A Million Faces in a Crowd
Chapter 6

JC woke some odd hours later and felt the spot beside him was cool and that Carly was no longer sleeping comfortably in his arms. He immediately felt the loss. Letting his eyes adjust to the darkness of the hotel room, he glanced around and noticed a low glow of light coming from what he'd guessed was the balcony. Pulling the covers off, he padded in the direction and found his assumptions to be correct. He found Carly wrapped in a thin blanket on one of the chaise lounges that overlooked the city. She looked contemplative, yet peaceful at the same time. Not wanting to startle her, he began his intro in a soft voice.

"You alright, Carly?" he questioned, taking a seat in the lounge beside her. His arms immediately caught chill of the night air as Goosebumps formed on his skin.

Carly looked up at him and smiled. "Fine. Just thinking."

"You feeling any better?"

Carly yawned and stretched a little. "Yes. I get so focused with things that I often forget to stop and take care of myself. It's stupid, I know."

"You're dedicated to this job. Nothing wrong with that, but yes. You do need to take care of yourself Carly."

"I know JC. I will." she said hoping to change the subject. For some reason, having people constantly on her back made her feel like a child but then a little voice in the back of her head reminded her that it felt good to have someone caring about her. Especially care enough to come over and make sure she slept. It was kind of unsettling in a way.

"So what are you up at this odd hour for?" he asked.

"Just thinking. Taking in the city. Kind of forgot where I was when I woke up. Scared me a little."

"Scared you?"

"I'm not used to waking up with a stranger in my bed." she laughed quietly.

"Am I a stranger to you, Carly?" he asked, looking directly into her green eyes.

"You know what I mean, JC. I don't know you very well. This is all kind of weird to me. I don't do this kind of thing."

"Do what kind of thing? And have you taken the time to get to know me Carly?"

"You know, this." she waved her hands in the air aimlessly. "Sleeping with someone I don't know. And No JC, I haven't taken the time to get to know you. I'm not sure if I should."

He looked wounded by that and Carly immediately regretted her words a little bit.

"First of all, this…" he waved his hands in the air, just as she had before he began again. "Is nothing to be ashamed of Carly. We're friends. And yes, maybe we're going about this a little backwards but it's nothing you should feel ashamed of. Finding comfort in the opposite sex is not a crime. We're not having sex. It's not a crime to enjoy someone being close to you. And what do you mean you shouldn't get to know me?"

Carly bit her lip as if she were carefully contemplating her next words as she pulled the blanket tighter over her shoulders. "This is a business thing JC. It could make or break my career. I don't want people assuming I got ahead because I 'slept' with you. This is LA, and I know how things move here. I don't want to be sucked into it. Rumors get started and things get twisted so fast. I just don't want or need anything negative affecting this. I've worked at it for so long."

JC looked down at the concrete floor and suddenly understood what she was getting at. He'd be lying if her words didn't sting.

"You think my name is going to bring you down?"

"What? JC, No! I just meant-." he interrupted her.

"You did too, Carly. Whether you meant to say it or not, that's how it came out."

"I just don't want to get involved in something I can't handle, okay? I have no intentions of staying here for longer then I have to. This place feels so jaded to me. I don't want to be a part of it."

His brows furled at that. What would he do when Carly went back home? Would she ever call him? Did she ever want to see him again? JC felt he had made headway with Carly over the passed few days and he felt like whatever they had built was all crumbling down right in front of him.

"Can I ask what you've read about me that's so horrible Carly? I know this is all still in the back of your mind. I think you might be surprised to learn the truth."

She almost looked guilty by the question. "I've just heard stories and read things. You've had your fair share of women according to the 'talk'. You've went from one woman to the next, cheating on them?"… she left the last part a question and watched as he shook his head.

"I've dated a lot, I guess you could say yes. But dating does not always entail everything people often assume it does, Carly. And cheat on a girlfriend? I'm not perfect nor do I claim to be but I've never cheated on a girlfriend. I have more integrity in myself to do something so low. I tend to treat my girlfriends pretty well and get nothing or very little in return. My ex, for starters- did no such thing. You were right about people twisting things around." he huffed. A glimmer of hurt more then evident in his blue eyes.

Carly did feel like shit right then and there. If what JC was telling her, she'd made a complete ass of herself. She knew that had been her reason for distancing herself from JC but she never expected to see him again, let alone work with him. She didn't want to get mixed up in his 'playboy' ways and trash her name before it even got a chance at it's own start in the music world.

Carly could kick herself as she did a run down in her mind. Each time she'd given in eventually to him sleeping in her bed, sex or not, it still had to mean something. You didn't fall asleep in the arms of another man if you didn't have some type of trust for them. It just didn't happen work that way or at least not in her mind. And somehow, along the way, she had managed to get herself mixed up in a whirl wind she wasn't prepared for.

"JC, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say!" Carly silently cursed herself. Bullshit. She always knew what to say. What she wasn't prepared for was JC standing and walking briskly from the balcony.

Feeling like an ass, she followed him into the hotel room and watched as he was putting his shoes on in what looked to be a hurry.

"You're leaving? It's the middle of the night." she questioned softly.

JC looked up with hurt eyes nodding. "You'll learn one day, Carly that not everything you read is the truth and that assumptions hurt even worse when someone bases their opinion of you based on a lie. And not everyone in LA is as jaded as you make them out to be. You've got to learn to look outside the box a little bit. I thought I saw better in you, Carly Piper." And with that, He picked his keys up from the night stand and walked out the door.

What Carly didn't know is that JC's heart stung just as much as hers did. Walking away from her had proven to be harder then he'd thought.

***

She stood their staring at the door, all of the sudden feeling a loss. Her mind began it's own battle arguing with itself as she cursed herself quietly. What had just happened?

Even more exhausted than before, Carly locked the door and turned the light out before throwing her pathetic self into bed. She tossed and turned for several hours before she was about to give up. Knowing exactly what was missing and exactly how to cure her bought of insomnia, she carefully played over in her head once again how his arms felt around her as she slept and the careful harmless words he'd used earlier to describe whatever was going on between them. Willing herself not to get anymore upset than she did, she tried to imagine just hours earlier, his scent, his strong arms as they enveloped her and she slept on. Lost in her thoughts, Carly laid her head on the pillow JC had used just minutes before and breathed in softly as his scent took over her mind and she closed her eyes as she finally found slumber an hour later.

****

-A week Later-

Carly stared hard at the computer in front of her, occasionally flicking buttons on the soundboard whenever necessary. Mixing music and perfecting tracks were her final tasks of the soundtrack project. Running a face over her bleary eyes, she tried to stay awake. It had been one week since she had watched JC walk out of her hotel room and one week since she'd had what could only be counted as a good nights rest.

Her days to come after that were spent in the studio basically non-stop. Her occasional five hours back in the hotel room she got each night were spent tossing and turning and were a constant reminder of what'd she'd said to put herself in the current position. She hadn't spoken to him since then and the guilt was eating her alive.

Thinking he'd have to be back to finish up the soundtrack had proven to be a false assumption. She wanted a real chance to apologize face to face but that didn't seem to be in the future cards for Carly. She had hoped to finish the current track she was editing and wrap the project tonight and be on a flight back to Chicago by tomorrow morning. Excited to be going back to what she called home, Carly couldn't help but to feel as though she was leaving something important behind. Not wanting to leave without making amends, she was torn between her professionalism and making things right with this guy who had suddenly come into her life.


Max came bursting through the door, the look of determination written all over his face and stirring Carly out of her thoughts.

"How are things going, Carly?" he asked.

"Not bad. Almost finished."

"Good. Everything is sounding amazing. I'm glad we found you for this project."

"I'm glad too, Max. I've enjoyed every second of it."

"Great. We'll definitely keep your name in mind for future projects."

"Sounds good."

"Can I hear what you have so far of that track your working on? I've gotta head out soon but wanted to give it a listen real quick."

"Oh yea, sure. Let me finish this last part and I'll give you a listen." Carly put her hair behind her ears as she shifted in the seat and began to play the track. Max took a seat beside her and began to listen with interest.

Carly took his nodding along to the beat and tapping his fingers on the chair as a good sign. She needed Max Powers to like her work. He was the backbone behind Pulse music and the one who'd be signing her paycheck.

Studying him more intently, his dark hair and muscular build, told Carly that he was a man who'd been in the business long enough and knew exactly how to do it. He couldn't have been a day over forty though.

"I like it Carly. I think it will blend beautifully with the movie. Good work. We've got everything thus far, and once your done with this track, we'll get the ball rolling to final production. I'll be in touch with you. You still going back to Chicago tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'd planned on it."

"Had enough of LA yet?" he grinned.

"I'm afraid so, Max. You can't take Chicago out of this girl. I miss it."

"I don't blame you, Carly. LA is something else. It sucks you in, one way or another."

"It does. So we're all set here? I'll drop off my final discs up front and you'll get them correct?"

"Yes. That sounds like a plan. I might have a few more producers come in and fix last minute glitches but you did an awesome job."

"Other producers?" Carly questioned, trying not to get her hopes up.

"Yeah, I'm not sure who yet. I know I might need JC in here eventually to work on a few things. That mans talent amazes me. I'm glad he worked with you Carly. The track your voice is on, is amazing."

"Thanks and yes, he is a talented guy."

"He's had a rough year, that guy. I don't know anyone else who's had their heart stomped on worse but still kept on rolling. He's one of the most level headed genuine guys I've met in the business." Max spoke honestly.

Carly felt more like the scum of the earth as Max spoke each word.

"He's had his heart stomped on?" she asked softly.

"Yes. Stomped is putting it lightly. The guy was head over heels in love. Apparently it was a one sided thing though. She was cheating on him for a long time and he had no clue. Let's just say she drug it out into the public eye and made him look like a fool. He was the last know. I've never seen him so lost in his life. But he pounced back up, as he always does."

"I didn't know. He seems like a good guy."

"He's great Carly. He's one of the best friends I've had in this business. Always willing to lend himself for the greater good of others. You know the type, wears his heart on his sleeve.''

"Sounds like it."

"He spoke very highly of you Carly. Said he met you last time you were here for open mic."

"Yeah, we didn't get off to the best start, I guess you could say."

"He'll grow on you I bet. Just don't make up your mind without giving him a chance. I bet you anything he could be a great friend to you."

"I don't doubt he could be."

"Well, I've got to get a move on it. You know what to do when your done. I'll be in touch Carly. It was a pleasure working with you." he said as he stood patting her on the shoulder.

"Bye. Thanks for everything!" she waved as she went back to work.

Work. Yeah right. Her mind was having it's own argument with itself. Ask for his number! No be professional. Carly went back an forth before taking a deep breath.

"Have a good flight Carly!" he called as we opened the door.

Do it before he's gone you idiot!

"Max!" she called out. He turned towards her, hand still on the door looking at her intently. "Would you be able to give me JC's number by any chance?" she asked timidly.

He looked at her and nodded, always a business man but an equal amount of a soft side. "Sure. I know he said he had a project he was working on in New York or something. Not sure when he was leaving though." Pulling out his blackberry, he brought the number up and read it out loud to Carly.

She grabbed a random piece of paper from the folder of papers she spread out aimlessly in front of her and scribbled it down as fast as she could and turned to Max.

"Thank you Max. I appreciate it."

"No problem Carly. I'll see you later." he waved and with that he was out the door.

Trying to finish her task, Carly couldn't help but to keep glancing at the number scribbled just minutes earlier. Knowing if she continued this annoying habit that she'd never get anything done, she tucked it back into the folder and continued working.

***
Carly paced her hotel room, making sure she'd picked up everything and had it packed for her leave. When she got back that night, her mind began it's usual arguments with her guilt-ridden self. She glanced at the number, starring at it and picking up her phone several times only to throw it back down on her bed and sigh in frustration. Having no clue what was holding her back, the situation only wore on her nerve endings even more.

JC disserved an apology and Carly deserved to explain herself and even give him a chance. She wondered what he was doing right at that moment. Did he have a girlfriend? Ugh, why was that any of her business she asked herself. The solitude of her hotel room finally getting to her, Carly glanced at the clock beside her bed and realized it was already one thirty in the morning. That meant that it was three thirty back home and normally she'd be asleep, all comfortable in her bed. Grabbing her phone, she padded softly to the one place she'd found peace in her hotel room-the balcony.

Sitting down in the familiar chaise lounge, she opened her phone and began catching up on random text messages she'd received from friends and family while being away. She'd never found the sanity or peace and quiet to respond until now. Letting everyone know she was doing fine and would be home tomorrow, she brought up her contact list and started at the named she'd added to her cell phone only hours earlier.

Closing her eyes and breathing in a sigh of nervousness she pressed send. Not expecting him to answer this late made her heart rate slow down as she listened to the phone ring. By the 7th ring, Carly let out a deep breath as his voice mail clicked on.

"Hey, it's JC. Sorry you missed me but if you leave your name and number, I'll be sure to get back with you."

Carly waited for the beep before she spoke, hoping with everything in her that she didn't sound like a babbling idiot.

"Hey JC, it's um, it's Carly. I was kind of hoping we'd get the chance to talk before I went back home. I wanted to apologize for the other night and for a lot of things I said. I hope we can start over eventually. Anyways, I'm leaving in about five hours but um, give me a call sometime if you feel like talking to me again. Bye."

And with that, Carly shut her phone and stood up and made her way back to her bed. Tossing herself pathetically down on it, she covered herself up and flipped on the TV, prepared for another sleepless night before it was time to board her plane.

***
Carly walked quickly into the headquarters of Pulse music and began her destination down the hallway until she got where she needed to be. Talking kindly with the lady at the front desk, she handed her the tightly sealed envelope with Max's information on it and smiled. Once it was placed in secure hands, she turned to walk out of the reception area and glanced at her cell phone. Noting she had no new messages, she shut it and threw it aimlessly back into her green messenger back and continued towards the door.

***

JC pushed the up arrow and waited for the doors to slide open before he walked into the elevator. Pressing number three on the keypad, he watched as it lit up and the elevator began moving up. As it dinged, he stepped off and made his way down the hall. Running a hand over his exhausted features he walked up the counter and greeted the person he'd been looking for.

"Morning, Mr. Chasez."

"Good morning Nora!" he smiled brightly.

"I just received the disc Max wanted me to forward to you." she said picking it up and handing it to him.

"Already? I thought that wasn't suppose to be done for another week or so."

Nora looked at him confused. "Miss Piper just dropped it off. She was in the studio late last night finishing it."

"Miss Piper? You mean Carly?" he asked as his stomach did a flip flop.

"Yes, Carly Piper. You just missed her."

"Thanks." JC said in a hurry as he grabbed the envelope and took off for the elevator. He pushed the down button repetedly until the doors opened and he waited anxiously until it landed on the first floor. Busting out of it, he jogged over to the main entrance of the Pulse music studio's and ran out the door looking around with small glimmers of hope.

He looked down the street only to see a cab pull off the curb and hung his head low as it began to drive away. He'd just missed her.

****
Carly had just buckled her seatbelt with a click as she sat back in her seat and was digging through her messenger bag for her ipod. Placing it beside her, she waited until the captain announced that they were going to be taking off in a matter of minutes and leaned back and closed her eyes trying to will away her stresses.

Leaving LA felt good but she was also happy for everything the passed few weeks had entailed. She'd grown as a songwriter and as a producer in such a short amount of time. Her career had a path now and she had gained the respects of some pretty big people in the business. The future was looking promising.

Doing a run down, she couldn't help but to think of the man she'd become closer with and in one moment, had willed it all away. She was a fish out of water and he'd done his best to befriend her and she'd let her assumptions and bitter words get in the way. Now she was on the way back home to Chicago, and all she could feel was guilty.

Carly prided herself in being a good person but right now, that was the last thing she thought of herself. Her mind flashed back to JC and his smile, his low key flirtatious mannerism and his easy approach. He could make her laugh and be professional at the same time and she loved that. But she blew it and now had no idea how she'd fix her faults when he she was about to be over 2,000 miles away from him.

Willing her mind to shut up, she leaned back in her seat and stared aimlessly out the window.

Hearing her phone buzz loudly in her purse, she rummaged through it and picked it up and stared at the name that flashed before her on the caller ID. Breathing in a deep breath before she answered, shaky hands opened in and lifted it to her ear.

"Hello?"