“Keep it down, Kelly…” Jenna begged.  “Yes, JC is the one who made the call.”

“It all makes sense now.  I saw him leave the ER that day, the reason why you got hurt the way you did.”

“What?” Lance wondered.

“He didn't tell you?  This didn’t make the group chat?” Jenna asked Lance.

“Shut up, you made the group chat?” Kelly asked excitedly.

“Not now…” Jenna replied.  “After we came here, we went up to my place to watch TV.  He assured me several times things were strictly platonic.  We got to talking, and I told him how I don’t really have that many friends.  My intensity for my fandoms is apparently off putting, and my ex made all our friends choose sides after our breakup.  He listed great qualities about me, how I deserved better.  He hugged me, looking sad, as if it was happening to him.  Then he kissed me, promptly ruining it by saying it meant nothing.  I felt like such a pity project, something to stroke his ego…”

“Jenna, I know JC, that’s not him at all.  He genuinely cares about you, making sure you were ok,” Lance assured her.

“It’s true,” Kelly agreed.  “When you went back into the hospital after what he said, I unlocked your phone, found his number, and sent him a text.  He came to see you the next day, Jenna.  He’s been texting me, not a lot, but he’s paying for your pills, paying whatever insurance doesn’t cover of your hospital stays, doctor visits, all of it’s being billed to him.  I’ll hand you my phone if you want.”

“If he’s been doing all of this, why hasn’t he texted ME since all of this?” Jenna wondered.

“Because he wanted to make sure you were ok.  He was afraid it would give you another seizure or something.  He hopes you’ll make contact, eventually.  He’s still being your guardian angel, looking out for you.”

“Then what are you ladies here for, if you didn't know we’d met?” Lance asked Kelly.

“I got a new job, so we’re here to celebrate.  I’ll be teaching kindergarten.  It all happened so fast, literally getting a call to come in and interview on Friday.  I hadn’t even applied to their school, but they found me somehow.  I even asked the principal about it, and they said someone had referred me, so I guess I need to thank an old coworker somewhere…  Do you think I should contact him?”

“I won’t lie,” Lance sighed, “he’s been a bit out of sorts since that day.  So maybe you should, if you feel comfortable.  If he wants to give you space, then take your time.”

“I’ve been trying to keep it out of my head, but something he said popped into my head yesterday, and I think it helped in my interview.  It was kinda nice, thinking JC cared about me, not just pitied me…”

“I really think he does,” Kelly said.  “I doubt he’d go this far out of his way for someone out of pity.”

“That’s not who he is.  I think you know that already,” Lance said softly.  

“He’s not gonna be here today, is he?” Jenna asked, worried.

“Probably not. He tells me in advance. He’s got some dinner thing with Eric tomorrow night, I know that…”

“Eric?” Jenna asked. 

“His manager…” Lance said.  “Surprised you didn’t know that.”

“Like I said, I’m a Justin girl with JC tendencies,” she shrugged, pink warning her cheeks in embarrassment. 

“I feel those tendencies are going to become more frequent,” Kelly smiled. 

“No. He’s made it clear he doesn’t have feelings for me like that.  Just getting to be friends with him, if I can call it that, is enough.”

Their food arrived, Lance leaving them to eat and enjoy the drag show in peace. If only Jenna could have peace, her mind racing with excitement for her new job, but also curious of what she should do about JC.

“I can see why JC loves coming here, these drag queens are AMAZING!” Kelly said.  “I wonder which one he wrote that song about, and if we’ll ever get to hear it…”

“Doubtful,” Jenna sighed.  “The closest we get is someone else singing his songs at this point.  We all know that’s not the same as hearing it from him.”

“You’re talking about him, that’s a good sign,” Kelly noted.

“I’m not ready to contact him, Kelly.  Not yet.  It really hurt, like he didn’t want me to get the wrong idea with things.”

“He didn’t, and you don’t want to split them up anyway, God knows why…”

“Because they love each other.  You see how they look at each other when they’re pictured together.  Like it’s straight out of a fairy tale.”

“You know that’s not how things happened, right?  If anything, how YOU met him…”

“Stop.  Stop putting ideas in my head that will never happen.  This was a mistake, we never should have come here.  Now you know and you’re not gonna drop it.  Like I’m the heroine in a romantic Hallmark movie, the nobody that makes a pop star fall in love and go for his dreams.  That’s not what’s happening.  I’m a friend, at most, a sidenote on his life if we’re being brutally honest.  At some point this is going to end.  I’m not from his world.  Lance is nice to me because JC told them about me.”

Kelly’s eyes widened, Jenna feeling a hand on her shoulder.  “You don’t really think that, do you?”

Jenna looked up, seeing Lance once again.  “I'm nobody, Lance.  If JC hadn’t brought me in here, you’d have no interest in me beyond being a customer or fan.”

“I’ll give you that, but once he brought you in, I got to know you, I could see why he likes you, even as a friend.   I’m sorry that he made you feel a certain way, but it wasn’t meant to hurt you.  If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t have told you to come back, and if you did, I wouldn’t have come to your table, twice…”  

“I guess I hadn’t thought of that,” Jenna admitted.

“You are welcome here any time, I mean that.  If we’re having an event here or at Heart, let JC or me know and I’ll get you on the VIP list.”

“It’s so weird, we figured we’d meet you like this, but to actually have it happen…” Kelly sighed.  “Though we’re missing JC.”

“Been there, done that,” Jenna smiled.

“Are you going with her to Pop2000?” Lance wondered.

“No, I can’t get the time off.  It’s just a couple days, but other people asked for it off with better reasons than to see a former pop star host a concert.”

“You really didn't tell them that, did you?” Lance chuckled.

“No.  But I still got denied time off.”

“She’s a nurse.  At least now I’ll have time off built into my life.  I can’t wait to start tomorrow.  Most of the room is set up already, just need to reset some of it for the start of the year.  We’ll pick borders and stuff for the boards, move the desks around.  We won’t have class lists yet, so we can’t make their tags for desks and cubbies and stuff yet…”

“Wow, you are excited, aren’t you?” Lance chuckled.

“She could go on and on if you let her.  Ask her what she did for an impromptu lesson she did during her interview…”

“I just wanted to come by and say hi one more time.  I’m glad you came in, Jenna.  Your whole meal is on me, it was a treat seeing you and I hope you talk to JC soon.  Sounds like it might be good for both of you if you do.  When you’re ready…”

“Thanks, Lance,” Jenna smiled softly.

They left  Rocco’s after the show, getting back into Kelly’s car.  “Ok, am I allowed to freak out now?” Kelly asked.

“Can we get out of the parking lot first?”

“Fine…”  Kelly drove out of the parking lot, turning to head towards their apartment.  “Cover your ears,” Kelly warned, before giving the loudest scream she could.  “I just met Lance and JC saved your life!  OMG, how is this real life?!”  Kelly proceeded to blast *NSYNC the rest of the way home, Jenna smiling as she thought about what Lance had said.