Chapter 10:

The night of JC’s party finally arrives. Mina and Madison get to the Roosevelt early with Rachel to coordinate set up and everything with the caterers. Once the party began they planned to turn over everything to Rachel but Mina was sure all would go well. 

Mina was kind of excited to see JC again. She hadn’t seen him since the awkward night at the restaurant but she hadn’t seen him much either. She didn’t know his schedule but vaguely remembers him mentioning having to go out of town for something. Mina sort of missed him. 

She took a look around, everything was going great. The caterers had taken over the kitchens and the audiovisual crew was hooking up the video screens and testing the slideshow. The screens look a little out of place with the old Hollywood decor but she couldn’t wait to see the old photos of JC. She silently thanks Ms. Karen for sending her so many great pics- there were even quite a few with her, which made her smile. Mina snaps out of her thoughts as Rachel walks towards her. 

“Guests should be here soon, JC should be arriving fashionably late as planned” Rachel explains. It was his party so they staged for JC to arrive awhile after the first wave of guests to “surprise him.” Mina knew he loved being cheesy so last minute she got orange balloons and confetti and a huge Happy Birthday JC banner. She even planned to have everyone yell “Happy Birthday” when he walked in. JC would appreciate her attempt at being a cheeseball like him. 

20 minutes later- most of the guests had arrived and were gathered in the main room, awaiting JC’s arrival. 

“He’s here” Mina hears someone call out and JC appears, holding Charlotte’s hand. His black leather jacket over a black tee and jeans, his glasses completing the look made Mina’s heart skip a beat. Charlotte on the other hand was wearing the smallest, silver sparkly dress Mina had ever seen but she keeps her thoughts to herself. 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” everyone shouts, tossing confetti as balloons drop from the ceiling. JC’s face lights up while Charlotte scowls as confetti lands in her hair. She lets out a groan. 

“Ugh babe!” she cries. JC ignores her, taking the time to greet his guests. A girl, Charlotte’s friend- Mina assumes, rescues her from the confetti and drags her off in the direction of the ladies' room. She chuckles as the party officially kicks off. Mina makes her way back to the bar to find Madison. She would let JC mingle with his friends, he would find her eventually. The music starts up in the next room. They had moved couches around to create a dance space but left the main room open as a lounge area since that’s where the bar was. 

JC smiles looking down at the confetti and balloons. It had Mina’s name written all over it. Of course, Charlotte was complaining- she had been bitching about practically everything all day. She wanted JC to join her in Vancouver, where she was scheduled to start filming on some pilot for the CW. She just didn’t understand that he just wanted to spend time with his friends and his family. They had been fighting about it the entire car ride to the party. He ignores her as her friend- whose name he forgot, takes her to the ladies' room. JC glances around and frowns. He can’t find her. He knew she had to be here. Friends surround him and he gets sidetracked. He breaks free moments later as food appears and drinks start flowing. JC cranes his head over the crowd and immediately spots her over by the bar. The crowd seems to melt away as soon as he sees her face from across the room. He makes his way to her. 

“Willie! Nice touch with the confetti. I loved it!” JC exclaims, lifting Mina in a hug and swinging her around. 

“I knew you’d like it! Hopefully, Charlotte got it all out of her hair” Mina replies as he sets her back down on the floor. 

“She’ll- Char will be okay. She tends to overreact” he adds, ordering himself a drink. Mina quiets. Her eyes roam the room. She recognizes so many guests but didn’t have the nerve to walk over and introduce herself. Madison would definitely drag her over to talk to people but she was currently busy, dancing with some guy Mina didn’t know. Two guys approach the bar and start chatting with JC after exchanging hugs. Mina couldn’t make out the conversation but they were very happy to see him. 

“Willie, there’s some people here you have to meet!” JC says happily. The look of shock on the guys' faces was astonishing. “Wills, this is Dale and Tony. We did Mouse Club together!” JC exclaims. 

“This is Willie?” Dale asks as Tony lets out a low whistle

“What?” Mina asks, confused

“Josh talked about his friend Willie from back in Bowie so much but…” Dale begins

“Right on! We thought you were a guy for the longest time” Tony laughs “You can imagine our surprise” he finishes as Mina elbows JC in the stomach. 

“Wilhemina, everyone has always called me Mina, except Josh, he insists on calling me Willie” she explains with a chuckle. She may still be a little bitter but she was glad JC made such good friends in Orlando. 

Dale and JC catch up while Tony and Mina get more drinks. “You guys really got close at MMC huh?” she asks

“Yeah… we all came on during the same season so we got pretty close with each other. A few of us would go back home in the off time but a lot of us stayed behind in Orlando. We had our own little family. It was nice. Dale and JC are like brothers” 

“Aww…JC and I didn’t talk much while he was there. He sort of forgot about me” Mina tells him, the alcohol making her straightforward. 

“Forget about you? Very unlikely” Tony laughs, taking a sip of his beer. 

“I mean not completely, he talked about me a bit to you guys obviously” 

“A bit? He wrote a song about you” Tony states. Mina glances over his shoulder at JC. He was laughing at something Dale was telling him. She was at a loss for words. A song about her? 

“Tony talking your ear off?” JC asks, smiling at her. 

“Miss me?” a voice whispers in JC’s ear interrupting them. Charlotte was draped all over him. Dale and Tony take that moment to excuse themselves. 

“Hey babe, remember Mina?” JC replies

“The party lady. It looks great but it would have looked better with my ideas” she slurs. 

Drunk already? The party had only been going for half an hour, maybe 45 minutes tops. 

“Excuse us?” JC tells Mina, taking Charlotte by the hand and pulling her over to a quiet corner. Mina their argument wasn’t going to end well. 

“Trouble in paradise?” Madison asks, choosing that moment to rejoin Mina. 

“Looks like it,” Mina replies as Madi orders them shots. It was a party after all and they both could loosen up a little.