"So, how did it go?" Justin asked JC, referring to his breakfast with Leah.

"It was good." JC replied, as he walked into the hotel room, where Justin was already getting ready for rehearsal. He purposely left out the part about the girl Cara asking if they were a couple, and him being disappointed about Leah having a boyfriend, because he already new what Justin would say.

"What happened?" Justin asked curious.

"Well, when I went to pick her up, I gave her flowers, then-"

"Wait what?" Justin asked, sounding shocked.

"What?" JC asked confused.

"You gave her flowers?" Justin asked in disbelief.

"Um, yeah." JC answered, wondering where this was heading.

"And you don't have feelings for her?"

"Justin, like I've told you a thousand times, I'm completely over her, man!" JC said defensively.

"Right, so you're over her, but you bring her flowers?"

"What's wrong with that, we're friends?" JC asked innocently enough.

"No you give your girlfriend flowers, not your friend. Especially when she's a girl!"

"Justin, come on. Don't be rediculous. It meant nothing."

"JC, it couldn't just mean nothing!"

"It meant nothing!" JC reiterated, getting a bit irritated.

"Okay dude, just remember that you have a girlfriend." Justin said, putting his hands up in surrender.

"I know I have a girlfriend!" JC responded, walking over to his suitcase to get ready for rehearsal.

"Correction. You do have a girlfriend, and her name is not Leah!" Justin said, almost teasing.

"Ha ha." JC said sarcastically, tossing Justin a look.

Three Weeks Later
5:30 am, is what the alarm clock read. It was five thirty in the freakin' morning, and yet Leah couldn't get to sleep. Her show was over at 11:00, and she got back to her hotel room around 12:30, taken a long hot bath to relax, and mentally prepared herself for the busy day of promotion to come. Since 2:00 o'clock she lie in her bed waiting to fall asleep. She was in a huge king sized bed, and yet she couldn't sleep. Any normal person would've fallen asleep as soon as she hit the pillow, but not Leah. Her mind is what kept her up, it's like she couldn't shut it off. Sure the bed was fluffy, and the sheets were soft, and the pillows felt like Heaven. She had a big comfy bed all to herself. All to herself. That was the problem. There was no one to share the bed with. No warm body, no strong arms to warp around her, and make her feel safe and warm. Every night was spent in a different hotel room, in a different bed alone. Alone, left with nothing but her thoughts, and that's what kept her tossing and turning all night.

All she could think of was, Tyson, and if he was lonely without her. Or her family, and if her grandmother was okay. Or JC. She couldn't stop thinking about JC, and she didn't know why. Sure, she thought about her friends, but not as much as she thought about JC, but the thought of him nagged at her. It nearly drove her crazy.

Sighing, a frustrated Leah got out of her bed and decided that she needed some air. She tossed the white cotton hotel robe on, and walked out onto the balcony. Leaning on the rail and closing her eyes, Leah took a deep breath, taking in the night air, trying to clear her mind. She leaned her head back and opened her eyes, admiring the beautiful stars. Leaning her head back up again she took in the beautiful city of Milan. It seemed so beautiful, so peaceful, so serene at night. Times like this made her think of JC. When they younger, their destination was always Italy.

"If you could be any place in the world right now, where would you be?" JC would ask Leah, as they lay on a blanket in his backyard listening to the radio, and eating junk.

"Italy." Leah would reply.

"Why Italy?" JC asked.

"I don't know. I've read a lot of books on Italy. It seems like a really beautiful country. I wanna see Milan, Capri, Rome, Venice. I wanna see as much of Italy that I can see. And it's far far away from home." Leah explained.
"Why would you wanna be so far away from home?" JC asked. Although he loved to travel, he couldn't imagine wanting to be away from home.

"My parents. They just don't get it. They don't get me I'm the total black sheep of the family."

"Come on. No your not."

"I am! Aiden just got accepeted into Harvard, and Jill is like a super genius. And what am I doing? Singing and dancing!"

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing." JC said.

"To my parents it is." Leah replied, now rolling over to look JC in the face.

"You don't know them Josh," she continued. "They don't understand how important this is to me, that this is what I love to do. They think me being a musician isn't realistic. I'll never be important to them unless I'm a doctor, or a lawyer, or a scientist, or unless I win a Nobel Prize." Leah sighed.

"Well, look at it this way. You at fifteen years old, already have a career, when your brother and sister don't. You get to be on T.V. doing what you love for millions to see! How many teenagers get to say that!" JC said putting things in perspective. JC was always good at that, making Leah see the brighter side of things.

"How do you do that?" Leah asked.

"Do what?"

"Put things in perspective like that. Whenever I feel down about something, you make me see things in a different light." Leah answered.
"I just hate to see you down. Besides, I'm sure your parents love you and want the best for you. You can't choose your family, so you should stop trying to run from them. They're your family, not monsters!"

"Like I said Josh, you'd just have to know them! My family is so insufferable. I can't wait until I'm eighteen. I'm out of that house, and moving so far away, so fast!" Leah said.

"Just remember, 'Home is where the heart is'." JC said, reciting the old saying.

"Yeah, well my heart's in Italy." Leah replied.

"Well, I guess I'll have to go with you then. What kind of friend would I be if I let you runaway to some foregin country, where you don't even know the language!" JC pointed out.

"I could learn the language!" Leah giggled.

"Yeah, but then you wouldn't know anyone there. So, I'll still have to go with you, and protect you." JC replied, half joking.

"Protect me? Really?" Leah asked, smiling.

"Yes protect you." JC said.

"Wow, I must really have the whole damsel in distress thing going for me huh?" Leah quipped.

"No, not really, I know you can hold your own. But you know me, I'm just being overprotective. Besides, I'll use any excuse to be by your side." JC said honestly taking her hand in his.

"Same here Josh." Leah said, laying her head on his chest. The mood had suddenly changed to one more sentimental.

"Anywhere I'm going, you're coming too." JC declared.

"Josh." Was all Leah could say, a lump forming in her throat. She closed her eyes, blinking back tears. It touched her, it really did. She'd never felt so deeply cared for by anyone in her life, not even by her family, with the exception of her Nana.

"I mean it, no matter what happens, I would never leave you behind."

"Ditto." Leah agreed. The two lay there for a moment in silence.

"A house." JC said, breaking the silence.

"What?" Leah asked confused.

"We'd have to buy a house to stay in when we get to Italy. You know, instead of paying to stay in a hotel every night." JC explained, fantasizing, trying to lighten the mood.

"A house would be nice." Leah said, going along with the fantasy, laying her head in JC's chest.

"Nothing big or flashy, maybe a small cottage in Sicily, just big enough for the two of us." JC envisioned.

"A cottage sounds nice. And let's not forget the food! Delicious, authentic Italian food every night! How amazing does that sound!"

"Yeah, but we can't eat out every night. You'd have to learn how to cook of course." JC joked.

"There is nothing wrong with my cooking!" Leah gasped, elbowing him.

"Moving on!" JC joked. "We could ride in gondolas at night and watch the stars." JC said.

"Yeah, that sounds nice." Leah smiled, picturing the perfect escape.

"How about this, when we're not out conquering the world with our music. We'll spend our down time in Italy. Just me and you in the perfect vacation house." JC suggested.

"For real Josh? You really mean that?" Leah asked in disbelief, she hadn't actually took him seriously.

"Of course I really mean it!" JC responded

"That sounds perfect. Our perfect little escape! This could be just our thing!" Leah said, smiling feeling butterflies in her stomach, and a warm feeling in her heart.

"It is perfect, we could go there together and just get away from it all when we need to." JC said, gently stroking Leah's back.

"Yeah. Our special place."

"No matter what crazy things happen in our lives, we'll always have our special place of escape. We'll always have Italy." JC promised.

  Now as adults, their wildest dreams came true. They were making music, touring the world, seeing some many different places, and most importantly impacting people's lives. But at the same time, they were always at opposite ends of the earth at different times. Their schedules were crazy and hectic. They worked hard and and hardly ever got any downtime. They didn't eat any decent meals, or get in a good sleep. This kind of life was crazy. She sometimes wondered if she was doing the right thing after all. Leah looked down at the city of Milan over the railing, and sighed. She knew she shouldn't complain. She was so blessed to have a music career, and get to travel to places, and do things that were beyond some people's wildest dreams. But with the good, also comes the bad. There was a downside to all of this. She was lonely. Sure, she had Tyson. She wasn't alone, but she was lonely. She loved him dearly, but he just didn't get it. Not like JC. And here she was in Italy her most favorite place in the world, and she couldn't even see it. The thing that stung the most? That she had made it to Italy, and JC had too. Just not together. A tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered the promise JC had made to her. "We'll always have Italy." Well, things hadn't gone exactly as planned after all.

"Wish you were here Josh." Leah whispered to herself, as she walked back into her room.