|
Ain't No Stopping Us Now by Lyricalfiction
Number of reviews: 1
Print:  Chapter or Story
"Um, JC?" Cam said, stepping in the room. "Oh hi." She said, eyeing everyone else.
"Hey, who are you?" Triscia asked, bluntly.
"Cameron Gates." Cam said. "JC ... you're not ready." Looking at Cam, dressed in a wine colored gown and strappy heels and her hair all done, JC remembered why the date November 6th sounded so familiar.
He hardly had the courage to say 'I forgot'
"Oh no." Cam said slowly. "Don't tell me you forgot."
"Triscia Diego." Triscia offered her hand. "Pleased to meet you."
"You too." Cam said, shaking her hand quickly. "Please say you didn't forget!"
"Give me two seconds, Cam." JC pleaded, before he realized he had left his good suit at the dry cleaners and the dry cleaners were closed.
"I can't believe you." Cam said, her voice full of anguished passion, like she and JC were the only two people in the room. The other members of Nsync were used to her theatrics and entering varying stages of boredom. "This is the most important night of my life, so far, and you forgot. And you KNOW what you were thinking of! Your stupid idea." She put a hand to eyes for a second and sighed loudly.
"I'm so sorry." JC started.
"Save it. I can't begin to deal with you right now."
"What's happening tonight?" Triscia asked. She had never known when to stay out of others people's business.
Cam turned to her. "I'm getting an award tonight."
"Really?" Triscia squealed. "For what?"
"The Greater Orlando Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation's Volunteer of the Year award. I'm the keynote speaker. I even wrote a speech and everything."
"That's so cool. Volunteering is great. I'd love to go see."
"You know what?" Cam brightened slightly. "You can. You can have JC’s ticket."
"Look, Cam." JC said. "I can get ready, 10 minutes..."
"No." Cam said harshly. "I don't want you there." She turned her back to him. "Come on Triscia. Apparently, somethings are just more important than keeping dates. Somethings just take priority over me."
"Okay, Cameron." Triscia waved bye. "See ya guys." The girls left. JC had been feeling bad but now he felt a little angry.
"Ooo, JC’s in the doghouse." Joey teased.
JC looked at the ceiling as if asking for guidance or strength or something. Then he directed his attention back to the guys. "My house...tomorrow night?” He suggested.
"Yeah, baby!" Justin cried. "Tomorrow night is all about us!"
“Can we please go over the plan again?” Chris deadpanned.
* * *
"This is very classy." Triscia commented as she escorted Cam into the dressy black tie affair being held at the prestigious Hyatt Hotel in downtown Orlando. She felt a little under dressed, having no time to change, in whatever jeans she had been wearing and a tank top.
"Yes, very very classy." Cam wiped at her eyes. "I can't believe him sometimes."
"Yeah..." Triscia said, eyeing the desserts on a tray. "Free eats?"
"Uh-huh." Cam said, still sounding distressed. "I mean, I told him about this a month ago!"
"Oh really?" Triscia was itching to sit down. The waiters were passing out salads.
"Yeah, and now he thinks his stupid group takes priority over my big award. I mean, I'm his girlfriend but he sure is preoccupied. Everytime we finally are together alone--a rare occasion, I might add--all he can talk is Nsync this, Nsync that. Listen to the joke Joey told me. I have a funny story about Justin--"
"Aww, that's so cute." Triscia interrupted harshly, nodding towards the tables. "We sit there?"
"It's NOT cute. I HATE it. I hate Nsync and all the time he puts into it and all that. There's no time for me. It's like he could never love me cause his stupid group sucks it all up." Cam crossed her arms. "Gotta do something."
"Hmm, yes, you're probably right. I don't think JC could love you while he's in Nsync. Let's eat." Triscia bounced on her toes while Cam stared at her in disbelief.
"Why not?"
"Food, food, food." Triscia chanted, tired of tact and formalities.
"Why not?!" Cam repeated, voice rising. "I... I might love him."
"He could never choose, Cameron." Triscia said, turning towards her. "And if you make him, I think you know you would lose. Oh look, your name!"
Triscia bounded towards the table. Cam stood back, frowning, thinking to herself.
"That is SO not cool." She muttered to herself, following Triscia to her seat. Triscia read the place for JC and sat in it. The table was empty, besides Cam and herself. The other placemats read 'Transcontinental Investors'. Apparently, they were late.
"Wow," Triscia remarked, mouth full of a really good salad. "Transcon really does have their hands in everything."
"Transcon?" Cam repeated. "Oh yeah, they're our biggest donator." Their table was smack dab in front of the huge stage. They had a great view.
"What does breast cancer have to do with mind control?" Triscia wondered.
"Excuse me?" Cam picked at her salad, she was upset about what Triscia had said. She wasn't sure if she liked her very much.
"Oh, JC didn't tell you? They left Transcon because they were making mind control drugs... I think."
"I don't care!" Cam cried. "Don't tell me about Nsync and their 'problems.'"
"Sounding a little selfish there?" Triscia raised an eyebrow.
"I don't care!" Cam said. "This is my night and it's all about me."
"Oh... sorry. Are you nervous?"
"I'm very nervous and I wish JC was here to help me out."
"He wanted to come, you're the one that's mad at him."
"I just don't understand why he has to be such a... workaholic!"
"Hey, we all are workaholics. Even you. I'm sure you worked your ass off to get this award."
"Yeah," Cam mumbled. "But there's gotta be some way to get his attention turned to me."
Triscia turned back to her salad and was disappointed to see it gone.
"Mind control?" Cam finally yelped.
"That's what I said." Triscia signaled the waiter and asked for a salad refill. He looked at her funny. Five executives from Transcon came in and sat at their table. Cam made sure to be very friendly and flirty with them.
Mind control drugs, she thought, smiling to herself, just EXACTLY what I need.
* * *
Sunday was a day of crime. It was a little ironic because Sunday is traditionally a holy day, but what can you do? Sunday was the day Transcon was closed all day and everyone knew the guards left at five and still got paid the nightshift. Lance fiddled with the contents of his briefcase which contained 6 headphone walkie talkies and a small wire scrambler. Lance's obsession with Radio Shack had helped the guys a lot while planning this "high tech" operation.
Justin, JC and Chris were at home, waiting for nine o'clock. At one o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was high in the sun, beating down on the earth with May intensity in the middle of November. JC set down a bucket of dirt roughly and walked around the side to grab the hose.
Justin walked onto the front porch letting the screen slam behind him. It was warm enough for shorts, so that's what Justin wore. His basketball was held firmly under the crook of his arm.
"Making magic." JC answer, feeding the water to the bucket of dirt.
"You do realize that makes mud, do you not?" Justin asked.
"Yes,... I do." JC pulled the hose back and stuck his hand in his homemade mud. "Perfect."
"Ewww... what's it for?" Justin asked. JC took the bucket over to his black jeep just as Chris rollerbladed up the walk.
"It's for undercover operation. We can't walk to Transcon, we have to drive. So we'll take my car."
"Mud? What for?" Justin insisted.
"This." JC said, taking a handful and smearing it all over his license plate.
"Ooo, JC, that's illegal!" Justin said, gleefully, as Chris wandered over.
"Looks like fun." He said. JC finished cover the numbers, then wiped some mud away to make it look more natural.
"Okay... if they know an Orlando license plate with a number..." he paused to read the number he had left uncovered. “2, then we're screwed."
"JC, gotta finish the job." Chris said, taking a handful of mud and throwing it at his car.
"Um, excuse me." JC said.
"You want it to look like you went off roading, do you not?" Chris said a-matter-of-factly. "You gotta make the whole thing muddy."
"Oh good idea." JC said. He cringed as Chris threw mud at the car violently. "Let's be gentle."
"Yeah okay." Chris puts his hands on the car and smiled with pure pleasure. So messy. So fun! JC began to join him and they worked on making the chair a giant mess. Justin watched from the safety of 20 yards away. He would have liked to help, but dirt just wasn't his thing.
JC smeared the front, Chris worked on the sides. They bumped into each other in the middle.
"Hey." JC cried.
"Something on your shirt." Chris said, touching him with his dirty hands.
"Hey!" JC repeated, grabbing Chris, smearing brown all over his T-shirt.
"Oh it's on now!" Chris whooped, grabbing a handful of mud and flinging it at JC.
"Oh no you didn't!" JC threw some at Chris, ducking a second attack. The third one hit JC in the face.
JC wiped his eyes calmly. Chris snickered.
"Oh..." JC said slowly. "You'd better run." Chris started backing up when JC picked up the bucket. He chased Chris around the Jeep a few times.
"No fair, No fair!" Chris begged. "I'm sorry."
"Too late for that, Kirkpatrick." JC said, cornering him near Justin who was focused on his basketball, world blocked out of mind.
"The car, man, I was trying to dirty the car." Chris explained.
"No you weren't, you started this, you're gonna end it." JC heaved the bucket of mud at Chris. It flew at him in slow motion and Chris nimbly jumped out of the way and shoved Justin in the mud's path. Justin was absolutely covered and for a minute nobody said anything.
Then Justin screamed.
JC and Chris burst into hysterical laughter and Justin wailed, "What the HELL?!! I'm all DIRTY! My hair! Oh my God, you got in my hair! I'm gonna kill you, both of you. Oh God, my hair!" He didn't even pause to give them 'I'm gonna kill you' looks before sprinting inside, clothes dripping.
Chris and JC looked at each other and started laughing again.
"What a pretty boy." Chris snorted.
"That was sort of mean." JC wiped his eyes, before thinking about Justin's horrified expression. He burst into laughter again.
"So..." JC gasped, trying to catch his breath. "How do you think it looks?"
Chris surveyed the car. "It looks... like someone put a whole bunch of mud on it."
"Perfect."
* * *
Nine o'clock, the breaking and entering hour. Chris, JC, Justin, Lance and Joey waited into the parking lot and Triscia drove up, lights off. She got out of the car.
"Here for emergencies." She said, walking up to them.
Lance handed out the walkie talkies. "We'll tell you what to do." He said to Justin and Joey.
They nodded, slipping them on. Justin opened his hands. "Got the keys to Johnny's office."
"Great." JC nodded. "You'll have five minutes."
"Why?" Triscia piped up.
"Oh yeah, you weren't here for the rest of the plan." JC said. "We're going to be short-circuiting the power in the studio via fuse box. It takes five minutes for the emergency lights to come on. Then the security systems will be back up. That's why we've gotta be out."
"Wow, impressive." Triscia said. "Very Mission: Impossible."
"Let's hope it's possible." Joey mumbled.
"No you guys are going through the back door cause that's the only door that's electronically locked." Lance said. "I guess... we're ready."
"Wait." JC said. "We have to say a prayer or something." They bowed their heads. "Um, dear God, please forgive us for what we are about to do. Without Transcon, we might not be where we are today, but it is their fault because they are being so mean."
"Great prayer." Chris said.
"God bless everyone and help us not get into too much trouble." JC looked up. "Amen." Everyone mumbled 'Amen' after him.
"Ahh, the good old days." Joey said, looking sideways at the building in front of them, in the center of the strip mall.
"Yeah..." Justin agreed. "And look, across the street, the Rite-Aid of dreams. Complete with free bottled water--"
"And free Pringles!" Joey cried. "We have got to get Jennifer to hook us up again."
"Okay, that was then, this is now. We've got to get out CD. We don't work for them anymore." JC said. "We work for ourselves."
Lance checked his indigo watch. "Let's go."
Chris involuntarily sucked in a deep breath.
The time was upon them.
|
