getting her pay from an old friend would be really weird for her...
“Um...”
“Please Naomi... please say yes!” Chris begged.
Justin pulled a sad face. Naomi reached out impulsively to stroke his cheek. Alyssa smiled and knew the battle was won. “Oh, all right,” Naomi finally agreed. “I’ll do it.” She giggled when Justin smiled brightly. “Dammit Justin, you’re good.”
He simply winked at Alyssa in reply.
“Yes!” Joey crowed, high-fiving Chris, who was dancing around Alyssa with a look of absolute bliss on his face.
Naomi laughed, “I’m beginning to wonder if you’re that happy because I’m here or because Alyssa’s going to be here as well.”
“So that’s your name?” Lance asked, looking at Alyssa curiously.
“Alyssa Carter,” she grinned, shaking his hand.
Lance smiled and squeezed her hand, “Lance Bass.”
“Chris Kirkpatrick.”
“Joey Fatone.”
“Justin Timberlake.”
“JC Chasez,” Naomi finished with JC. And they laughed.
“Naomi Taylor... age twenty-one... birthday on the twelfth of June... we only have about three rules, so remember them. One, follow us wherever we go as a group, otherwise just pick one of us and follow him; second... damn, let’s just skip all this rubbish, okay? All these rules are practically garbage anyway.” Lance grimaced and Naomi giggled. Alyssa looked at them and smiled. JC put a hand on her shoulder and grinned.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” she responded. “JC, how long have you and Naomi known each other?”
“Practically forever. She started kindergarten when she was three! Can you believe that? I knew her since then. We’d spend break playing ‘tag’. I was always chasing her and she’d chase me back. We were inseparable. And a lot of kids then couldn’t pronounce my last name. So we were called Catch and Chase at the end of the day,” JC chuckled. “Sounds kinda ridiculous. But when I went to elementary school, we still kept in touch. I would never call her, because she never wanted me to. She was always more comfortable with writing to me. I don’t know why. But when she was six, she was in first grade. And she begged until she was allowed to join the choir. So I quit soccer to join her at choir.” Alyssa looked at him disbelievingly and he laughed again. “Uh-huh. It’s the truth. That’s how I realized my passion for music. It’s all thanks to Naomi, really. And she’s got a beautiful voice...”
Alyssa smiled, “I know that. But I was in the same class as her all along. I don’t... remember you at all... And she never talked about you much. I knew her since first grade... cos’ we were put into the same class - the gifted one. But she quit choir in, like, the eighth grade.”
“That’s when I left for High school...” JC mused.
“But she joined the basketball team later on. She’s, like, a pro at basketball now.”
“She is?”
Alyssa nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“Well, well, well... what do you know? I think I’m going to test just how good Catch really is.”
“Be my guest,” Alyssa challenged.
JC grinned. “Justin! Hey, Curly! I’ve got a basketball proposal!”
Naomi’s head whipped up when she heard the word ‘basketball’. She loved the sport. “Hey, does this have anything to do with me... or Ally?” she asked when she saw Alyssa standing triumphantly at JC’s side.
“Oh it has everything to do with you, Catch... and Alyssa.” JC grinned.
“Uh... why do I get the feeling that you’ve just gotten me into another mess, Al?”
“You know you love me,” Alyssa grinned.
“Sometimes I wonder...” Naomi countered.
“Ouch!” Alyssa pretended to wince but her grin grew even wider.
“Chocolate!” Naomi’s eyebrows were raised when Justin jogged up to her and slammed his hands onto the table.
“What did you just call me?”
“Chocolate.”
Naomi plastered an utterly bored look on her face. She didn’t fool Alyssa or JC for one second - they could tell she was as curious as hell to why Justin had called her Chocolate.
“Well, if you’re as yummy as you look, I didn’t use the wrong name.”
Naomi just raised her eyebrows even higher, “And I thought I’d heard them all.”
Justin looked shocked and JC laughed. “Anyway, I’ll see you on the court tomorrow morning. We’ll have a game of basketball that’ll have you crying in defeat,” Justin grinned and brought his face down to meet her stare directly.
Naomi smiled and narrowed her eyes, “We’ll see who’s gonna cry.”
Justin stood up and walked away, looking satisfied, “That girl’s feisty. I like it.”
After Lance finished with the paperwork, JC and Naomi went for a walk around Jive by themselves. They walked and talked about the good old times and the fun they had shared together. After a while, JC sat down on a bench and Naomi snuggled down in his lap.
“Alyssa can’t remember me,” JC told Naomi.
“Are you saying you remember her? I thought I was the only first grader you mixed with,” Naomi giggled. “And I thought you used to say I was the only one you could be bothered with at all.”
JC smiled, “I never said I remembered her. Why didn’t you tell her about me?”
“Well... I don’t know... I guess I wanted to save you all for myself.”
“Do you realize we’re always acting and talking like we’re in love?”
“We are, aren’t we?” Naomi questioned. “I mean, you’ve always loved me like a younger sister and I’ve always loved you like another older brother. I guess I didn’t want to share your protectiveness over me with anyone else. You know you mean the world to me, Chase.”
“I never wanted to share you with anyone else either,” JC smiled. “But why did you quit the choir when I left for high school, Catch?”
Naomi shrugged, “I don’t know. It didn’t seem special anymore. No one sang the way you did, Chase. You had life, you were obsessed with music... you loved it. The love shone in your eyes every time you sang. And that’s what made the choir so special to me. But when you left... well... everything seemed so dead. No one sang with all their hearts... they didn’t even try. So I went for basketball instead. And I love it. It’s fun.”
JC smiled at her childish excitement. “One last question - why wouldn’t you let me call you? Why did you only want to write?”
Naomi shrugged, “Well, at first it was because... I was kinda shy. You know I’m outgoing and all... but if we called each other, our main objective would be to talk... and I was worried we might not have anything to talk about... then, later on, I didn’t want to waste your money on long-distance phone calls. You did say you were travelling... besides, my brother is really protective; if he thought I had a boyfriend at that age, he would have blown the roof off of the house.”
JC giggled and Naomi studied him. “Why didn’t you tell me you became a pop star? I hadn’t seen you for so long that I forgot what you looked like - kind of. But your eyes... they always intrigued me. You seemed so familiar. The only thing missing was the twinkle of life. But I recognized you when I saw you in the room just now.” Naomi smiled, “That twinkle in your eyes completed the picture and suddenly it fit into place. You’re Chase. My Chase.”
JC nodded. “I didn’t tell you because... I don’t know... I wanted a bit of normalcy in my life. I didn’t want you to be screaming about how cool you thought I was. Your letters helped me get through the rough patches. And now you’re here. You’re really here. And there will never be rough patches in my life again.”
“We’ll look after one another... just like we did in school, right Chase?”
JC nodded vehemently, “Mmhmm...”
“Are you dating anyone now?” Naomi asked.
“No... are you?”
Naomi thought of Marcus and bit her lip, tensing up a little in JC’s arms.
“Catch? Are you okay?”
Naomi nodded slowly, “I’m okay... but I’m not dating anyone.”
Neither of them felt embarrassed about talking the way they were. They had been close ever since kindergarten and neither time nor age was going to take away the special bond they shared with each other. “Chase?”
“Hmm?”
“Sing something for me?”
JC thought for a moment. “When visions around you, bring tears to your eyes, and all that surrounds you, are secrets and lies, I’ll be your strength, I’ll be your hope, keeping your faith when it’s gone, the one you should call, was standing here all along. And I will take you in my arms, and hold you right where you belong, till the day my life is through, this I promise you, this I promise you...” He wrapped his arms around Naomi’s waist tightly and she leaned her head against his shoulder, comforted by his rich, melodious voice. When she looked at his neck, though, she felt a pang of sadness. JC saw what she was looking for and reached into his pocket. “Looking for this?” he asked quietly. Naomi brightened when she saw the other half of the necklace in his hand. They joined the necklaces together and she smiled, reading the words she had forgotten for far too long. “Love ya forever... JC.”
“Love ya forever... Naomi.”
TBC
Steal My Heart
(At Jive’s Lobby.)
“Alyssa... it’s... it’s my turn already?” Naomi was turning pale. Her face was the colour of sour milk and porridge gone bad. “It can’t be... not yet!”
“Oh yes it is!” Alyssa pulled Naomi to her feet and nudged her. “You can do this! We’ve been waiting for so long! Go and get it over with! At least you can say you got to meet N’sync live and in person!”
“Please Ally... I can’t do this! I just can’t!” Naomi made a mad dash for the door as the security guard continued to call her number, getting more and more irritated by the second. “I can’t do this!”
“Yes you can!” Alyssa dragged Naomi away from the door and shouted, “Here!” The guard took one look at them and practically drooled all over the floor. He gulped and a funny expression came over his face. “Come on! They’re all waiting for you! And that guard’s got it bad...” Alyssa gave Naomi a wicked grin.
“Can you come with me?”
“Well...”
Alyssa relented when she saw Naomi’s pleading expression. “I can try to worm my way in. It shouldn’t be too difficult. Now come on!”
Naomi allowed herself to be dragged to the lift. The guard was still smiling goofily at them and when Alyssa leaned over and whispered, “Please sir, my friend here is going to be sick... she needs someone to accompany her all the way. I’ll only be there for a little while... just for moral support. She’s not feeling very well and I’d be heartbroken if anything happened and I couldn’t be there to help.”
“I’ll help you any way I can, miss. Heartbroken, eh? That’s probably how I’m going to feel after I’ve done all this.” The guard ushered both of them in, to the protests of the other job candidates. He ignored them, however, and the trip to the N’sync dressing room was relatively peaceful.
Naomi’s head was spinning and she leaned her hot forehead against the cool mirror. What am I going to say? I mean... there has to be some way I can get out of this stupid mess I created for myself... again. Can I just try to run for it? As soon as the lift doors slide open, I’ll dash out and... and... right, Taylor, you’re gonna run out of the lift and jump down a window... smart move. Real smart.
Alyssa noticed Naomi’s distraught and tightened her grip on Naomi’s shoulder. Naomi smiled and felt comforted by the knowledge that her best friend was going to be there with her through the whole thing. Okay... I’ve made it this far. I can’t and won’t turn back now. It would be a stupid, childish thing to do. I’m not letting anything stop me. Not now. Naomi managed to muster up the ghost of a smile just as the lift shuddered and came to a stop. At first, Naomi thought they had reached their destination when she realized the lights in the lift had gone out. They were in complete darkness. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. Her knees felt wobbly and she collapsed onto the floor.
The girls started to scream and even the security guard was panic-stricken. Alyssa sighed in frustration as a frown creased her forehead. “Great. Just great. Naomi finally gets into the lift and what happens? We get stuck. Heaven must be playing a joke on Naomi... damn! Now how am I going to convince her to go for it?” That’s when Alyssa realized Naomi was hyperventilating on the floor. Dammit! Alyssa almost screamed. Naomi has a phobia of dark places. How could I forget! Naomi, don’t pass out!
Alyssa bent down and tried to help Naomi but nothing she did worked. Naomi was panicking and if nothing was done, Naomi was going to pass out right there and then. “Someone please get help!”
(The N’sync dressing room.)
Justin stretched and yawned widely. “Man! We must’ve checked out a thousand girls and none of them seem to be what we need. They never last more than three seconds! What do we do now?”
“Hello? We’re superstars. Most of them were super-fans. It’s natural for them to freak out after looking at the state we’re in. I’d hate to realize that I’ve lost all my charm already! I’m not even thirty!” Joey put his thumb and index finger under his chin and tried to look suave.
“Charm?” Lance asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He giggled at Joey’s pose. “What charm? Never knew you had any to begin with.”
“Guys... let’s check out this last batch and then go home...” JC couldn’t hold back a yawn. “I’m tired. I want to go get a good night’s rest before our photo shoot tomorrow. Besides, the girls don’t seem very interesting...”
“Who’s talking interesting?” Chris demanded. “We’re talking gorgeous here. You know, not brainy. Ugh!”
JC rolled his eyes. “Well, our girl better have a brain or I’ll feel like I’m talking to a live Barbie doll. And can we stop talking about girls this way? I know we’re pop stars, I know we’re famous, I know YOU are all chauvinistic pigs... unfortunately, I am not. They are as human as we are. And it makes me sick the way we talk like they’re tools to manipulate.”
Lance tilted his head and looked at JC funnily. “Grumpy much?”
“Sorry... not enough sleep,” JC raised a hand in apology. The rest of the gang turned to look at JC with an identical ‘spit it out’ look on their faces. “Okay... I just... I just don’t think we’re doing the right thing. I mean, this money is out of our own pockets and yeah, I guess we can afford it, but it just feels so wrong. I mean, we shouldn’t be doing this... we... man, I don’t even know what I’m trying to tell you.”
Justin jumped onto JC’s back and horsed around for a moment before answering thoughtfully. “I think I know. You’re trying to say women deserve respect and we shouldn’t be lying to them about the whole ‘we need a chaperone’ thing. Look JC, relax. We’ll tell the lucky candidate what we really want after we find one.”
“But... do you think they’re lucky to land this job? I mean, music is our passion and we expected the buzz long before we started this band. But... what about the girl who gets the job? She’s going to have to give up all the normalcy in her life. She’s going to be hounded by the media, and goodness knows how our fans are going to react to us having a girl hanging around us all the time. Doesn’t it just make you feel guilty?” When three out of the four of them shook their heads, JC threw his hands in the air in exasperation. Justin was flung off his back and he moaned when his head hit the floor. “Well, you’re the only one who agrees with me, Lance. You say something,” JC demanded.
Lance looked thoughtful for a few seconds before saying, “Well, I think that this girl is going to have to get used to the busy schedule... but if she can’t handle it, she’s free to walk out that door. I don’t think we should force this on anyone-”
“Force?” Chris’ eyebrows were raised disbelievingly. “And here I thought we had about five hundred of them fighting for the job. Damn, my calculation must’ve been way off track, huh Lance?”
“Look, they don’t know the conditions to this job. They don’t know how dangerous it could be for them. What about all those crazy fans who would just love to rip the heads off of any girl who comes more than five meters close to us?” Lance sighed wearily. “Forget it, okay? I don’t want to argue or debate anything. All I want to do right now-”
“Is to drive home and get some rest,” JC finished, high-fiving Lance in a very un-JC like way.
Joey chuckled. “The Heads of our group have spoken.”
Justin rubbed his sore head and grinned, “Okay, Mr. Smart Guy. Your wish is our command. Now I wonder what’s taking those girls so long...? We’ve actually had a seven minute break!”
“I’m beginning to wish we hadn’t wasted our day off here,” Lance groaned.
“Beginning to wish?” JC smirked disbelievingly. “I’ve been wishing nothing but that the whole time.”
Chris was about to attack Justin again when the door flew open and a guard burst in. “What the...?” JC was dumbstruck.
“Sir, there... there’s been... the lift... it’s stuck just between this floor and the floor below... and... there’s... a girl’s close to passing out... something like a phobia of dark places... she... we need back-up... but no one will get here in time...”
JC sprang to his feet and ran to the lift with the others at his heels. Security was unsuccessfully trying to pry the doors open and Chris gave an exclamation of impatience when his eyes met the scene. JC pushed the guards aside, muttering ‘useless idiots’ all the while. Then, both he and Lance heaved at the door and slowly, it creaked open. At first, Justin thought the girls were cheering because they were finally going to get out of the lift, but finally, it dawned on his that they were actually cheering because two N’sync members were rescuing them! He puffed out his chest proudly and winked at Joey.
Justin helped to push as the doors continued to open slowly. JC wiped his forehead and looked down. He saw Alyssa trying frantically to keep Naomi awake and called for Joey to help push the doors. Then he bent down, trying to ignore the frantic hands of the girls as they tried to grip his hair, shirt... anything they could get their hands on. “Hey!” he called to Alyssa and she looked up, panic in her eyes. “ Yes you! Hurry and get that girl over here! Come on! She needs help!”
Alyssa nodded and quickly steadied Naomi. But the crowd of excited girls wouldn’t budge and Naomi was forced to stay at the back of the lift. JC punched the lift door in exasperation. “Dammit!” he cursed. “Okay, tell her to close her eyes and think of something besides being here. Maybe her boyfriend, or her parents or something...”
Alyssa raised her eyebrows skeptically. She doesn’t have a boyfriend... thinking of Marcus is no way going to help... and thinking of her parents... damn! Who can she think of? I’m here but it doesn’t seem to be helping her... she needs to think of someone she’s counted on... James! That’s it!
Alyssa’s eyes lit up with hope and she stroked Naomi’s pale face gently. “Come on Mayo. You heard the guy. Close your eyes and think of James. Come on!”
Naomi nodded fervently and closed her eyes. But the image of James wouldn’t come to her. She gripped her necklace around her neck and the image of Chase popped up in her mind. “Chase... Chase... Chase... think Chase...” she whispered as the darkness seemed to melt away. Alyssa felt Naomi relaxing in her arms and she sighed softly with relief. She looked up to see JC smiling with an encouraging expression on his face.
“Damn, he’s cute!” Alyssa couldn’t help whispering.
Naomi was completely relaxed by that time. JC was comforted by the look on Naomi’s face so he stood up and helped the others push the doors open. As soon as they could, Lance, Joey and Chris bent down and pulled the over excited fans out into the open. Some of the fans swooned at their touch, some sighed, some started crying and screaming, and Alyssa couldn’t help giggling at the stupidity of it all.
Finally, Naomi managed to stand shakily. JC leaned over to help Alyssa out and Alyssa couldn’t help giggling and blushing a little. Lance finally pulled Naomi out of the lift and she collapsed shakily into his strong arms. She was still trembling and Lance was worried. JC dusted Alyssa off and turned to Naomi. “How are you feeling?”
Naomi couldn’t believe her ears. Is that JC Chasez talking to me? Out of the fifteen frenzied fans here, he’s talking to me? She and Alyssa had always dreamed of meeting N’sync, but not under these circumstances. Naomi managed a somewhat shaky smile, “I’m... fine. Thank you.”
Chris and Joey led the other fourteen candidates to the waiting room and Justin looked worriedly at Naomi. “You don’t look too good. Lance, why don’t you sit her down somewhere and let her catch her breath?”
Alyssa’s eyebrows were raised at Justin’s concerned tone. So I guess they are as nice as everyone claims, she thought, smiling shyly at Chris as he returned from the waiting room. He returned her smile graciously and she quickly grabbed Naomi’s hand - partly to comfort Naomi, and partly to calm herself.
“Come on, you should go along and wait with the rest. Lance will take care of her and-”
Alyssa held up a hand and interrupted Justin. “Sorry, I’m not here for the job interview.” She giggled at his shocked expression. “Naomi is. I’m just accompanying her. She’s a bit, um, shaken.”
“I can see that,” JC bit his lip. “Are you sure your friend is going to be okay?”
Alyssa knelt down beside Naomi as Lance gently sat her down in a chair. Alyssa pressed her hand onto Naomi’s cool forehead. “I think so. She’ll be fine. By the way, that was a rather useful tactic... you know, the one for getting rid of her fear of dark places.”
JC smiled, “I used to have a friend who was afraid of dark places too... I lost contact with her about a year ago...” JC stopped himself and chuckled. “I barely know you and I’m pouring my heart out to you. You’re good.”
Alyssa raised her eyebrows and grinned. “Oh, you ain’t seen nothing yet,” she reassured him. “Anyway, I’ll get Naomi to the dressing room as soon as she’s feeling better. It should take a couple of minutes.”
“We’ll be waiting,” Justin winked at Alyssa and she went weak in the knees. Damn those eyes! She mentally cursed. Alyssa smiled at him and nodded.
She heard them laughing as they trudged back to the dressing room. They were all sweating. “Well, you got your vigorous workout, Justin, baby. What more could you ask for?” she heard Joey laugh.
“Shut up Joey.”
“Hey!” she heard Lance call and she looked up again, eyebrows raised questioningly. “I think your friend’s a bit shocked. Maybe you should fill her in on what just happened... is she an N’sync fan?”
Alyssa turned to look at Naomi and almost laughed at Naomi’s star struck expression. Star struck... Alyssa grinned. What a choice of words!
JC gave them one last look before shutting the door to the dressing room. In a few seconds, Alyssa began giggling again as the screams started yet again.
Naomi stared incredulously at Alyssa as she watched her friend giggle hysterically. “Ally?” she shook Alyssa’s shoulder. “Alyssa?”
“Huh? What? Oh... what’s wrong Mayo?”
“What... just... happened... here?” Naomi said the words slowly and purposefully. “Did we just talk to N’sync? Was Lance carrying me here? Was JC asking if I was okay? Was Justin worrying about me?”
“Uh... yeah...” Alyssa took one look at Naomi and knew she was going to explode. Seven... six... five... four... three... two... one... she counted the seconds to Naomi’s explosion mentally.
“OH MY GOD, THAT WAS N’SYNC!”
“Shh!” Alyssa hissed. “I know, I know... and there’s no one more amazed than me that they were actually talking to us and joking with us and taking care of you, believe me! But you have to calm down. Judging by those screams, it’s probably almost your turn!”
Naomi’s eyes were bulging as she slowly grasped the situation. “I... what? My turn? Now?”
Alyssa nodded and helped Naomi to her feet. “I know you can do this, Mayo. After I saw the way Lance and JC were looking at you, you probably stand a better chance than most. And, like you said, you’re not the most expressive person, so it won’t show even if you’re scared or uncomfortable and you’re definitely not going to make a fool out of yourself by screaming, right? So just go in there and blow them away!”
Naomi hardly heard Alyssa’s words of encouragement. She clutched her necklace so tightly her knuckles were white. But she was numb to the pain in her fingers and all she could focus on was the fact that Lance had been carrying her. She swallowed with some difficulty and tried to smile. It didn’t look normal. She took a deep breath and forced a bright smile. She rehearsed a few times with Alyssa anxiously urging her on.
But when her number was called, she almost tripped and fell. She took a few more breaths and with a mind of their own, her feet directed her to the door. She hesitated a few seconds before pushing the door open and walking in.
Alyssa watched her in amazement. She knew, without a doubt, that Naomi had been too distracted to hear anything she had said for the past few minutes. “She didn’t run for it... she actually went it there! Wow... she’s got more guts than I give her credit for!”
When Naomi walked into the room, everyone was suddenly silent. Justin and Chris stopped fighting, Joey stopped giggling, JC and Lance stopped talking, and everyone turned to look at her. Naomi’s eyes were focused on the floor and she could feel the intense stares directed at her. That was why she kept her head down. She couldn’t bring herself to face those stares... or the eyes directing them.
Naomi knew they were probably checking her out. And she knew that they were probably going to drool in the next few seconds. As modest as she was, she knew that red looked great on her. Well, actually, virtually anything looked good on her. She swallowed a few times and the room remained silent.
Finally, Naomi managed to drag her eyes away from the carpet and she looked up slowly. What she saw amazed her. Justin’s eyes were on her and his jaw was hanging inches from his mouth, Chris was trying in vain to push Justin’s jaw to meet his mouth, Joey was chewing on popcorn, JC was intently studying a book, Lance was smiling slightly at her, and when her eyes locked on his, the faintest of blushes crept onto both their cheeks.
Naomi looked away and said, “I... I like your carpet.” Immediately, she wanted to kick herself for her stupid remark. How am I going to get the job when I stand here talking like an idiot? Their carpet? Where did that come from? Dammit Taylor! Get a grip on yourself, okay? It’s not the end of the world and they don’t know how scared you are. Your face isn’t giving anything away.
Naomi looked up just as all five members of N’sync jerked their heads up and turned to stare at each other, an amazed expression on each of their faces.
“She didn’t scream...”
“She didn’t faint...”
“She didn’t cry...”
“She didn’t swoon...”
“She certainly doesn’t look like she’s died and gone to heaven,” Naomi heard JC remark with the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Then, all five of them turned to her. Naomi had stared at their photos thousands of times... but actually meeting them in person kind of took her breath away. Her eyes swept from one guy to another as she spoke. “Good morning, Mr...”
When her gaze landed on JC, her eyes widened. She stared into his intense blue eyes and suddenly, she recognized him. She realized why he always seemed so familiar to her... realized why he always seemed to have been a close friend. She took a few steps towards him, her gaze never wavering. JC stared back at her, confusion written all over his face. But Naomi could see clearly the intrigue in his eyes, just as he had clearly seen the fear on her face as she entered the room.
Four pairs of eyes were locked on her as she continued forward to JC. But none made any move to stop her. They could see that she meant no harm. And they were all curious as to why she was behaving so weirdly towards JC. I didn’t see his face clearly just now... I was too bewildered... but now I’m almost sure... it looks like... but it can’t be... but they look so alike... I wonder...
“Chase?” she whispered. And all the other four groaned.
“It’s pronounced Sha-zay, my dear,” Chris corrected her. But he was interrupted when JC tilted his head and looked funnily at her.
Naomi was now standing directly in front of JC. Slowly, she reached out and four pairs of eyes followed her hands. But her eyes were still locked on JC’s and he was still gazing back at her... she reached out and ruffled his hair. And four voices gasped in unison. “Chase?” she whispered again, before pulling her hand back.
“Damn,” Justin muttered, “And here I thought we had a winner. She’s got one hell of a body.”
JC’s mind was racing with confusion. He looked at Naomi slowly. His eyes traveled from her long legs... to her small waist... to her beautiful facial features... to her hazel hair... back to her beautiful, clear, blue eyes. And suddenly, recognition dawned on him just as Joey was gently leading her away.
JC jumped up so vehemently that his chair toppled backwards. The room grew silent once again. Lance, Chris and Justin were staring at the chair while Joey and Naomi were staring, transfixed, at JC.
He walked up to Naomi and his eyes swept down to her neck. What he saw made him smile, and he knew at once who she was. But he had to be sure. “Is that really you, Catch? Am I dreaming?”
Naomi’s smile grew wider and wider. She pulled out of Joey’s grasp and flung her arms around JC’s neck. “My Chase!” she whispered, clinging to him as if she would never let him go. “My Chase.”
“Yes... yes, it’s me Catch,” he pulled back a little to study her face. He grinned when he saw that she was all smiles. “It’s so good to see you again. Why didn’t you write me any letters for so long? I waited and waited for your reply, but it never came.”
Naomi’s smile remained, but JC could sense that her spirits had dropped when he had mentioned the letters. To the others, though, she looked unaffected. And they were still shocked by JC’s show of emotion. Usually he didn’t show as much emotion as the others. He was basically more of a reserved and private person. “What’s wrong, Catch?” JC whispered, gently pushing a strand of her hazel hair behind her ear.
“Nothing...” Naomi was surprised that JC had realized it when her mood had been affected. The reason she had stopped writing to him... she couldn’t tell him... not yet... she wasn’t ready for it. She was so happy to be reunited with him again that nothing else mattered. “I’ve missed you.”
“Me too,” JC’s face fell for a while, before he smiled brightly. “But now we can stick together, right?” He turned to the others with Naomi still in his arms. “She is so hired, right? Isn’t she the perfect candidate? She didn’t freak out when she saw us...” JC’s voice faltered because he knew she had been scared when she entered the room.
“Yeah!” Justin nodded. “She looked so calm and composed. It was amazing! Finally! A woman who doesn’t throw herself at our feet!”
JC’s eyebrows were raised skeptically. “I think you’re one of the few people who can read me, Chase,” Naomi whispered playfully in his ear. He grinned and sat down, with Naomi still in his lap.
“And she is... whoa!” Joey whistled and shaped an hourglass with his hands. Lance and Chris half-expected her to blush but instead, she gave them a confidant, cocky grin and said, “You think I’m pretty?”
Justin’s eyes widened but all of them, with the exception of JC, nodded. Naomi laughed, “Then just wait till you check out Ally.”
“Ally?” They all asked in unison, even JC.
“Let me in! Come on! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME! Come on, sweetie, look,” Naomi heard Alyssa kissing someone just outside the room and then she heard a male giggling. “Now can I go in? Thank you.”
“Speak of the devil,” Naomi declared, pointing at Alyssa as she entered the room noisily. “That’s Ally.”
Alyssa was just about to say something when she noticed that Naomi was in JC’s arms and the two of them looked just about ready to kiss each other. “Ahh... did I interrupt something?” she asked pointedly.
Naomi didn’t blush and neither did JC, which the guys found amazing. “I told you I knew him, Ally. I told you!”
“Well, now I believe you!”
“And I believe what you said about her! Mmhmm... whoa... is it just me or is it getting way hot in here?” Joey grinned evilly at Alyssa.
“You need me to help you chill out, don’t you, baby?” Alyssa slipped easily into the routine. She was just being herself. She giggled when Joey nodded, his tongue practically hanging out of his mouth. She walked up to him and gave him a playful kiss on the nose.
“Whoa!” Joey looked dazed and he had a goofy grin on his face. “That was good. I’m chilling... I’m chilling... do it again?”
Alyssa smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes flirtatiously at Justin. “Right after Curls over there does that to me.”
Justin grinned wickedly. “Oh man, she’s good! You can lock me up and torture me, girl. I’m all over you, baby!”
Lance giggled and Chris smiled, “They’re just what we need, JuJu. Do you two come in a package or do we have to hire each of you individually?”
“Oh, no, I’m not here for the interview,” Alyssa protested. “As much as I love you guys, I love my teaching professionalism more. The school’s closed down for renovations though, so I’m here to give Naomi over there a bit of moral support.”
“Aww man...” Justin pouted. “And here I thought I was going to get a two-for-one kind of thing.”
“In your dreams, Curly,” Lance laughed as he ruffled Justin’s hair. “Hmm... maybe if you lose the fro...”
“Hey! That’s my trademark!”
Chris groaned. “Not the ‘my fro is my life’ thing AGAIN!”
Naomi chuckled as she watched Alyssa flirt playfully with the guys. JC smiled. “Okay guys. Fun time can come later. Right now, I want to get Naomi on the job and I want to do it now. Get Johnny outside to tell the other girls that we’ve found our girl. They can stop wasting their time and go home now.”
“Aren’t you even going to go through with the rest of them? There might be a better candidate...?” Naomi asked slowly. JC stared steely at her.
“And here I thought you were on my side...?” he told her accusingly.
She smiled sheepishly, “Sorry.”
Chris grinned and jumped onto Justin’s back. “No need to say sorry. But you’re definitely the one. I mean, you’re pretty, you and JC are close, your friend is fun and she’s going to be hanging around for a while... what more can I ask for? Aww... come on, J... give poor old Chris-y a piggyback ride won’t ya?”
Justin shook Chris off of his back and rolled his eyes. “Go find your own horsie to play with, Chris old man. I’m going to, ahem, disappoint the ladies.” Justin winked at Lance, who winked back and chuckled.
Chris raised his pleading eyes to Alyssa. “You’re not going to let him do this to me, are you, honey?”
Alyssa raised her eyebrows but she broke into a sly smile. “Of course not, you poor baby. Justin, you should be ashamed of yourself, letting this poor old man here sit and rot.” Alyssa walked coyly towards Justin and grinned, “I’ll give ya a little something if you help him out there.”
Justin’s eyes widened and he picked Chris up immediately. “Come on Chris-y! You’re going for a ride!”
After a few seconds, Justin dropped Chris and ran back to Alyssa, much to JC and Naomi’s amusement. “Okay, gimme, gimme, gimme... please?”
Alyssa dropped a kiss on Justin’s cheek and licked her lips as she stepped back. Justin grinned and said, “Ooh baby. Chris, I’m all for your piggyback rides if I get a reward like this every time!”
“Man! I ask you to punish him and you... ugh! Women!” Then Chris got up and walked penitently to Justin. “J-man... do me a favor... ask ME for a PIGGYBACK ride! Please, please, please!”
The whole gang dissolved into laughter when they heard Chris’ plea. Lance got up and went to the door. He flung it open and shouted, “Johnny! Tell everyone to leave! We’ve got the girl we wanted!”
Then Lance turned around to face Naomi. “Do I get a reward for that?” he asked playfully. Naomi considered for a moment. Then she pushed her own worries aside and motioned for Lance to come over. He knelt down in front of her. “Oh fair maiden, I have come forth to ask for a reward after ridding the town of its icky rats.”
Naomi giggled and pressed her lips gently against Lance’s forehead. “There’s only one reward - and that’s for pulling me from the giant lift monster’s big belly just now.” Then she kissed JC tenderly on the cheek, “And that’s for helping me get over my fear of the monster. Thank you, both gallant knights.”
Lance bowed and grinned. “I am at your service.”
“I can see that,” Naomi giggled. “Um, shouldn’t we be getting the paper work done?”
At Naomi’s words, the room seemed to freeze. Alyssa and Naomi looked questioningly at each other. “What’s wrong?” Alyssa asked.
“Well, actually...” Joey fidgeted nervously and Chris hopped from one foot to the other out of nervous energy.
“You see,” Justin began. But Lance cut in, “We aren’t really looking for a chaperone - ... Naomi, right? - well, we... actually we... we’re sick of having crazy girl fans around us all the time. We want someone - a girl, more specifically - that we can all relate to and befriend. That’s basically the whole idea. Yeah, you’ll have to watch over us, go to pubs and make sure we behave and everything... but this wasn’t Jive’s idea. We’ll be paying for you out of our own pockets...” Lance held up a hand when Naomi began to protest. “We definitely have more than enough to pay you... but we just wanted you to know the whole truth. This job is more like advertising for a girl pal for all of us, rather than just a chaperone. Do you get what I mean?”
Naomi nodded slowly. “I get it...”
“Will you still... you know... will you still work with us?” JC asked fearfully, hoping beyond hope that she would still agree.
Naomi smiled, “Definitely,” she said. “But I’d feel really bad making you guys pay me... Do you think this is a good idea? I mean, I’ve known Chase forever and... it’ll be kinda awkward for me to get my pay from him... you know?”
Lance nodded slowly. Justin’s face fell, “So does that mean you don’t want to, you know, be friends?”
“Oh no...” Naomi shook her head. I’d love to. But this job...”
“Look Catch,” JC spoke sternly. “I don’t care if you think it’s gonna be awkward. I want you working here with us. And I don’t want you working for Jive anyway. If you work for Jive, and one of us starts to date you, that wouldn’t be allowed, because it’s against the rules. But if you work for us, we have no problem with that at all, right guys?”
Joey nodded fervently. “Oh yeah... no problem at all.”
Naomi looked from one pleading face to another. Lance and JC were looking at her with so much hope in their eyes that she didn’t have the heart to turn them down. But she couldn’t turn down the pay either. With this job, there was no way she would be able to get another job and work full-time. But at the same time, getting her pay from an old friend would be really weird for her...
“Um...”
“Please Naomi... please say yes!” Chris begged.
Justin pulled a sad face. Naomi reached out impulsively to stroke his cheek. Alyssa smiled and knew the battle was won. “Oh, all right,” Naomi finally agreed. “I’ll do it.” She giggled when Justin smiled brightly. “Dammit Justin, you’re good.”
He simply winked at Alyssa in reply.
“Yes!” Joey crowed, high-fiving Chris, who was dancing around Alyssa with a look of absolute bliss on his face.
Naomi laughed, “I’m beginning to wonder if you’re that happy because I’m here or because Alyssa’s going to be here as well.”
“So that’s your name?” Lance asked, looking at Alyssa curiously.
“Alyssa Carter,” she grinned, shaking his hand.
Lance smiled and squeezed her hand, “Lance Bass.”
“Chris Kirkpatrick.”
“Joey Fatone.”
“Justin Timberlake.”
“JC Chasez,” Naomi finished with JC. And they laughed.
“Naomi Taylor... age twenty-one... birthday on the twelfth of June... we only have about three rules, so remember them. One, follow us wherever we go as a group, otherwise just pick one of us and follow him; second... damn, let’s just skip all this rubbish, okay? All these rules are practically garbage anyway.” Lance grimaced and Naomi giggled. Alyssa looked at them and smiled. JC put a hand on her shoulder and grinned.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” she responded. “JC, how long have you and Naomi known each other?”
“Practically forever. She started kindergarten when she was three! Can you believe that? I knew her since then. We’d spend break playing ‘tag’. I was always chasing her and she’d chase me back. We were inseparable. And a lot of kids then couldn’t pronounce my last name. So we were called Catch and Chase at the end of the day,” JC chuckled. “Sounds kinda ridiculous. But when I went to elementary school, we still kept in touch. I would never call her, because she never wanted me to. She was always more comfortable with writing to me. I don’t know why. But when she was six, she was in first grade. And she begged until she was allowed to join the choir. So I quit soccer to join her at choir.” Alyssa looked at him disbelievingly and he laughed again. “Uh-huh. It’s the truth. That’s how I realized my passion for music. It’s all thanks to Naomi, really. And she’s got a beautiful voice...”
Alyssa smiled, “I know that. But I was in the same class as her all along. I don’t... remember you at all... And she never talked about you much. I knew her since first grade... cos’ we were put into the same class - the gifted one. But she quit choir in, like, the eighth grade.”
“That’s when I left for High school...” JC mused.
“But she joined the basketball team later on. She’s, like, a pro at basketball now.”
“She is?”
Alyssa nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“Well, well, well... what do you know? I think I’m going to test just how good Catch really is.”
“Be my guest,” Alyssa challenged.
JC grinned. “Justin! Hey, Curly! I’ve got a basketball proposal!”
Naomi’s head whipped up when she heard the word ‘basketball’. She loved the sport. “Hey, does this have anything to do with me... or Ally?” she asked when she saw Alyssa standing triumphantly at JC’s side.
“Oh it has everything to do with you, Catch... and Alyssa.” JC grinned.
“Uh... why do I get the feeling that you’ve just gotten me into another mess, Al?”
“You know you love me,” Alyssa grinned.
“Sometimes I wonder...” Naomi countered.
“Ouch!” Alyssa pretended to wince but her grin grew even wider.
“Chocolate!” Naomi’s eyebrows were raised when Justin jogged up to her and slammed his hands onto the table.
“What did you just call me?”
“Chocolate.”
Naomi plastered an utterly bored look on her face. She didn’t fool Alyssa or JC for one second - they could tell she was as curious as hell to why Justin had called her Chocolate.
“Well, if you’re as yummy as you look, I didn’t use the wrong name.”
Naomi just raised her eyebrows even higher, “And I thought I’d heard them all.”
Justin looked shocked and JC laughed. “Anyway, I’ll see you on the court tomorrow morning. We’ll have a game of basketball that’ll have you crying in defeat,” Justin grinned and brought his face down to meet her stare directly.
Naomi smiled and narrowed her eyes, “We’ll see who’s gonna cry.”
Justin stood up and walked away, looking satisfied, “That girl’s feisty. I like it.”
After Lance finished with the paperwork, JC and Naomi went for a walk around Jive by themselves. They walked and talked about the good old times and the fun they had shared together. After a while, JC sat down on a bench and Naomi snuggled down in his lap.
“Alyssa can’t remember me,” JC told Naomi.
“Are you saying you remember her? I thought I was the only first grader you mixed with,” Naomi giggled. “And I thought you used to say I was the only one you could be bothered with at all.”
JC smiled, “I never said I remembered her. Why didn’t you tell her about me?”
“Well... I don’t know... I guess I wanted to save you all for myself.”
“Do you realize we’re always acting and talking like we’re in love?”
“We are, aren’t we?” Naomi questioned. “I mean, you’ve always loved me like a younger sister and I’ve always loved you like another older brother. I guess I didn’t want to share your protectiveness over me with anyone else. You know you mean the world to me, Chase.”
“I never wanted to share you with anyone else either,” JC smiled. “But why did you quit the choir when I left for high school, Catch?”
Naomi shrugged, “I don’t know. It didn’t seem special anymore. No one sang the way you did, Chase. You had life, you were obsessed with music... you loved it. The love shone in your eyes every time you sang. And that’s what made the choir so special to me. But when you left... well... everything seemed so dead. No one sang with all their hearts... they didn’t even try. So I went for basketball instead. And I love it. It’s fun.”
JC smiled at her childish excitement. “One last question - why wouldn’t you let me call you? Why did you only want to write?”
Naomi shrugged, “Well, at first it was because... I was kinda shy. You know I’m outgoing and all... but if we called each other, our main objective would be to talk... and I was worried we might not have anything to talk about... then, later on, I didn’t want to waste your money on long-distance phone calls. You did say you were travelling... besides, my brother is really protective; if he thought I had a boyfriend at that age, he would have blown the roof off of the house.”
JC giggled and Naomi studied him. “Why didn’t you tell me you became a pop star? I hadn’t seen you for so long that I forgot what you looked like - kind of. But your eyes... they always intrigued me. You seemed so familiar. The only thing missing was the twinkle of life. But I recognized you when I saw you in the room just now.” Naomi smiled, “That twinkle in your eyes completed the picture and suddenly it fit into place. You’re Chase. My Chase.”
JC nodded. “I didn’t tell you because... I don’t know... I wanted a bit of normalcy in my life. I didn’t want you to be screaming about how cool you thought I was. Your letters helped me get through the rough patches. And now you’re here. You’re really here. And there will never be rough patches in my life again.”
“We’ll look after one another... just like we did in school, right Chase?”
JC nodded vehemently, “Mmhmm...”
“Are you dating anyone now?” Naomi asked.
“No... are you?”
Naomi thought of Marcus and bit her lip, tensing up a little in JC’s arms.
“Catch? Are you okay?”
Naomi nodded slowly, “I’m okay... but I’m not dating anyone.”
Neither of them felt embarrassed about talking the way they were. They had been close ever since kindergarten and neither time nor age was going to take away the special bond they shared with each other. “Chase?”
“Hmm?”
“Sing something for me?”
JC thought for a moment. “When visions around you, bring tears to your eyes, and all that surrounds you, are secrets and lies, I’ll be your strength, I’ll be your hope, keeping your faith when it’s gone, the one you should call, was standing here all along. And I will take you in my arms, and hold you right where you belong, till the day my life is through, this I promise you, this I promise you...” He wrapped his arms around Naomi’s waist tightly and she leaned her head against his shoulder, comforted by his rich, melodious voice. When she looked at his neck, though, she felt a pang of sadness. JC saw what she was looking for and reached into his pocket. “Looking for this?” he asked quietly. Naomi brightened when she saw the other half of the necklace in his hand. They joined the necklaces together and she smiled, reading the words she had forgotten for far too long. “Love ya forever... JC.”
“Love ya forever... Naomi.”
TBC