Chapter Twelve
(Tuesday, December 9th, 4 p.m.)
Joey sat back on the couch and took a good look at his girlfriend of two months. Shannon never ceased to amaze him - he thought his own life got hectic - but even with all of the projects she had going she still managed to stay afloat, when he would have simply been overwhelmed. Joey didn’t know how, but somewhere in between fitting and constructing the costumes for *N SYNC’s spring tour and going to classes, Shannon had managed to construct their costumes for their Musical Theatre final project. And they were magnificent - Joey had seen The Phantom of the Opera when it had come to Orlando a few years ago, and if he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn these were the same costumes he had seen on the Phantom and Christine. They had tried the costumes on earlier, and his fit perfectly, and his breath had been taken away when he saw Shannon in her costume. Joey had been thinking a lot about his feelings for Shannon lately, and everything kept coming back to the same conclusion - he loved her. He was certain she felt the same way, and the first time he told her his feelings, he wanted it to be perfect. Impatient as he was to talk to her, he waited until Shannon was off the phone with her mother, who had called when she heard the news about the tour. Joey looked up as Shannon hung up the phone and smiled at him.
“So, is your mom proud?” He asked, pulling Shannon down onto his lap.
“Extremely, she’s just mad I didn’t tell her sooner,” Shannon laughed. She turned her head to study Joey’s profile, gently brushing his hair back with her fingers. “You’re awfully quiet today, anything wrong?”
“No, I’m just thinking.” Joey replied, turning to look into her eyes.
"We better get down to the theater, we have our performance at six." Shannon said, picking up the costumes. She waited for Joey to get out of the apartment before locking it up. Joey opened the passenger door of his SUV to let her in first before taking the costumes and laying them gently into the back. The drive to the theater was quiet, nervous, and exciting all at once. Joey and Shannon both didn't talk much, both going over the music for the project in their heads. The ride was shorter than they thought, as they pulled into the theater parking lot. Their nerves hit them full blast as they walked into the theater with their costumes.
"Have you ever been this nervous for a concert?" Shannon asked, holding onto her stomach in the women's dressing room. Joey shook his head no as he paced the floor. "I think I’m going to be sick." Shannon said, reaching for a bottled water. Joey laughed as she drank the water quickly.
“Baby, you’d better not drink it that fast - it’ll make you sicker. It’s going to go great, just try to relax.” Joey reassured her and sat down, trying to calm his own nerves. A knock at the door told them it was almost time for them to get ready. Joey kissed Shannon lightly on the forehead and left for the men’s dressing room with his costume in his hand. After changing and finishing his make-up, he waited on Shannon. She came out of the dressing room a few minutes later, and he could have sworn she was Christine herself. She looked beautiful in her costume. They stood looking into each other’s eyes for a few minutes before one of their classmates came to tell them it was their turn.
“Hey guys? Wow, you look great!” Claire Weinert, one of the girls in their class commented. “It’s your turn - break a leg!”
Joey opened the door, his soft hazel eyes smiling at Shannon, giving her confidence as she exited before him. As soon as they reached the stage, their senses overtook them and they were no longer nervous. It seemed like they had barely started moments before, when they were holding the final pose, and it was all over. They looked out into the audience, where they could see Meaghan, Justin, Chris, and Lance, all on their feet and applauding loudly. As soon as they were offstage, Shannon screamed and jumped into Joey’s arms, kissing him fully on the lips. Joey laughed and swung her around, hugging her tightly to him.
“You were wonderful!” Joey set Shannon down gently.
“Me? WE were wonderful, Joey.” Shannon’s green eyes danced happily. “I forgot how much I love performing, no wonder you do what you do. I forgot how great the adrenaline rush felt.”
“Do you have any idea just how beautiful you are at this moment?” Joey looked at her tenderly, his hand cupping her cheek.
Shannon looked at him, quite breathless at his question. “No …”
“I’ve been wanting to say this to you for awhile now … Shannon, I know we’ve only been together for two months, and to some people that may be a short time, but I know my heart - and my heart tells me that I love you.” Joey looked at her and waited for his words to sink in. He got a bit concerned when she kept staring at the floor, but when she raised tearful eyes to look at him; he knew this was the right time.
“I love you, too, Joey.” Shannon smiled through the tears of happiness that threatened to run down her cheeks. Joey cupped her face gently in his hands, kissing away her tears.
