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"Isn't this amazing?" Britney asked Marie later that night. The two were watching the show from the sidelines.
"Yeah. I've seen the show five or six times since Las Vegas and I can't get over how hard they work out there," she replied. Britney nodded, talking about when they first started and how the shows were so different now. Marie tuned her out. It wasn't that she didn't want to listen, but she was focusing on watching the show. The song ended and Justin looked like he was ready to start his monologue.
"I think they're almost ready for you," Marie told her. A stage manager was waving to Britney. She reached out and squeezed Marie’s hand before she hurried away. Marie stepped away from the stage as her cell phone rang.
"Hey, Kat," she answered.
"ESP?"
"Caller ID."
"Oh. What's up?"
"Not much. I met your favorite person today."
"Ben Affleck?"
"Britney Spears."
"I'm sorry. Is she half annoying as she seems to be?"
"She's okay, I guess. Once we got past the part where she was looking at me like I was a stupid fan who had JC in my clutches."
"I don't need to kick her ass, do I? I really don't want to waist energy on an EASY fight."
Marie laughed. "Nah. I'm just anxious to get away from the tour life for a while. I was wrong when I talked to you the other night. We're taking a red eye to New York tonight. The meeting is at eight in the morning and then we fly to Orlando."
"Are you going for the meeting?"
"Yeah. Mr. Roberts, he's the CEO of Jive Records, wanted to meet me. I can only imagine why."
"Are you nervous?"
"Little bit. I mean, he's the CEO of Jive Records. It's a little intimidating."
"You'll be fine and if you aren't, I'll go up there and kick his ass."
"You're way too protective to be my younger sister. Are you sure you're younger than me?"
"I don't know. My birth certificate says I am, so I assume it must be true." The two laughed.
"I better go. I'll need to entertain Miss Britney when she gets offstage. They're doing some serenade thing for her since it's her 19th," Marie said.
"Are they nuts? She'll get slaughtered out there!"
"Well, whatever. I guess that's being romantic when you're a popstar."
"Whatever floats your boat, I guess. Call and give me the number and everything when you get to Orlando."
"No problem. I'll talk to you later."
"Bye."
Marie hung up the phone and snuck a look on the stage. Sure enough, Britney was sitting on a stool and the guys were singing "Happy Birthday" to her. Britney had a knowing smile on her face as she stared up at Justin and Marie felt like puking. She tried to push back the twinge of jealousy that entered her veins.
Chill out, Marie. You can't expect the guys to do something like that for you when they've known you less than a month, she told herself. She went to the playroom and sat down on the couch, trying to think of anything else.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(The Next Day)
An incessant ringing brought JC out of his slumber. His hand slapped at the noisy object until the tones ceased.
"Marie, we need to get up," he mumbled, sitting up and rubbing the sleep away. As his eyes focused, he realized that no slumbering woman had been cuddling up to him or vice versa. He looked around the room, slightly panicked. Where'd she go? He wondered. Noticing a note on the night table, he squinted at the handwriting.
JC,
Went to grab Starbucks from downstairs. Grande vanilla latte, right? Be back soon.
Marie
PS: Don't worry. I have Lonnie with me.
He put the paper down and rolled out of bed. Yawning, he headed for the only thing that would wake him up. He turned on the water in the shower.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Marie thanked Lonnie for accompanying her downstairs and entered the hotel room she shared with JC. He turned at her entrance and she quietly handed him the Starbucks cup. As he took a sip, Marie let her eyes wander down his form. Her eyes drank in his baggy jeans, long sleeved red Tommy shirt, and Nikes. She closed her eyes and looked away.
Suck it up, Donavan. It's not like he would do anything anyway, she told herself. She went to her bag and started to put her makeup bag and other things inside.
"Are you okay?" JC asked.
"I'm fine," she replied without looking up. If she had she would have seen his concerned-laced eyes.
"Nervous about meeting Roberts?"
"No."
"Homesick?"
"No."
"Miss Kat?"
"No."
"Are you feeling sick?"
"No! Just leave me alone, okay?"
JC stepped back at her snap. She'd never done that before and he realized that something major was going on. Approaching her slowly, JC put his hand on her shoulder from behind. Marie looked at him through the mirror.
"Marie, what's going on?" he asked.
"I'm fine. There's nothing that could be done now anyway, so quit worrying, okay?" He continued to look at her after she had looked down at the dresser. He felt her take a ragged breath.
"You know we're in this together. This isn't easy on me either. We just have to make the best out of it," he told her.
He thinks you're upset over the marriage, the voice inside Marie's head told her. It's easier to let him think that. Go with it.
"I'll be fine," she said, quietly. He had to strain to hear her voice. He opened his mouth to say something else, but a knock interrupted him.
"Time to go, you guys!" Lance called through the door. JC dropped his hand from her shoulder and picked up their bags. He followed her out into the hallway and handed the bags to the bellhop. The two walked over to where the guys were standing with the bodyguards.
"How's the situation downstairs?" JC asked.
"It was fine when I went down earlier," Marie said. The guys shot JC a questioning look. She hadn’t said good morning to them like she usually did. He shrugged, signaling that he didn't know what was wrong either.
"There are just a few people, but we shouldn't have a problem," Lonnie said. "Let's go." They stepped in the elevator and were on their way down.
"Everyone ready?" Todd asked, pushing the hold doors button. Six nods gave him his answer. JC felt Marie's hand slid into his. It was amazing how quick they had become accustomed to this action. He pulled his hand from hers and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They emerged from the elevator as a few flashes of light went off. He looked down at her and saw the look on her face had changed from one of sorrow to what looked like happiness. What brought that on? he wondered.
"JC, Marie! Over here!" a voice called. The two looked and smiled for the camera. He signed a few autographs and they joined the others in the limo. JC watched the look on Marie's face change from the happiness to sorrow once again. It was then that he realized that she had been acting. She had learned when it was time to be happy and when it was okay to show what you're really feeling. He damned the business for doing that to an innocent person.
"Dude, what's wrong with Marie?" Chris asked, nodding toward the person in question. "Did you guys have a fight?"
"No. I just woke up and she was like this. I have no idea what's wrong," JC replied.
"PMS, probably," Justin said. Marie's head turned quickly.
"I'm not PMSing and I don't even get my period till the 13th of every month if you guys need to know," she snapped. "Since it's December 2nd, you can tell that it's not time yet."
"Sorry, Marie," Justin mumbled. The other four sat in silence at her blatant discussion about her period. To say that this was uncharted territory would be the understatement of the year. The rest of the limo ride was quiet.
The guys, bodyguards, and Marie crawled out of the limo and into the Jive building. As they made their way to Steven Roberts' office, Marie kept her eyes toward the floor and didn't notice the concerned looks JC was throwing her.
"Hey, Janice," Lance greeted the middle-aged woman behind the desk.
"Well, hey, guys. How was the tour?" she asked.
"Pretty good," Chris replied. "We did have some unexpected surprises though." Janice noticed the unfamiliar woman and stood.
"Hello. You must be Marie. I'm Janice." Marie shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you."
"Well, guys, Mr. Roberts is in Conference Room A if you want to head down."
"Thanks, Janice," Justin said. The six headed down the hall and entered the room. A dark-haired man and Johnny looked up at their entrance.
"Hello," the man Marie knew must me Mr. Roberts greeted. He shook each of the guys' hands and gave them a pat on the back. He got to Marie. "You must be Marie. I've heard so much about you. I'm Steven Roberts." She shook his hand.
"Marie Donavan," she replied. "I'm sorry for any inconvenience this situation has caused you."
"It's okay. Things like this simply make things more interesting," he told her, smiling warmly. She smiled back feeling at ease. JC reached out and squeezed her hand.
"Have a seat," Mr. Roberts invited. "We were just going over the attendee figures." Everyone took a place in the black leather chairs. Marie adjusted several times before reprimanding herself. She had a bad habit of not being able to sit still when she was nervous. She sighed inwardly and tried to focus on the meeting.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
(Later that day)
JC fumbled for his ringing cell phone. He and the rest of the guys were on their way to the hotel after their meeting. Marie had gone ahead of them, claiming she wasn't feeling well.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Hey, JC. What's up?"
"Kat?"
"Aw, you remembered my voice. How sweet." JC rolled his eyes. Kat reminded him of a female version of Justin. He was happy that the two weren't together very much.
"That annoying nasal tone? How could I forget?"
"Very funny. Are you getting me confused with Britney?"
"Don't make me hurt you."
"Anyway, this isn't a courtesy call."
"Really? I was hoping you had fallen for my good looks, too."
"You'd have to get me REALLY drunk for THAT to happen."
"Not funny, Kat."
"Sorry. What'd you get her?"
"Get who?"
"My sister, dumbass. What'd you give her?"
"Give her? Like an anniversary present? Kat, you're not serious, are you?"
"Not anniversary, JC. Birthday."
"It's her birthday today?" His voice came out louder than he had intended it to be, causing the guys to look at him suddenly.
"You didn't know?"
"No, I didn't. No wonder she's been acting weird all day. Why didn't she mention it?"
"You don't really think she would do that, do you?"
"I can't believe I didn't figure it out. She's been really quiet and kinda standoffish all day. I though it was the situation getting to her, but I guess I was wrong."
"Is she with you? She's not answering her cell."
"What?!"
"That's why I called you. I'm concerned." The limo pulled up in front of the hotel and JC jumped out.
"JC! Wait for security!" Chris called, but he was already gone. "Damn. He's anxious.
"Maybe he's concerned," Joey reasoned.
"Did you see that look on his face before he rushed out? It was like he was actually scared or something," Justin said.
"This thing gets more confusing everyday," Chris stated. The three nodded in agreement.
JC squeezed in the elevator just as the doors were closing. Pressing the button for the 30th floor, he paced the elevator.
"I'm on my way up to the room now," he told Kat. The doors opened and he dashed toward their room. He unlocked the door and shoved it open. He looked around the darkened room.
"She's not..." JC's voice trailed off as he saw the body lying on the bed with the covers pulled up to her neck. "Kat, she's sleeping. I think she just turned her phone off."
"That's what I thought, but I just wanted to make sure she was okay. She hardly ever turns her phone off. Thanks for checking, JC."
"Thanks for the information. Do you have class tomorrow?"
"Yeah, but I don't need to go. We're just reviewing and I study better out of the class."
"Do you have to go at all this week?"
"Not really. I have finals next week, but the only thing that's throwing me is Photo."
"What about a trip?"
"A trip?"
"I'll call you later with the details, but I think I have a way to cheer up your sister."
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye."
JC flipped his phone shut and looked down at the sleeping woman on the bed. He smiled at the plan forming in his head.
"Marie," he whispered. "Wake up. We gotta go." He shook her shoulder slightly.
"Mmm?" she asked, rolling over. Her eyes fluttered open slowly. "What's going on?"
"We gotta go. Airport time."
"Okay." She rolled out of the bed and stretched. "Let's go."