Chapter Two

(Wednesday, October 9th, 3 p.m.)

Joey pulled into his driveway, groaning when he saw his best friend's car sitting there. He had hoped to have the house to himself so he could get ready for his date with Shannon, and now he’d have to answer a million questions. At least it's just Chris, he thought, some relief flooding over him. He walked into the house, sighing when he heard voices coming from the living room.

“Hey man!” a male voice called out.

“Hi guys, what are you doing here?” Joey asked, somewhat annoyed. His eyes surveyed the living room where his best friend, Chris Kirkpatrick, and their bandmate, Justin Timberlake, sat playing video games.

“You’ve got the better system,” Justin explained, concentrating on the screen.

“Guys, don’t you have your own place to live? Why do you always have to come over here? What if I had brought someone home with me?” Joey questioned, throwing his backpack on the couch.

“Like you could get a date,” Chris teased.

"I have a date, and I have to pick her up at seven, so if you don’t mind - get out.” Joey said, straightening up the living room. Chris jumped up from the couch, amusement sparkling in his brown eyes.

“Oooh, Joey has a date! Who with?”

“Nobody you know.” Joey was vague on purpose, hoping Chris would get the message.  

“Seriously, Joe, who do you have a date with?” Justin was curious. He knew Joey wouldn’t be so nervous if it wasn’t someone special.

“It’s just someone I met at the college today. It’s not really a date, more like a study date. We’re partners for a project.” Joey looked at his best friends, pleading. “Now will you guys please go?”

“What’s her name?” Chris asked, bouncing up and down on the couch.

“If you must know, her name is Shannon. Now please, leave?” Joey looked at the clock, which read 5:30. If they left now, he’d have time to straighten the house a little, get a shower, and -

“Joey and Shannon, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Chris shouted, dancing around the living room.

Justin just looked at Joey and rolled his eyes. “Come on, Chris. Let’s go over to JC’s, you can wreak havoc at his place for awhile.” Justin grabbed hold of Chris’s arm and pulled the older man out of the room. “See you later, Joey. Have fun tonight.”

“Thanks, Justin.”


************

Shannon ran into Meaghan’s room and stood before her expectantly. “Okay, what do you think of this one?”

“Perfect. You sure are going to a lot of trouble for a study date,” Meaghan teased.

“I know, but I just wanted to look nice.” Shannon twirled in front of the mirror, looking carefully over her reflection. She was wearing denim capris with a white peasant blouse, not wanting to look too dressed up for a study date. She had curled her dark auburn hair, which now fell in soft waves down her back. “Do you think I look all right?”

“You look gorgeous.” Meaghan looked up from her book. “Now stop worrying so much.”

The doorbell rang, and Shannon rushed to answer it. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she opened the door, revealing Joey who was dressed in jeans and a blue polo shirt.  He smiled at her, and held out his hand. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, let me just grab my stuff.” Shannon gathered up her things, smiling brightly at Meaghan.

“See you later, behave yourself,” Meaghan teased, waving her out the door.

*************

“Well, we’ve narrowed it down to these four shows at least,” Shannon sighed a few hours later. “Now all we’ve got to do is pick one of the twenty songs we both like.”

Joey laughed. “God, I hate making decisions like this! I like them all, you pick.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Shannon laughed. “No fair making me do this all on my own. You’d better help me.” They began leafing through the CD cases scattered on the table before them.

“We’ve got Rent, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, and The Secret Garden. I vote to eliminate The Secret Garden - I like the other shows better. What about you?” Joey asked, picking up the CD.

“Why don’t we go through song by song, I can’t pick any other way.” Shannon suggested.  "I guess we could just try singing them all through and see what sounds best?”

“Sounds good. Let's start with this one,” Joey suggested, handing her the sheet music.

“Thanks,” Shannon replied. She took a few deep breaths while Joey placed the CD’s in the stereo, trying to calm the butterflies that were slamdancing in her stomach.  Here she was, sitting in Joey Fatone’s house, preparing to sing with him - an experience that both thrilled and terrified her.

"Hey, are you okay?” Joey’s concerned voice tore Shannon from her thoughts.

“I’m just a little nervous, I mean … this is what you do for a living. It’s just a little daunting.” Shannon smiled nervously.

“So, you figured out who I am?” Joey sighed, wondering if this was such a good idea. He had wondered how long it would take her to figure things out, and now that she knew who he was, he worried that it would change things between them.

"Yeah, my best friend, Meaghan pointed out who you were. I truthfully had no idea. I mean, I know your music and your group, but I didn’t really recognize you when I met you today.” Shannon admitted. She noticed the change that had come over Joey’s features, and hurriedly  reassured him. “I hope you don’t think that just because I know who you are now I’m going to go all teeny bopper on you.”

Joey chuckled, shaking his head. “No, I wasn’t thinking that.”

“Don’t lie,” Shannon smiled, shaking a finger at him. “Admit it - for a minute there you were thinking I was going to try and steal stuff from your house and sell it on eBay.” Joey burst out laughing, falling back on the couch. It took him a few moments to compose himself before he could respond.

“Okay, okay, you’re right. I was thinking the worst. I hope you don’t think I’m horrible for thinking like that, but …”

"It’s okay, really.” Shannon smiled at him brightly, her eyes shining with laughter.

Joey smiled back, and their eyes locked, their laughter quieted into soft smiles. Very gently, Joey touched Shannon’s cheek, running his fingers along her jawbone, and tracing a path along her hairline, smoothing back a few stray strands of her auburn hair. Shannon could feel her heart beating quickly, and she held her breath, hardly believing what was happening.

"You have very beautiful eyes,” Joey whispered, drawing closer to Shannon. He put his arms around her waist, and pulled her into a soft, sweet kiss.