Chapter Twenty-One

(February 5, 2001)

“I don’t know what it is, but I like the West coast a lot more than the East,” Marie said as her and JC stepped out of the jet way and into LAX. After they returned to Orlando and celebrated Joey’s birthday (Marie had given him an autographed copy of an original Superman comic. He had offered up the baby as reimbursement. She had passed after seeing the look Kelly gave him.), JC had gotten a call from Alex Greggs, or AG as he was affectionately known. One week later, JC and Marie were now walking to the baggage terminal, him armed with lyrics to go over and her along for the ride, seeing as though Max ’highly suggested’ that they never been seen without each other again.

Unknown to Max, that was more than okay for the new couple. They had missed each other greatly when Marie had been gone and that had only been for a few days. A week was a different story.

“I know what you mean. The East coast is cool, but sans New York, there’s not much to do. I like California a lot,” JC replied, reaching out and weaving his fingers with hers. The two reached baggage claim and Marie looked around. She started to giggle.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, watching the belt closely so he could grab their bags the first chance he got.

“This is the first time I’ve had to dress in cognito,” she whispered. JC smiled when he realized it was. They were both dressed comfortably, him in khaki shorts and a red polo shirt and her in a light green baby tee and denim capris, but they both donned baseball caps.

“You’re right,” he replied. “How do you like it?”

“Well, it’s cool right now, but it won’t be so cool in five years,” she told him. The record stopped a little at her mistake. “I mean, months. Five months, you know, when everyone knows what I look like.” JC nodded and took back his hand long enough to grab their bags and settle his duffle on her rolling carryon. JC grabbed her hand again and they hurried to go claim their rental car.

Once they were in the white RAV4, JC navigated down the busy afternoon LA streets. “Do you want to see something before we go to the hotel?” he asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

“Sure,” she said. “What is it?”

“Um, kind of a surprise.” JC bit the corner of his lip, hoping she wasn’t going to be too upset with him.

“Okay,” she said, shrugging. They drove in silence most of the way, Marie scanning the city and JC trying to remember how in the hell to get to Hollywood Hills.

Soon enough, he pulled the car to a stop outside a gate. He punched in the code and proceeded up the driveway. The two got out of the car.

“Whose house is this?” Marie asked. “It looks great.” She turned to see him smiling, happily. “Josh?”

“It’s mine,” he said, turning to her. “It’s my house.”

“Yours? Wow.”

“Come on. Let’s take a look inside.” JC grabbed her hand and went to the front door. He unlocked it and the two entered.

“Wow,” Marie said again. The foyer opened into the living room with a fireplace. The kitchen was off to the side and stairs led up to what she assumed were bedrooms. They went upstairs and checked out the individual rooms. The last room was the master suite. The bedroom was huge and had a big bathroom. The thing that surprised Marie was that it had a set of stairs in the corner that led to a private living room.

“Is it completed?” Marie asked as her and JC returned to the living room. “I mean, the floors don’t have carpet, the bathrooms don’t have sinks or anything. The only thing that actually in it’s place is the fireplace. Is this an investment like land or something?” She wasn’t stupid and knew that a house like this and in this area was expensive. At least half a million dollars. AT LEAST.

“Um, actually I plan on moving in here,” he told her. Marie’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Soon. I had planned to start meeting with a decorator back in November, but we kinda happened and I forgot.”

“You FORGOT you bought a 500,000 dollar house?”

“Actually it was a million,” he admitted sheepishly.

“A million DOLLARS?” Marie demanded, her voice high. That was the same amount she’d get for the photo book, but still. With a million dollars, she’d send Kat to Yale instead of UNLV.

“I didn’t really forget, but they had been renovating all this time and my architect called me when you were gone and told me they were finished.”

“So you’re moving out here? When?” she asked.

“Well, as soon as decorating was finished.”

“And that would be when?”

“Depends on how much time is spent on the process.”

“Joshua, you’re being really vague here. Spit it out and tell me what’s REALLY going on,” Marie told him, putting her hands on her hips and her tone slightly edgy. He took a deep breath.

“I had them rip out everything when they started to renovate anyway. I hated the carpet and a lot of the fixtures so they were removed. This was early November when the renovation started. We happened later that month and I kinda forgot. Things were so busy with the tour and everything. I didn’t even really think about the house again until I got the call. I didn’t mean not to tell you.” JC met eyes with her and he could see that she knew he wasn’t telling the whole story. Closing his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see her face, he spit out the last part.

“I know you’re into art and everything, so I want you to decorate the house. I thought that you might like living here instead of in Orlando because you’d be closer to Kat.” There was silence and he cautiously opened his eyes to see Marie looking around the room.

“Would you have a problem with me collaborating with an interior decorator?” she asked, still not looking at him.

“No.”

“Okay, I’ll do it. When do you plan on moving in here?”

“Well, now that we have to start writing for the album and a lot of the people I write with are out here, I’d like to be out here permanently pretty soon.” She nodded and finally looked at him.

“You’re not forgetting to tell me anything else are you?” she asked, smiling finally.

“Not that I’m aware of,” he replied. JC folded her into a hug. Marie slipped her arms around his neck and looked up at him. “Actually there is one.”

“Which is?”

“The hotel was all booked for king sized beds so I had to get two queens,” he said. “Max isn’t going to be happy if this gets out.” She threw her head back and laughed. He laughed along with her and pulled her closer.

“We’re going to be in SO much trouble,” she told him, sarcastically. Their eyes locked and Marie bit her lip nervously. He didn’t usually stare at her like that. She almost asked him if something was wrong when he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Marie closed her eyes as she focused on the feel of his lips against hers.

JC closed his eyes when he saw hers close. He moved his head to the side to try a different angle. He felt one of her hands settle on his chest as the other massaged the hair at the nape of his neck. When he lightly sucked at her top lip, he felt her hand fist in his shirt.

Marie felt him pull her closer when her tongue slightly grazed his lip. She almost smiled, but held back. She loosened her grip and slowed the kiss into smaller ones and then pulled back completely. Deep down she had still wondered if this was a convenience thing, but after his reaction, she knew the truth: This was 100% real.

“We better go and get checked in,” she whispered. JC looked down at her swollen lips and then back into her eyes. Marie turned and started to walk to the front door. He followed, smiling at the small wrinkles on his shirt from where she had fisted it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(The Next Day)

Marie, JC, and Alex laughed at the joke JC had just told.

“Well, I better go and let you two get down to business,” Marie said.

“It was great to finally meet you,” Alex replied.

“You, too. I’ll see you later,” she told JC. He nodded and leaned down to give her a lingering kiss. Marie pulled back, blushed slightly at the smile on Alex’s face, and left, giving them a small wave.

“She’s hot, man. Where’d you find her?” Alex said. “Was she that hot when you were on the MMC?”

“She was really cute back then, too,” JC told him, remembering him and Marie’s first meeting. “She’s still a little shy around new people, though.”

“She’s not shy. She’s charming. With that little smile…” JC punched him in the arm.

“Dude! Hello!” he said.

“Sorry. I forgot she’s off the market!” Alex laughed. They laughed again until JC became quiet. “Jace? You okay?” Alex asked.

“Can you keep a secret?” JC said.

“You know I can.”

“No, I mean you can’t tell ANYBODY. Not even your dog,” JC told him.

“Yeah. What’s going on?”

“Marie and I…we’re not really…Argh! Here’s the story. She and I both got drunk at a club in Vegas, ended up getting married, and have to stay together for a year. Only the tricky part is that I was dating this chick named Caitlyn when Marie and I hooked up, she was cheating on me, we broke up, and now Marie and I are kind of a couple for real, but we’re doing all of this in a weird backwards way, and as much as I can‘t help it, I‘m getting really attached to her and I‘m not sure, but I think I‘m falling for her.” JC took a breath and looked at the stunned songwriter. “Please tell me you followed that.”

“Woah, wait a minute! You mean that this whole marriage thing is a SCAM?” Alex demanded.

“Not really. We’re not getting anything out of it. Well, maybe a little publicity, but we weren’t shooting for that. We weren’t shooting for ANYTHING. We ended up meeting while we were slammed and in our stupor decided to get married.”

“You didn’t know her before this?”

“No.”

“Not at ALL?”

“Well, that’s the weird thing. She was vacationing with her family in Orlando when I was on the MMC and they saw a taping. We actually met for the first time at MGM because her mom had her come over and ask me if they could take a few pictures with me.”

“So you DID know her?”

“A little, but it was weird that we ended up hooking up. I couldn’t believe that it took me that long to realize that I’d met her before.”

“What’s going to happen at the end of the year?”

“We’re going to divorce, I guess.”

“And you think you’re just going to be able to walk away like that?”

“Well…I don’t know. We’ll see, I guess.”

Alex sank into a chair. “Man, this is heavy. No one knows about this?”

“Well, the guys obviously, my parents, their parents, Dani, Kelly, management, Jive, her sister…”

“What about her mom and dad?’

“They’re dead. He dad was killed soon after they got back from Orlando and her mom died soon after her high school graduation.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“And you’re falling for her?”

“I think so. I don’t want to jump the gun or anything though, you know?”

“Man, this makes my head spin.”

“You’re not the only one,” JC told him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Marie peered at the front display of Ralph Lauren. She had stashed the car at the hotel and headed to nearby Rodeo Drive. She was suddenly jolted by a human form.

“I’m so sorry,” a male voice replied.

“It’s okay,” she replied, looking up to his face. “I…DYLAN?”

“Marie? What in the world are you doing in LA?” the man demanded as he embraced her. Marie pulled back and looked at him.

“Josh is doing some songwriting and I’m kinda along for the ride. What are YOU doing here? Shouldn’t you be at UNLV?”

“I transferred to UC-Long Beach to study photography seriously. You know UNLV doesn’t have a program.”

“Yeah, I know. This is so crazy. How long has it been? Three years?”

“Since freshman year. What happened? You just stopped coming.”

“I got that job at the restaurant. With assisting Dave Morgan and that, I couldn’t do school, too.”

“You had a FULL RIDE!”

“I know and don’t you dare think for one moment that I didn’t think long and hard. But I needed to raise Kat and I wanted to try and keep as much money in my trust fund as I could to fill hers when it came time for her to go to college.”

Dylan shook his head. “I don’t think I could have done what you did. Raising a fourteen year old when you’re barely an adult yourself.”

“If you could, you would for your family. I wasn’t about to let the system take away my sister just because I had other plans for myself. She wasn’t going to go to a freaking foster home and be bounced around.” Dylan smiled at the tone in her voice. It was protective and defiant. He was happy to see that she hadn’t change too much from his driven Photo 101 lab partner. He glanced at his watch.

“Do you want to go get lunch?” he asked. “We have three years to catch up on and I need to interrogate you about someone.”

“Josh?” Marie said. He nodded. “Okay, fine. Let’s go.” The two headed down the street to a small bistro. They glanced at the menus, placed their order, and resumed to their conversation.

“How in the WORLD did you marry a popstar?” Dylan demanded. His voice lowered. “And how were you dating him the same time you had been dating Evan?”

Marie kicked herself. She was going to have to explain it to him.

“Dylan, we’re pretty close, right?” she said.

“Yeah. You know you’re still my little sister. Well, even though, you’re NOT, obviously.”

“You need to keep this a secret and take it to your grave. NO ONE can know.” Dylan saw the pleading look in her eyes.

“I won’t tell anyone,” he assured her. Marie looked around the empty restaurant and leaned in.

“It’s a long story, but I’m going to try and make it short. Basically, Josh and I met in a club when we had both been drinking, started talking, and got married. We have to stay together for a year to make it look real and then we’ll divorce,” she told him.

“You mean this whole thing is a lie?”

“It’s real. The marriage license is real and our rings are real, but the story of us meeting because a friend introduced us and we’ve been together ever since? That’s false. All of it. Well, kinda.”

“What do you mean kinda?”

Marie smiled at the memory of when her and JC realized that they had met at MGM. “He had been at MGM Studios the same time I was there with my family. Mom…She had me go over and con him into taking some pictures with us. He told me I had the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen.” She rolled her eyes slightly at the memory and smiled.

“Do you think it was a line?” Dylan asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Are you in love with him?” Marie’s eyes got wide.

“Love? I didn’t say anything about love,” she said.

“I know that, but you’re more happy and relaxed than I’ve ever seen you.”

“I mean, we know we have feeling for each other and we’re kinda dating. I think.”

“You think you’re kinda dating?” Dylan questioned.

“Well, what would you call it Mr. Know-It-All? We’re married, we have feelings for each other, but we haven’t really dated. What would you call that?”

“Uh, backwards?” They laughed. “I knew he had to do something with how you’re acting. I don’t think I’ve actually seen you genuinely happy ever.”

“Enough about me. What have you been up to?”

“Well, I transferred sophomore year to UCLB. I’ve just been studying and all that stuff. I’ll get my bachelor’s in December.”

“That’s great.”

“Yeah. Actually, um, I kinda have a showcase tomorrow.”

“You’re KIDDING me! Congratulations!”

“Thanks. Hey, do you want to come? You can bring the popstar.”

“Don’t call him that.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You can bring JC.”

“Thank you. I’ll ask him.” Their food came and the two settled into eating.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Man, that’s it!” JC cried as Alex churned out a beat that sounded like a video game. “That’s it!”

“I like that, too,” he replied.

“Oh, man! It’s perfect.”

“Seeing as though the song’s called ‘The Game is Over.’ Let me guess. You wrote this one after Caitlyn?”

“Yeah, I wrote it the day we broke up. She had told me that she was cheating on me.”

“That’s low.”

“Tell me about it. It was a couple months ago, but I still feel stupid that I didn’t see the signs.”

“Dude, with the tour ending and Marie, you weren’t paying attention. Besides, you’ve got Marie.”

“Very true,” JC smiled. A ringing went off. “It’s me,” he said. JC read the caller ID. “Hey, you.”

“Hey,” Marie said. “Um, I’m sorry to interrupt.”

“It’s okay. What’s up?”

“I wanted to call in case you got in late tonight. I ran into an old friend from college and he has a showcase tomorrow night at a local gallery. He asked me if we’d want to go. I don’t think it’s going to be a really big thing. It’s exclusive but I don’t think we’d need Lonnie or any of them because there won’t be very many teenagers, if any.”

“Have you breathed yet?” JC asked. He could almost see her eyes narrow.

“I don’t want to disturb you for too long,” she defended. “Smartass.”

“Wow, I was beginning to think that you were taking me serious there for a second. Sure, sounds good to me.”

“Cool. I’ll let him know.”

“Him?”

“Yeah. His name’s Dylan.”

“Old boyfriend?”

“Hardly. He’s more like a protective big brother.”

“A male version of Kelly or Dani?”

“More like them put together.”

“Oh, Lord. I’m in trouble right?”

“There might be a little inquisition.”

“Does he know the story?”

“I had to tell him. He knew me when I was with Evan.”

“Shit.”

“It’s not like that though. Dylan’s not one to go shoot off his mouth. I trust him.”

“Okay.”

“Besides, you told Alex.”

“How’d you know?”

“Because you’re close and he would want to know where we came from. It was out of nowhere.”

“You know me too well.”

“I’m starting too.” They both laughed.

“Hey, Loverboy!” Alex called, loud enough for Marie to hear.

“You’re being beckoned,” Marie told him.

“I know. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Bye.” JC hung up the phone and turned back to Alex. The man was looking at him with a knowing smile on his face.

“Oh, yeah. You have it bad for her,” Alex told him. JC rolled his eyes and punched him in the shoulder.

“Shut up,” he mumbled.

“‘How did you know?’” Alex mocked in a high voice and fluttering his eyes. JC shook his head.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Thanks for fitting me in, Carol,” Marie told the stylist.

“Marie, anything for you,” the woman said, running her hands through the young woman’s hair. “How you doing?”

“Good.”

“How’d you know I was here?”

“Kat.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Good. She just got a promotion at the restaurant.” Carol nodded.

“So, let me see your ring,” Carol said. Marie blushed and raised her left hand. “Oh, that’s NICE.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re happy with him?” Carol asked, looking at Marie through the mirror.

“Yes, I am.”

“Good. I would hate to have to call Vinnie and them down from Vegas.”

“Carol, please. Vinnie owns an auto shop. He’s not a member of the mob.”

“Hey, just because I’ve been cutting your hair since you were four doesn’t mean I can’t play psudo-mom.”

“Trust me. I have plenty of people taking over that job.”

“Ah, but how many have known you as long as I have?”

“None of them.”

“There you go.”

“Look at you, though, Miss Vidal Sassoon. How’d you get here?”

“I got in to do hair for the Hilfiger show back home a couple years ago. I had that on my resume when I applied and here I am.”

“I’m proud of you, Carol.”

“Honey, I’m twice as old as you. I’m proud of YOU.”

“Hey, let’s not talk about this,” Marie said.

“Okay. Besides, do you know how much you have to pay me now? I work at Vidal Sassoon.”

“I don’t care. I don’t like trusting anyone but you with my hair.”

“Thanks. Besides, you need a hair cut.”

“I need more than that.” Carol took a comb and started dragging it through the young woman’s wavy hair.

“Are you saying what I think you are?” Carol’s eyes lit up.

“Yep. I’m starting a new chapter in my life. I need a new style.”

“I love it when you say that. What do you want to do?” “That’s what I came to you for. I have no idea!” The two laughed.

“Well, let’s get you washed up and then we’ll decide.” Marie nodded.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

JC yawned as he slipped his key into the lock and pushed the door open. It was only about seven, but the session had been a little tiring. He threw his jacket on his bed.

“Marie?” he called. He looked around the room for any indication that she was there. He didn’t see her purse anywhere which meant that she wasn’t there. He went and sat in the chair by the window and stared out at the LA city lights. He turned, hearing the door open.

“Hey, you,” Marie greeted, smiling big. “Did you get a lot done?” She was setting the shopping bags in her hands down and didn’t notice his mouth drop. She looked up and saw the look on his face. “What?”

“What did you do to yourself?” he asked. He stood up and walked over to her. Her long wavy dark brown hair was now straight, shoulder length and had shorter layers in the front. Instead of the simple green polo and jeans she had worn that morning, she was dressed in a black boat neck three quarter sleeved shirt and a slim fitting pair of khakis with black leather boots.

“You hate it?” she said, looking slightly hurt.

“No, no, no,” he replied, instructing her to turn around. He studied the way the pants and shirt hugged her in all the right places. She looked up at him, her eyes unreadable. JC reached up and cupped her face in his hands. “You look great. What’d you do with the Marie I married?”

“I turned her into this Marie. I hope that’s okay,” she told him, looking into his eyes. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. He pulled back.

“It’s fine with me,” he replied. “You look absolutely gorgeous.”

“Thanks.”

“What else did you get?” JC asked.

“Oh! A lot,” she replied, going to her bags. She set them on her bed and started pulling out items from D&G, Chanel, Bisou Bisou, and Ralph Lauren.

“You hit Rodeo with a passion,” he commented. She shrugged.

“I dipped into my Shopping Fund a little, that’s all,” she told him. “Besides, I had to get something to wear to the showcase tomorrow night.”

“And what is that?”

“You wanna see it?” she asked, still high on her post-shopping euphoria.

“Okay.” She smiled and hurried into the bathroom with two bags. A couple minutes later she emerged.

“Wow,” JC said. “You look great.”

Marie was dressed in the darkest pair of boot cut jeans he’d ever seen. She wore a simple white dress shirt with a high collar and long cuffs with a maple colored leather coat that ended mid-thigh. Her shoes were matching leather boots with stiletto heels.

“You like?” she asked. He nodded as she spun and posed.

“Marie, who is this look by?” JC inquired, fisting his hand and acting like it was a microphone.

“Well,” she started in the same tone every star used. “The jeans and shirt are by Ralph Lauren. My jacket is by DKNY and my shoes are Steve Madden.”

“Okay, I know you didn’t find all those stores on Rodeo,” he told her. Marie blushed.

“I went other places too,” she admitted.

“Crap,” he said, putting his hand to his head. “I don’t have anything to wear.” He looked at Marie who had a shining look in her eyes. “Uh, oh.”

“I know where to go,” she told him. “We’ll go tomorrow, first thing.”

“Okay,” he relented.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(The Next Night)

“Tell me I don’t look funny,” he pleaded.

“Oh, please,” Marie told him as he parked the car. “You’re wearing khakis, a tshirt, and a leather jacket. You’re not wearing a rabbit suit.” She rolled her eyes. JC laughed glad that he had gotten a little rise out of her. She had lost the relaxed look for a few moments.

The couple got out of the car and linked hands as they wandered to the door of the gallery. “JC Chasez and Marie Donovan-Chasez,” she told the PR rep at the front door. The rep nodded as a doorman opened the door.

“Wow,” JC breathed. He glanced around at the photographs on the walls.

“Let’s start over here,” Marie said, pointing at one wall. They walked over and started examining the photo.

“Marie, you made it!” Dylan exclaimed. JC looked at the man who hurried over and embraced her. He hugged her and then kissed both her cheeks. The man was about Marie’s height sans the heeled shoes she was wearing, with dark hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in a black turtleneck sweater and black slacks. There was a taller man behind him that was smiling down at the two.

“Dylan, this is my husband, Josh,” Marie introduced. “Josh, this is Dylan. We had Photo 101 together back at UNLV.” JC and Dylan shook hands.

“And this is my partner, Bryce,” Dylan introduced. Marie and JC shook hands with the taller man.

“Which ones are yours?” Marie asked. Dylan led the way over to three photos that hung near each other.

“These,” he replied.

“You can’t be steered away from color, can you?” Marie asked.

“You miss so much when you take away the color,” he replied.

“You see a lot more without distracting colors,” she argued.

“I think this has been an ongoing argument,” Bryce told JC. JC nodded his agreement as he peered closer to the photograph.

“This is really beautiful,” he commented.

“Thanks,” Dylan said. “Oh, I see my agent waving. I’ll see you two later.” Dylan and Bryce hurried away.

“What do you think?” Marie asked, JC as he leaned back from the photo.

“You can do that?” he inquired. “Capture things like that?”

“I haven’t had as much training as Dylan has and I’m not a very good master of color, but I guess…Yeah, I can do that,” she admitted.

“That’s amazing,” he replied, looking at her. Marie smiled.

“Come on. Let’s look at the others,” she said, tugging on his hand.

For the next few hours, the two milled around the gallery and talked to a few people. They were introduced to Dylan’s agent, Maureen, who told Marie that if she was half as good as Dylan said she was and ever wanted to have her work put in a gallery to call.

“I forgot how much I love photography,” Marie sighed as the two entered the room later that night.

“How can you forget?” JC asked her, slipping off his shoes.

“Things have been so busy lately. Our thing, the tour, Rio, the Super Bowl, LA. I forgot how much I love the art.” She sat on her bed, a stressed look on her face. JC walked over and sat next to her.

“What are you thinking?” he asked softly, reaching out for her hand. He loved touching her because he felt the spark every time they made contact.

“I’m thinking that I need to find an interior decorator so I can start on your house,” she fibbed. Marie avoided his eyes and JC knew she wasn’t being honest. But he also knew that she would talk about what was troubling her when she wanted him to know.