Chapter Ten: If.Your.Words.Had.Meaning

    "NO!" Jenny shot up in bed.
    That dream.
    That horrible dream.
    It had left her for one night...and had come back again.
    She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. She glanced over at the clock.
    It was 4:45AM.
    She'd have to be up in 15 minutes.
    She looked over to find that I wasn't in my bed. She heard clattering downstairs from the kitchen. She remembered we had had a secret meeting last night and agreed on making the guys a going away breakfast. She padded down the stairs toward the noise in the kitchen.

    "Kevin, stay out, I MEAN it!" I threatened him with a spatula.
     "You don't want us to use our kickboxing skills, do you!?" Cathy eyed Howie, with a pan in her hand.
     "Okay, okay...I give up. So much for waking up early..." Kevin put his hands up in defeat.
     "Go sit in the family room before you ruin anything," Chin shooed the two Boys out of the vicinity. They brushed past Jenny as she entered the scene.
     "When did you guys get up...?" she yawned, leaning on the counter.
     "About 4:15," Julie replied, looking for something in the fridge.
     "And I wasn't awakened because...?"
     "You looked too sleepy and peaceful and I dunno...It was hell getting everyone else up, especially Kat and Julie... didn't have the energy," I smiled.
     "I resent that," Julie muttered as Cathy made a face at me.
     "So...are you guys almost done? Is there something I can help with?" Jenny asked, sitting on a stool.
     "We're done...We would have been done earlier if two curious guys hadn't tried to WALK IN ON US!" Chin tried to make sure Kevin and Howie could hear her.
     "SORRY!" they yelled back from the family room.
     "But...three Boys have yet to get up. So I have a job for you...you wanna give 'em a wake-up call?" Chin grinned evilly.
     "You betcha," Jenny smiled back, and headed for the downstairs guestroom.
     "Can we go in there yet?" she heard Howie whine. She turned around.
     "Yeah, Chin and all said they're done...just don't go into the dining room, k?" she laughed, as the two guys scrambled to the kitchen like hungry wolves.
     "Howie, paws OFF THE FRYING PAN!  Kevin, stop CHECKING THE OVENS! ...CONTROL YOUR SELVES! WAIT FOR THE OTHERS!!!!!" she could hear us yell at them.

    "Good morning, sunshine!" Jenny laughed, pulling open the curtains to Brian, Nick, and AJ's room. "Or should I say 'sunshines'?"
    "Déja...vu...Disney...land..." Brian mumbled, still half asleep. He was lying on his stomach on his side of the queen bed, and arm dangling off the edge.
    "Do I smell food?" Nick murmured from his position on the floor. He was tangled in his sleeping bag, with his pillow covering his head.
    "Shut up, dude...I'm sleepy." AJ grumbled, turning over. His feet were next to Brian's head and the headboard - both which he ended up hitting.
    "OW!" Brian wailed tiredly, and shoved AJ's foot out of his face.
    "Serious déja-vu," Jenny muttered. "Look, if you guys don't get up, I'll lock you in this guestroom, and put food right outside your door so you can smell it."
    "You wouldn't," she heard Nick.
    "You couldn't," Brian joined.
    "You shouldn't be waking us up!" AJ grunted, eyes still shut.
    "Be that way...just try me," Jenny smiled, and left the room.
    Nick's head shot up when he heard the door close.
    Brian opened his eyes when he heard the lock click.
    AJ turned over, not caring.
    "She didn't!" Nick sat up.
    "She DID!" Brian complained, having gotten up and tried the door. Nick pounded on the wooden frame.
    "Is Nicky hungry?" they heard Kevin's booming voice from outside the door.
    "Just think, this home-cooked food the girls made us...I guess Kev and I will have to finish it allll," the three captives heard Howie laugh.
    "Here's your breakfast, Noys," Jenny cooed, placing three full plates on the ground outside the closed room. Nick slid down to the ground and sniffed through a crack in the door.
    "This is torture!" Brian wailed.
    "Then go back to SLEEP!" AJ yelled, shoving his pillow over his head.
    "GET UP AND HELP US!" the two Boys yelled at their bandmate. AJ made a disapproving noise and slowly got up. He went to the door, kicked it, and looked at the other two.
    "Happy?" he inquired.
    "My stomach is still empty," Brian stated, pointing to his grumbling tummy.
    "And it's also 5 AM,"AJ replied, leaning against the door, attempting to make his fatigue known.
    After about 20 minutes of pounding and wailing, Jenny gave in and opened the door. The three practically inhaled their food.
    "I guess you guys are awake, now?" Cathy laughed.
    "Shu-wup," Nick mumbled with his mouth full. I checked my watch.
    "Hate to break it to ya, but we gotta leave in about 10 minutes..." I said, before running to the stairs to go up and get ready. "Whose suitcase exploded?" I asked, laughing, while passing by Brian, Nick, and AJ's room before I left. I heard accusations thrown as I headed upstairs.

    The weather had decided to be random and it had started to rain before we left. It had been hell cleaning up AJ, Brian, and Nick's room. 10 minutes? Try 20. To save time, Jenny suggested we pile all the suitcases in one car, with two people, and the rest take the Boys' rented van. She said she'd take our car, and before I could offer to join her, Chin shoved Brian forward, volunteering him to keep her company. There was no time to argue or discuss, and we left in a hurry, hoping to beat any traffic that might have been caused by the rain.

~*~*~*~
Swish, swish. Swish, swish. Swish, swish...
    The windshield wipers went back and forth. Brian had opted to drive, and Jenny was too tired to argue. She had been staring out the window for the longest time, not really thinking about anything, just simply watching the rain as it fell from the clouded sky. The car ride had been silent, with the exception of the radio that Brian had been fiddling with. He was amused by the stations Jenny and I had set in our car. Rock...Classical...Soft Hits...Pop...He finally turned it off, fed up with his inability to decide on one station. He looked over at Jenny, wondering why she was so silent.
    "Jenny?"
    "Yeah?"
    "Is it okay that I turned off the radio?"
    "Yeah."
    "It's raining hard, huh?"
    "Yeah."
    "Are you tired?"
    "Yeah."
    "Am I an alien?"
    "Yeah."
    Brian smiled. Jenny blinked and looked at him after a moment.
    "What did you say?!"
    "Never mind...I was just trying to get more than a monosyllable out of you."
    "Sorry...I was just...engrossed in the rain."
    "It's just rain."
    "Some of the others love the rain...and I guess I do too. It's grown on me. It's so beautiful and soothing..."
    "But rain isn't that special."
    "It could be."
    "If?"
    "I dunno...I've always had this thing about wanting to dance in the rain-"
    "You should rent the movie."
    "No, not like that...I mean...someday...I wanna dance in the rain...with...with someone I love..." she sighed, still looking out the window. Brian sat silent for a minute, unsure of how to respond. "You don't have to say anything, mister. Don't worry about it, it's just a silly fantasy...Anyway, we're at the airport."
 

    It took a good 10 or 15 minutes for everyone to say goodbye to each other. They promised that at least one of them would call every other day or so to bug us with random happenings on tour, as long as we did the same for them, except with boring stories about sophomore year in college.

    We wandered around the airport for awhile, waiting for Hannah's flight to arrive. As soon as she got her luggage, we took her to some eatery in the airport, and made her tell us all about her photography camp. She would keep asking to go back home and talk, but we wouldn't let her. We had to keep her occupied for just a little while longer...
    "You guys! C'mon! I'm freaking tired!" Hannah wailed. "This endless odor of coffee that always hangs in the airport is making me absolutely nauseous..."
    Before we could think of any response - and we were running out of them - a voice boomed over the airport announcement system asking her to find a white courtesy telephone. All bewildered, we followed her in her search.
    "Hello?" she picked up the nearest one we found, as she put down her bags.
    "Hey, sweetie."
    "LANCE!" she practically screamed. We all exchanged knowing glances, and left Hannah alone to sit on some benches near by.
    "Good to hear your voice," he laughed. "How was camp?"
    "You make it sound like I'm 9 years old...'it was fun, Daddy!' " she giggled.
    "Didn't meet any arty-fartsy dude that stole you away from me, huh?"
    "Well, there was that Derek guy..."
    "Sure, Hannah..."
    "And that Adam, dude..."
    "Funny."
    "Oh, but I forgot about Joshua..."
    "Hannah?"
    "Yes?"
    "I would love to hear you go on about camp and all the fictitious men on the phone, but-"
    "You have to go?" she sounded disappointed.
    "Well, I don't HAVE to..."
    "But..."
    "But you'd probably be happy if I did."
    "What? You're confusing me."
    "Turn around."
    Hannah turned around and saw Lance standing there with his cell phone in one hand, and a rose in the other. His bags were at his feet. She dropped the phone, and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, almost knocking him over with her hug.
    "You GO, Lance!" Cathy yelled.
    "Um, we'll be at Starbucks, k?" I stated, before we left the couple alone.
    "Save me a Caramel Frappucchino..." Hannah nodded distractedly, before turning her attention back to Lance.
    "You freak, how did you get here!?" she kissed him.
    "Um...by plane?" he smiled, his arms around her.
    "Stop being smart. You know what I mean."
    "Yeah, yeah...see, the girls arranged it. They thought we should see each other, and you getting back was perfect...The problem is that I have to leave in just over 24 hrs," he frowned, resting his forehead on hers.
    "For the VMA, huh?"
    "Yeah."
    "Well, I'm not gonna dwell on that little fact," she said, picking up her bags "...we have a day to spend time together, so be it!" she smiled, before pulling him in the direction of Starbucks.

~*~*~*~

    "Now that Hannah and Lancey boy are out for the evening...what shall we do?" Cathy asked from her spot on a kitchen stool. The afternoon had been spent horseback riding, and all of us were tired...except Hannah and Lance, that is. We had shooed them out of the house when they asked about dinner. We said we'd manage on our own, and that they should go have fun.
    "I dunno...pizza, TV, and girltalk!" Chin suggested.
    "Girl talk? Good lord, what are we gonna do next, pull out BOP magazines!?" I rolled my eyes, sitting down on the ground to play with Darwin.
    "Do you have a better suggestion?" Chin retorted.
    "I'll call Pizza Hut..." Jenny stated, heading for the phone.
    "I'll check and see what's on the TV..." Julie suggested, picking up the TV Guide.

    "I think we've been through everything from the weather and back..." Lance laughed, picking up his glass to take a sip.
    "So sue me if this place takes a billion and one years to bring our order." Hannah stuck out her tongue before grabbing the last piece of bread to munch on.
    "Hey! I'm hungry too!"
    "You had three pieces, I had two. Deal."
    "I'll just steal some of your food when it gets here."
    "You'd better not."
    "Try me."
    Hannah rolled her eyes and absent-mindedly played with her necklace.
    "So you liked it?" Lance asked.
    "Huh?"
    "The necklace."
    "Of course, you dork! I love it!"
    "Such caring words."
    "Only the best words for you, my dear. I hate calling people food names."
    "Huh?"
    "You know, the generic honey, sweetie, honey-bun, sweetie-pie, buttercup, cupcake...ick."
    "I see."
    "Now I'm hungry," Hannah joked.
    "It's all those food names," Lance laughed. "... So if I'm the dork, what are you?"
    "Do I have to have a name?"
    "Of course...you need to be something."
    "Like?"
    "I dunno...but when I think of the perfect name, I'll tell you."
    "Uh-oh, the dork's gears are turning. I think I should be scared."
    "Cute."

    "There's nothing on TV...just turn it offfff!" I groaned, taking our plates to the kitchen.
    "Fine." Chin hit the power button on the remote.
    "Should I shove the leftovers in the fridge?" I asked.
    "Be my guest. I'm fuuulll," Julie complained. I turned off the lights on my way back to my spot on one of the couches.
    "Hey! What was that for?" Jenny whined.
    "It's nicer in the dark." I lay back down on the couch.
    We were sprawled all over the family room. Cathy was laying on Kezia on her beanbag, Roky was in Jenny's lap, and Darwin was at the foot of my couch. We heard two mews. Sprite and Coke sat in the hallway, not sure if they were invited to our lounge-fest. Chin called them over. Coke crawled onto her tummy and Sprite, looking for more room, headed towards Julie.
    "Bless allergy medication!" she stated, cuddling Sprite.
    "I second that," Chin laughed, petting Coke.
    "You sound like Nick," Cathy commented. It was silent for a moment.
    "Yeah..." Julie whispered.
    "I-I'm sorry, Julie," Cathy apologized.
    "Don't worry about it. I'm fine," Julie stated.
    "Mm-hmm..." Chin muttered.
    "What about you and Howie, Kat? Being all secretive-" Julie asked.
    "What is that supposed to mean?" Cathy fidgeted and shifted her position on Kezia.
    "Nothing," Chin stated. "Ignore Julie as she tries to switch subjects," she laughed.
    "I resent that," Julie muttered. "What about you, Chin? Being all mysterious with AJ?" she attacked.
    "What do you mean!?"
    "Always sleeping on the couch-"
    "That happened like, what...3 times?!" Chin exclaimed.
    "More than that," I piped in.
    "We would talk and fall asleep. End of story." Chin crossed her arms.
    "Yeah..." Cathy didn't sound convinced. Jenny had yet to speak. She sat on her couch, petting Roky silently.
    "Sort of random..." Julie started. "Jenny - are you okay?"
    "Why wouldn't I be?" she didn't look up.
    "I dunno...you've been acting odd lately...not your usual Jenny self."
    "Well, I haven't noticed it. Whatever my usual self is," Jenny replied, nonchalantly. I looked around the room and caught Chin's gaze after she had been looking down as if she knew nothing...from that, it dawned on us that we were the only two that knew...but we kept silent for Jenny. If she had wanted more people to know, she would have taken her chance and spilled it.
    "Onto Sarah," Jenny stated. I practically choked on the soda I was finishing.
    "Careful there," Cathy laughed.
    "What does anything have to do with me?!" I reached for a napkin.
    "Kevin," Jenny simply said.
    "...is our friend, just like the other Boys," I added, trying to find my chapstick in the recesses of my jean pocket.
    "That is true, yes," Julie said.
    "But..." Cathy chimed in.
    "But WHAT!?" I asked, exasperatedly.
    "We have yet to go out to dinner with him," I could see Chin grinning in the dark.
    "I explained it then, as I will now: it was a bet. Loser had to take winner to dinner. I won. My turn to say - end of story."
    There was silence for a moment.
    "Whatever," Cathy mumbled. I gave a dramatic sigh, applied my chapstick, and looked at the ceiling.
    "I wonder when Hannah and Lance'll get back."
    "It's only 11:30," Julie looked at her watch.
    "Only?" Jenny asked, incredulously.
    "Leave 'em be. He leaves tomorrow," Chin reminded us.
 
 

Chapter Eleven: As.Time.Goes.By
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