Chapter Five: Preppy Days and Silver for Your Thoughts
“Oh it’s been so long since I’ve smelled old clothes!” Ella said with a dreamy sigh, her fingers holding onto the silk fabric of a dress that she was admiring, “look Nic, its aqua. I just love aqua”
Nicola glanced towards the vintage shop, laughed and grabbed Ella by the arm, “come on! We aren’t shopping for you”
“No “ correction…you’re not shopping for me. But I on the other hand, am shopping for whatever my little eyes find beautiful”
Nicola gave Ella a look, “little eyes?” she scoffed, “sometimes you look like a fish you’re eyes are so big”
Ella stopped dead in her tracks and gave a pout, “Nic!” she exclaimed, immediately turning to look at her reflection in a panel of glass. Seconds went by as she studied her face normally, and then ever so slowly, she sucked in her cheeks, widened her eyes and started puffing air in her mouth. Within a single glance at herself she cracked up and turned to Nicola, “I look like a fish!”
Nodding her head, Nicola sighed, “Sad thing isn’t it?”
“It’s actually pretty cool. I’d rather look like a fish than a rabbit “ and I once knew this guy, and he looked like a turtle. It was so weird. He had this little itty bitty neck and this huge body…it was so crazy…” she paused to take a breath, “but he was really nice”
Nicola just shook her head and kept on walking, “you never cease to amaze me…Oh, and I bet he would like this!”
Ella took one look at the white oxford that Nicola was pointing at, “it’s a little boring don’t you think?”
“We’re talking about Clay here, Ellie” Nicola said, causing the both of them to giggle.
“You confuse me, Nic “ you KNOW that you’re engaged to a…a…a dork! But you still humor every one around you by pretending like you’re in love” Ella said, her eyes roaming over the men’s shirts.
“Ella…there’s something you don’t understand…you don’t understand that I do LOVE him. Yeah, he’s boring, I’m sure he’s lacking in EVERY category that you have you’re ideal mate set under…but I love him all the same. You don’t see how he looks at me, or how we feel when we’re together…you don’t see that” Nicola explained, still holding on to the oxford as she spoke.
“Yeah, Nic…but I see YOU. And you’re not happy in the way that I know you can be happy…he is slowly changing you and you don’t even realize it, he’s made you blind Nic”
Nicola took that opportunity to laugh and shake her head, “You’re so dramatic, Ella”
Ella let out a small groan and snatched the shirt out of Nicola’s hands, “Nicola “ you don’t have to use my reputation as a way for you to sneak out of the truth”
Grabbing the shirt, Nicola stomped off to the register and left Ella eyeing a striped polo. Ella simply shook her head and continued to eye the shirt. It reminded her of Justin on one of his preppy days. She smiled to herself and then immediately came to the realization that she was picking out clothes for him! And not only that “ she had categorized how he dressed? The realization was an annoying one and she scolded herself for bringing the subject of Justin up. She hadn’t seen, heard or talked to him the entire day. It was quite a change because nearly every other day she had been on the tour; she had conversed with him for at least a few minutes, sometimes a few hours. They were friends. She had to smile at that thought. He had a full day of interviews and signings, things like that, and she was shocked at the way in which she missed him. She didn’t miss him in the, romantic or cheesy way…more like the friendly way…an intellectual companion of sorts.
“Let’s go” Nicola said stiffly, trying to get over her attitude, “who’s the shirt for?”
Ella looked down at where here thumb was running over the fabric of the polo and she shook her head, “no one! I just liked the colors”
Nicola frowned, “looks like something Justin would wear”
Beginning to release a giggle, Ella stopped herself and sighed, “Nic “ I’m sorry about earlier…can we continue this shopping day like old friends? Laughing and joking and making fun of each other…”
“Yes” Nicola said with a straight face, “under one condition”
“Anything” Ella said, noting that Nicola had been letting her hair grow out past her chin.
“Tell me what’s going on between you and Justin Timberlake”
Ella flipped her hair behind her shoulders and scoffed, “me and Justin? Puh-lease!”
“There’s something! I know you were thinking about him when you saw that shirt because you’re cheeks were an unusual shade of pink and they usually don’t get that way when thinking about someone like your dad or your uncle or your cousin…”
“We’re just good friends. He likes to laugh, and I like to laugh…and…um…that’s about all we have in common!” Ella said, “But we get along in this eerie way…and I know I drive him crazy, but for some odd reason I think he enjoys it…not many people do”
Nicola nodded, “go on”
“There’s nothing else to say! We’re friends “ he’s too…too…pretty for me” Ella said, “every little strand of hair in place…every little unshaven whisker gelled down and smoothed…every little piece of lint gone from his shirt, every single speck of dirt wiped away from his tennis shoes…every single nos““Ella was interrupted by a hand being shoved over her mouth and she started laughing and swiped it away, “just kidding”
----------------------------------------------------
“Nice to have met you” Justin said, shaking hands firmly with a business woman who looked entirely too excited to see him. It was yet another meet and greet session with a Houston radio station. While every one else on tour was out on the town having a grand ol’ time, he was stuck in a stuffy office room with what seemed to be a thousand screaming girls and a forty year old blonde who was eyeing him with mascara thickened lashes. Schmoozing was a bore…but most of the time, it was his job…and most of the time “ he loved it “ but as his eyes drifted towards what seemed to be a thousand people, he decided that today was not one of those days.
Justin looked at the girls surrounding him and he glued a permanent smile on his face as they waved and yelled their never ending love to him. And Ella wondered why he had such an ego! He smiled. Ella. She was a nice girl. He had no idea how their friendship had grown to a place where he actually missed her due to not seeing her for a single day. She was utterly annoying and he had experienced more arguments with her in the past two weeks than he had experienced with his own mother in the past two years.
However, the one person who he argued with even more than Ella was Maddie, and he wanted to beat his head against a wall when he realized for the first time that he hadn’t called her in over three days. Life on the road was busy, and she was learning that the hard way “ by not hearing from her boyfriend. Justin gave himself a mental note to call her as soon as he was dismissed from the station. Looking at the long line of girls waiting to have their posters, tee shirts and CD’s signed, he sighed and fought not to look at his watch. It was going to be a long day, and he definitely wouldn’t have a friendly voice to speak to when it was all over. With yet another cheery smile, he waved at a few girls and mentally prepared himself for the yelling match that he would be involved in later on in the evening.
Late That Night
A masculine figure sat almost perfectly still on a concrete block, his body covered by an oversized hooded sweatshirt. A pair of legs swung back and forth, the soles of his tennis shoes dragging themselves through a pile of gravel as he studied the numbers on his cell phone. It took every thing in him to finally dial her number and within seconds a ring sounded off in his ears. He prepared himself for the conversation by raising his eyes towards the stars, “help me God” he said with a slight sigh.
“Hello?”
He smiled at her voice, she knew it was him and she was trying not to sound too harsh, “hey baby”
“Hey” Maddie said, her tone dull and bored.
“I’m sorry”
“It seems as if all of our conversations start with you apologizing” Maddie finally said after a few seconds of silence.
“That’s because I’m a loser” Justin admitted with a grin into the phone receiver.
“Cant argue with that statement”
“Oh I’m sure you could” he said with a flirtatious air in his voice.
She paused, “yeah…you’re right…I probably could…and Justin, please don’t act sweet “ I’m actually ENJOYING being angry with you” Maddie breathed into the phone with a frustrated groan.
“Well, I don’t enjoy you being angry with me”
“That doesn’t change the fact that I’m an inch away from hanging up on you ““ she paused to take another breath and Justin prepared himself for her soon to come wrath, “WHY haven’t you called? I KNOW you’re busy “ but is a thirty second phone call too MUCH to ask of YOU?”
“I’m sorry, Maddie…you don’t understand, life on the road is just…crazy. You’ve never been on a tour, so you don’t know how hectic it can be”
“Well that’s all going to change” Maddie said with a determined tone, “I’m coming on tour with you”
Justin chuckled, “and when did you decide that?”
Maddie paused, “I decided it two seconds ago “ not that I haven’t been thinking about it. You’re out having all the fun while I’m at home brooding over how much I miss you…I would only come for a weekend or something, its not like I would be able to escape for much longer anyway”
“You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack. Justin, I know it sounds horrible, but listen…I’m dead jealous over every one around you…they get to experience you every day…while I’m here, miserable as hell”
“Oh wow, you must be “ some form of a curse word just left your mouth” Justin said with a faint smile, not missing her damsel in distress attitude. She had always had that certain air about her, and he usually adored it, but when she was mixing it with whining, it was irritating.
“You’ve made me curse a lot more than I’ve wanted to” she said, her angry voice softening with a chuckle, “you can be very frustrating”
“I know…” Justin said with a sigh, “but that’s why you love me” he whispered into the air, his privacy suddenly being invaded by the opening of a door. The moments of silence he had experienced before he called Maddie were marvelous ones. It had just been him and the stars, sharing secrets and conversation. He had learned in his time on the road, that there was no better companion than the very top of a hotel building. A female figure sat down beside him and even though he hadn’t heard her speak, or even seen her face, he could recognize her essence anywhere. She even breathed uniquely. He looked over and they shared a smile. And for once, she actually respected his silence “ for a moment.
“I just love this spot! You can watch the moon kiss the stars for hours” Ella said as she looked longingly up at the sky, “wouldn’t you love to be up there amongst all those heavenly things?” she paused and breathed a heavy sigh, “I dream of it”
Justin gave her a look and placed his attention back to Maddie who was waiting for him somewhat impatiently, “hey baby, I’ve got to go…I’ll call you tomorrow “ I promise” Maddie said her goodbyes and regretfully hung up the phone, her disappointment going unnoticed by him. He was too captivated by Ella. She had her eyes closed and was leaning back, letting her body rest on a concrete wall. She had her dark hair swept up into a scarf and her pale arms were covered by a large shawl that reminded him of one of his grandmother’s antique blankets.
“Watch the sky, Timberlake…not me” Ella said, her eyes remaining closed as her face was tilted towards the sky.
He groaned, “How do you DO that?”
“What can I say? I feel you” she let silence come between them before bursting out into laughter, “that was a line!”
Justin elbowed her, “that was borderline flirtatious”
“Believe me Justin, that was just a crumb off of my flirtatious cake” Ella said, raising her eyebrows cockily.
“A crumb off of your flirtatious cake? Where do you come up with this stuff?” he said quizzically, “never in my life have I met anyone like you” he really hadn’t, she puzzled him in every way that he could be puzzled.
“I hear that so often…” Ella began, “and I don’t understand why people say it?” she really didn’t understand. People were so in awe of her “ all the time! And it was simply because she said things that every one else wanted to…but was just afraid to.
“You’re enchanting…and people are jealous”
Ella snarled her nose and shook her head, “I would love to be enchanting. I’m not that magical, I’m just quirky”
“Same thing”
Ella choked, “The same thing? You cannot possibly mistake enchanting for quirky…that’s like mistaking milk for chocolate milk…speaking of…I would die for some chocolate right now” Ella watched him study her and she found herself smiling, it was obvious that he was intrigued, and she found it quite hilarious. He hadn’t keyed into her humor, so as she started studying him, she noticed that his eyebrows were furrowed, indicating heavy thinking, and his lips were straightened into a thin line. He looked troubled…Justin the great…troubled. She softened her voice, “penny for your thoughts”
His eyes met hers and he let a grim chuckle escape his mouth, “is that all I’m worth? A penny? I was hoping you could at least place me up on the charts at a dime”
Ella laughed, “I don’t know “ depends on what kind of information you give “ the juicier it is, the higher the silver”
Justin put a hand in his pocket and grinned mischievously when he revealed a quarter in his palm. He held it out to her, “no telling what kind of information I can get with this”
“Oh no! I’m scared, I really am!” Ella said, shriveling her face up, “A whole quarter? Cant we counteroffer at a nickel or something?”
“Believe me Ella, the thoughts stirring around in your head are worth much more than a nickel” he hadn’t been aware of how serious his tone was until he saw Ella’s face go emotionless. She blinked, and he could have sworn that he saw her eyes spark. Slowly, her lips curved into a smile and she shook her head, “what?” he asked.
“That charm is going to break some hearts, Justin…don’t give it away so easily”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Had he actually affected her with something he said? Was THE Ella THAT impressionable?
She blushed, “nothing” Ella didn’t know what had come over her. When he said those words…so serious and so intent and spoken directly at her, she felt them move their way deep into her heart. It sounded so cliché and so…predictable. But the last thing she had ever predicted was that Justin Timberlake’s constant flirting would actually etch its way into her thoughts or her emotions. What had this tour done to her?
Justin continued watching her and when she had closed her eyes again, he knew that he had lost access to her thoughts…almost. His movements were slow and intentional. He weaved his arm over her lap and with his hands, unfolded her fingers one by one. Her eyelids were still keeping him from meeting her gaze, but her face was cinched and frozen in place, her breathing even being altered at his nearness. When her palms were laying face down, open to his access, he purposefully dropped a piece of silver down into them, “quarter for your thoughts” he whispered, watching intently as her teeth broke through the barrier of her lips.
The night went on, and they talked…and talked…and talked. Sounds of hilarity would erupt from the both of them in forms of laughter, and then their conversation would turn into soft whispers, as if they were telling each other every secret they possessed within them. And the truth be told…they were.
The Following Morning
A long arm slid aimlessly through a pile of tangled sheets in an attempt to turn off the shrill ring of an alarm clock that was buzzing heavily in an alert ear. After failure, a groan escaped the raspy mouth of a deep sleeper as she buried herself even farther into her pillow, "I don't want to get up" she breathed heavily; finally brave enough to open her eyes and face the sunshine that was glaring through her window.
Squinting as she became accustomed to the light, Ella sighed and fell back into the feathered pillow that withheld her weight comfortably. She was attempting to close her eyes and allow herself just a few more minutes of serenity, but when the motion of another body caught her attention, she popped open her eyes and then closed them in relief.
“And tell me, Ella “ what exactly were you doing up on the rooftop until four o clock in the morning?” Nicola breathed, her thick English accent filling the room. She jumped onto the bed, landing directly beside Ella and brought her face closer to the sleeping girl, “Tell me, Ellie “ you know you want to”
Ella coughed and sent her breath in Nicola’s direction. Nearly immediately, Nicola fled to the other side of the bed and started sputtering, “that’s what you get” Ella said with a confident smile, “you’ve forgotten what kind of damage my morning breath can do”
Still choking, Nicola shook her head, “Dangit Ella…I told you not to do that! It ruins my entire day!”
“Why? Yours probably smells that way too…I’m sure Clay wont mind though…Clay…yuck “ is he coming tomorrow?”
Nicola smiled, “yes he is!”
“Double yuck”
“Shut up…get up, let’s go get breakfast before the buses leave…its…six, the breakfast bar opened early for us…that means we have a whole three hours before we pull out! Let’s go, get up sunshine!”
“What is with you this morning? You’re not this much of a morning person”
Nicola ignored Ella’s ramblings and pulled on Ella’s arm with force, “get up! You took your shower when you came in this morning so all you have to do is brush you’re teeth and get dressed…lets…go!”
“Gosh, NIC!” Ella said, crawling out from underneath the sheets, “for starters, I’m not brushing my teeth “ it ruins the orange juice…and I’m going in my pajamas. We don’t all have to wake up looking like royalty” she said, squinting towards Nicola who stood dressed in a cardigan and denim skirt, her bobbed hair already combed and defined by pins.
“Fine, whatever” Nicola stated, “lets just go! I don’t suppose your going to comb you’re hair either, so we might as well get out of here”
“At this point in the day…you are reminding me of a thirteen year old” Ella said with a slight distaste, her feet hitting the floor with a thud, “the things I do for you Nicola Bridges, the things I do…” shuffling into her slippers, she followed an exuberant Nicola outside of their hotel room door. With a wave towards the bed, Ella whimpered and eventually fell along side of Nicola.
“I see you finally decided to join me”
“It’s hard to keep up with the energizer bunny” Ella said with a smile, “what is WITH you?”
Nicola hushed her and continued walking towards the elevator, “I’m hungry…that’s all…haven’t you seen the breakfast around this place? It’s to DIE for”
“Is this the hotel that has chocolate chip pancakes AND waffles?” Ella said, her voice brightening at the thought.
“No…no…” Nicola said with a shake of her head.
“Then the breakfast bar is HARDLY a cause for death” Ella said with a scoff, “please! All they feed you people is cereal bars and fruit…can you imagine…Gavin told me that pancakes with chocolate will only SLOW me down…yadda yadda yadda…have you heard of such? Breakfast without chocolate? I mean “ not every one can live on fruit and oats alone”
“Gavin’s a smart guy, you should listen to him a little more often” Nicola said seriously, “he’s one of the healthiest guys I know…in a laid back, natural kind of way”
Ella paused, “You and Gavin are pretty friendly”
Nicola laughed, “we have to be kind of friendly “ we’re choreographers…it’s a job requirement to feel each other up every once in awhile”
Gasping, Ella stopped in her tracks, “Nicola Bridges “ what would Clay say? You just used borderline slang!”
“Clay doesn’t rule my life, Ellie…I want him to meet Gavin…I think they will have a few things in common”
“Really? I think they are complete opposites…Gavin isn’t as…what’s the word…pompous?” Ella said, “I guess you’ll find out tomorrow though…they’re bound to meet”
“Yeah they are” Nicola frowned, “It will either be a completely positive or completely negative experience”
They turned the corner and Ella was met with a fancily decorated ballroom. The doors had been closed off to the cluster of fans waiting in the lobby, their looks of jealousy directed towards Ella and Nicola as they passed the familiar guards. Ella could feel the girls eyes on her, more in a quizzical way than an envious one. She owed that to her appearance, they had passed a mirror on the way in and she looked like crap. Her flannel bottoms and oversized tunic hung on her frame loosely, her bangs had been styled by sleep and her eyes were swollen shut by her tiredness. On the other hand however, Nicola was getting looks of death. It was so funny how every one always suspected the pretty girl to be the lucky girl - the girl who was on the arm of any celebrity or handsome person.
Entering the room, Ella was somewhat shocked by the silence. The members of various bands were slumped over their breakfast, looking as if they were forced out of bed to be here. They all had sleepy faces and slow movements, their yawns contagious. She came to the conclusion that her and Justin hadn’t been the only ones to stay awake later than usual. Speaking of…Justin wasn’t anywhere to be found in the room. She had heard that he wasn’t a morning person at all, and that the crew was lucky if he graced them with his presence on early mornings. Room service was his request, and he usually always got it. Ella wasn’t surprised for a moment. Nicola, her faithful and loyal friend had already flitted off to Gavin, her cheeks flushed with pink and her eyes full of a suspicious spark…very interesting indeed. It was a mystery now as to why Nicola had forced Ella to come down with her. Didn’t want to look too eager perhaps? Too late for that! Ella simply shook her head and sat down at the nearest table. It just so happened to be an empty one…but who cares? It was six in the morning. She drooped her head lower, and finally let it come to rest on top of the glass surface. It was almost as comfortable as her pillow - almost.
She closed her eyes and smiled, sleep wasn’t far off…breakfast could wait. They didn’t have chocolate chip pancakes anyway. Lazy chefs.
“Hey water girl”
Ella popped open her eyes. She recognized that voice, raising her head; she set her eyes on a familiar face and laughed, “Hey! I haven’t seen you in ages”
“Yeah…like…” Cole pretended to calculate something in his head, “three days!”
She smiled. He was charming in a…not trying to hard kind of way. He still had his long unruly hair, just the way she remembered it, he was still in a cute guy outfit…but his glasses were missing. She frowned, “I liked you’re glasses” He laughed. She liked his laugh.
“I did too…however, one of my guys stepped on them in the bus…I’ve since then, had to wear contacts…its not fun, but I’m getting used to it”
“Oh” Ella said with a nod, “when I was younger, my aunt would take out her contact and scream and shut her eye and pretend like she took out her eyeball. I would laugh so hard…crack up…it was my favorite thing ever…”
“My dad did the SAME exact thing” Cole said, “I always knew it wasn’t real though…so I had trouble cracking up”
“Why didn’t you just pretend? I pretended…it was my favorite part…challenging reality with pretend…it was intimidating” Ella said, “you should have pretended”
“Next time I will” Cole stated.
“Your dad still does it?” Ella asked, already laughing at the thought.
“He’s a kidder, what can I say?”
Ella smiled, “I would like to meet your dad…he sounds…magical”
“You gathered the fact that my dad was magical all because of a story about contacts?” Cole asked her, his eyebrows rising in question.
Ella nodded, “I sure did. Not all adults have it in them to be silly. Your dad apparently does, so he gets kudos from me”
“I’ll be sure to tell him that…”the most interesting girl I’ve met in years thinks you’re magical, dad”…I think he’ll love it” Cole said, wondering if Ella caught his compliment. When a faint blush spread across her cheeks, he knew that she had. It was a good feeling to make her blush, “where did that bump in your nose come from?” he asked, pointing to the slightly raised portion of her nose.
Rolling her eyes, Ella instinctively brought her finger to touch the spot, “my favorite, and most hated flaw” she said with a shake of her head, “it happened in grade school. I was pretending to be a trapeze artist on the jungle gym at school. I was getting ready to perform a daring jump, when I lost my footing and landed face first on a wooden block. It hurt like the dickens and I still cringe thinking about it…but that’s how I got my beloved bump” she sighed, “I love it and hate it”
“Why love it and hate it “ why not just choose one?”
“I hate it because it’s a bump on my once perfectly straight nose…such a slap in the face of perfection, huh? But I love it because its part of who I am…clumsy and uncoordinated…not at all graceful…but courageous”
Cole laughed, “That’s a nice story” He looked down at his pager. It had made its annoying buzz known and now he was looking up regretfully, “this little device always tears me away from conversation with you, Ella”
Ella smiled, he had said her name. And she liked the way that it rolled off of his tongue…smooth, like…chocolate. The thought made her giggled out loud. He didn’t look at her weird or question her; he just smiled and shrugged his shoulders, “yes…that little device just causes so much havoc and frustration in our lives”
“Would you like to cause havoc in someone else’s life?” Cole asked.
“Always”
Cole took a pen out of his pocket and took Ella’s arm, he spotted the bruise and shook his head, “sorry about that bruise”
“Oh! That wasn’t from you! I ran into the wall yesterday “ don’t ask” Ella drew the sleeves up on her other arm, “this is the bruise you made” it was a slight purple color, complemented by yellow. It was slowly fading.
He grimaced, “Sorry”
“No problem”
He had stopped writing and Ella glanced down at her arm, “a number?”
“My pager number…if your ever bored, or…just want to talk about something stupid or silly…give that number a call and I’ll…I’ll get back to you”
Cole winked and gave a wave. It wasn’t an awkward wave or a cocky wave…it was a promising wave - one that Ella liked very much, “Talk to you later” she stared down at her arm and smiled. Maybe life on this tour wouldn’t be so bad…she had Justin, her companion of companions…and Cole…her…prospect. She just loved that word prospect. Sounded like something from a Charles Dickens book. How mysterious. Ella smiled to herself and looked around the room once again. It had filled up quite a bit, but was still missing Justin…that lazy bum. Standing up from the chair, she went over to where Gavin and Nicola were engrossed in conversation and kindly interrupted.
“GAV! Long time no see…” she slapped him on the back and didn’t miss the way that he glared at her. Nicola only laughed, “What’s Justin’s room number?” Nicola’s eyebrows rose and Ella rolled her eyes, “shut up”
“I’m not sure if I can tell you that” Gavin said, a mischievous glare in his eye.
“Why not? It’s not like I’m going to rape him or anything…” Ella choked at the thought, “gross”
“You never know Ella…the eclectic ones are always the suspicious ones” Gavin said, “maybe I could give it to you…under one condition…”
Ella sighed, “What?”
“Don’t call me Gav…ever…again”
Ella grimaced, “no…its not…worth it”
“No room number”
Stomping her foot on the ground, Ella whined, “But I want to be annoying!”
“You already are” Gavin said under his breath, flashing a bright smile towards Ella who was glaring at him.
“Please? Lets just…counteroffer or something…I’ll stop calling you Gav for…one week…I mean come on, how does it affect you? If you don’t give me the number, I’ll get it from someone else and I’ll call you Gav every chance I get, Gav, and Gav…if you do, Gav…then you wont hear that name uttered from my lips in one week, Gav…what do you say, Gav…whatcha gonna do Gav? Huh Gav?”
“THREE TWENTY-SEVEN!” he exclaimed, slamming his head down onto the table and pounding it repeatedly until Ella stopped talking.
She laughed giddily and waved, sprinting towards the doors, “thanks GAVIN!”
Nicola smiled in Gavin’s direction and patted his arm, “I’ve known her for six years…just imagine”
Gavin shook his head, “I can’t begin to imagine. It’s too painful”
----------------------------------------------------
“Three twenty-seven…three twenty-seven…three twenty-seven…” Ella had been on the run around trying to get to Justin’s room. She had to go back to her room and get her access pass, without it, getting to Justin’s floor was impossible. With that feat successfully overcome, she was on her way to his room and she rubbed her hands together excitedly when she reached his door. The bodyguards around her were giving her questioning glances, but the one she recognized luckily recognized her and gave her the go ahead. He had been the guard at the top of the hotel with her and Justin. He was a good lengths distance away from them, but he had trusted her enough to approach him…so now they had an understanding, “thanks” she said to him with a smile. He returned, with a somewhat smirk, but…he had tried to smile. Effort deserved appreciation.
Ella drew her fist upward and started banging on the door, loud and using all of her strength. There was no way ANYONE could sleep through the noise she was making. She heard chuckling from the bodyguards around her and she gave them looks of hilarity as she continued to pound. It took minutes longer than she thought it would for Justin to finally open the door. Or more rightfully put…to yank open the door. His eyes were tiny slits and his hair was out of place, he had creases on the sides of his face from sleeping in one place for too long, and she could have sworn that she saw a trickling of drool running down his chin. He was missing a shirt and his sweatpants were low slung and dangerously baggy. He didn’t have shoes or socks on and she snarled her nose at his feet…not every thing on this boy was pretty. Looking back up at his face, she smiled sheepishly, “rise and shine, give God the glory glory, rise and shine, give God the glory “ RISE and SHINE and ““ her song was cut off by his pulling of her arm. Before she knew it, she had landed inside of his room. He didn’t say anything, just stared at her, so she opened her mouth, “GIVE GOD THE GLORY, GLORY, CHILDREN OF-“once again she was cut off, this time by his hand, which was firmly planted over her mouth. The rest of the song was muffled under his palm and she kept a close watch on his facial expressions as her breath hit his hand. He wasn’t affected.
“Are you done?” he asked, his breath low and husky…somewhat irritated. Ella nodded her reply, “Good” he said. Leaving her to stand in the hallway, he walked leisurely over to his bed and sunk into the sheets with no sound what so ever.
Ella shook her head, “Tisk tisk…the boy will never learn” she followed him to the bed and sat down on the end of it. He was sprawled out sideways and it was difficult to find a place to wedge her body in order for him not to touch her. She sat in silence for a few moments before grinning widely, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…” she started out in a low whisper, and as she continued, let her voice escalate, “a beautiful day in the neighbor…HOOD” before she knew it, Justin had strategically used his leg to pin her waist down to the bed. She laughed and watched his leg bounce up and down from her stomach, and that of course, made her laugh harder and louder. She was cracking up in a matter of seconds and as Justin’s leg bounced with her laughter, she found the situation even funnier. She heard Justin’s frustrated groaning and tried to stop herself from continually cracking up…but nothing she thought of could stop her from having the giggles. Finally, he popped up from his position, moved his leg and laid down an arms length beside her, he stretched out his arm and cupped his palm over her mouth once again. And then silence invited itself into the room.
Ella tried to shift herself from underneath his arm, but her unceasing laughter ailed her movements. Finally, she just let her body go limp and sighed into his palm. The smell of her breath invited itself back into her nostrils and she curled up her features and began to sputter. Her sputtering turned to full fledged coughing, and she had no idea how Justin could handle the feeling of her breath against his skin for that long. But when she glanced over at his body, his back rising up and down, she figured that he was already asleep. What a baby. All this excitement and all he could do was sleep! She finally gained her composure and lifted his arm from her mouth and sighed. He was out of it.
Getting up from the bed, not bothering to be smooth or quiet, Ella walked around his room and noticed that he was somewhat of a slob…not in a gross, empty food wrapper kind of slob…more like the…shirt and underwear in the floor kind of slob. She didn’t mind it too much…she was both of those kind of slobs combined! She ventured into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She was still dressed in her pajamas, her hair was still uncombed and her teeth still not brushed…she was at her utmost comfortable state. All of his toiletries were on the counter…the normal hygienic things…cologne...she smelt of it; it smelled surprisingly “ like him! It was musky and woodsy…but elegant and rich at the same time. She glanced over to the opposite side of the counter and noticed a box of unopened condoms, “Gross…” she muttered, picking them up distastefully, “at least he’s safe…” she decided, putting the box down and wiping her hands on her pants. For a celebrity, he was a pretty normal guy…all the normal necessities…nothing too out of place or weird. Wandering out of the bathroom, she sat down on the double bed across from Justin’s and sighed. He was so boring in the mornings! Picking up a book that was on the nightstand, she turned to the first page and began reading. It wasn’t overly interesting, not overly boring either…so she continued to read, unaware of the fact that her eyes were drooping, getting heavier and heavier with every word she read. Within minutes, she too drifted off into sleep.
Not Too Much Later
Justin’s eyes opened slowly, trying to adjust to the light ray of sun that was peeking in from the slit in the curtains. His brain felt like it was going to pound out of his head. Glancing at the clock, he fought the urge to groan. It was eight; he had a total of four hours of sleep in his body - just wonderful. The buses were pulling out at nine, he had no idea how he had even woken up this early…it usually took someone pounding at the door for what seemed like hours to get his attention…and then he was somewhat alert for the rest of his sleep “ wait? Didn’t someone pound on the door earlier that morning for what seemed like hours…and hours? And didn’t that person then try to invade his serenity with song…and didn’t that person have a horrible singing voice? He looked over at the clock again “ but this time his attention was on another body in his room. A female figure…his memory fled back to him and he remembered Ella annoying him with children’s church songs and…Mr. Rogers? He climbed out from underneath a set of sheets and walked over to her. Yeah, it was Ella. She had apparently been reading his book because it was now in the floor, its pages creased…she had made it to page…seven? Not too bad…she was lightly snoring and he found himself smiling…it wasn’t surprising that she snored. At least it was a cute snore…kind of…peaceful. She looked eerily cute, her shirt wrapped around her comfortably, one of her slippers still on her feet, the other dangling by her toes. He decided to let her enjoy rest while he took a shower. He took off her slippers and placed them on the floor. A strand of hair was hanging directly in her lips, so he softly and silently used his finger to sweep it behind her ear. She stirred lightly and her lips curved upward.
He smiled and watched her for a few seconds longer before quietly tip toeing into his bathroom. Noticing the misplacing of all of his items, he figured she must have snooped before falling asleep. The condoms were now directly facing him, and he blushed slightly at the thought of her seeing them. At least they were unopened. Turning the shower on hot, he waited for the water to heat up before undressing and slipping inside. He had locked the door just in case Ella decided to get up and use the restroom, he could spare himself and her at least one embarrassing situation.
As the water pounded on his back, he was never more thankful for water. It was sometimes the only stress reliever that actually worked. Not that he had anything to stress over…it was only a solo tour, he was only being burdened by creating another hit record…he only had one girlfriend whom he had to fight to keep. He felt somewhat guilty of not fighting hard enough. Maddie was just…so…normal. She was the girl next door, the girl that anybody could have…she wasn’t mysterious or…enchanting. He smiled, that was Ella’s dream…to be enchanting. Maddie’s dream was just to be the girl on his arm. The sad thing was that before he had met Ella, he thought Maddie was every thing that he wanted. A good girl, nice…sweet…just, a girl…but Ella, she challenged him and he realized that he liked that. Not by any means was he interested in Ella or did he even WANT Ella to be the girl that he came home to…but she gave him something new to look for in a girl - something different and unique. The only problem with that was that Ella was the only girl he had ever come in contact with that was so different from everyone else. And…that created somewhat of a problem.
Getting too deep in thought for comfort, Justin finished rinsing himself off and jumped out of the shower into a blast of cool air, he shivered and wrapped the towel around his body. Looking around for his clothing, he groaned, “shit” he mumbled under his breath. It hadn’t been a habit to bring his clothing into the bathroom, so he hadn’t even thought of it. He had planned to before Ella’s hair caught his attention. Opening the door, he poked his head out and saw that Ella was still in a deep sleep. He quietly stepped out, grimacing when the door creaked loudly. She remained unstirred, so he kept walking towards his suitcase. She hadn’t awoken and he was confident that she wouldn’t, so he grabbed all of his clothing from the bag and once again made his way back into the bathroom…home free. Something in him was curious as to what Ella would have done if she had seen him in only a towel. He knew it was a stupid and somewhat arrogant way of thinking, but he would have liked to seen her reaction. Only a little bit. He knew it would have eventually wound up being an incredibly awkward situation…but later it would have served as a funny story to tell.
It only took him a few minutes to dress; he lightly brushed his hair with gel and then placed a cap on top. He brushed his teeth, sprayed cologne and checked his reflection for flaws - none. He smiled at himself, winked towards the mirror and then shook his head, what a dork. Turning out the light and packing up his items, he put the armful in his suitcase and then worked his way towards Ella. It was eight thirty and time for her to wake up. He was hoping he could shift her from sleep, he had planned on singing an annoying song loudly into her ear, but when he came closer to her peacefully sleeping body, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was such a softy. Sitting down beside her, he nudged her arm lightly, “Sleeping beauty…” he whispered, smiling as she stirred, “Sleeping beauty” she groaned and brought her hands to her ears. He took her arms and drew them away, “Oh, sleeping beauty…”
“Shut up” she finally said, her voice cracking.
“Oh…negativity…I’m shocked, Ella” Justin said, patting her cheeks, “wake up “ we have to leave in thirty minutes…you might want to go to your room and get dressed”
Ella’s eyes opened and she sighed, “Is it really eight thirty?”
Justin nodded, “sure is…you fell asleep in my room”
She smiled, “I know…”
“Uh-huh…remind me to kill you later for interrupting my sleep earlier…” he said softly, noticing how innocent she looked when she was tired…she wasn’t loud or opinionated…she was just…sweet looking.
This time she laughed heartily, “That was so hilarious”
Justin coughed, “Ella “ can I tell you something?” she nodded, and he almost took back his words before he said them, but with the smell still lingering in the air, he went for it, “can you brush your teeth before you laugh again”
Ella stuck her tongue out and sat up, “can I tell you something?”
“Uh-huh” Leaning in, Ella breathed heavily and long, right into his face. He could have sworn that his nose hairs were curling, “that was…gross” Ella began laughing her laugh, loud and obnoxious…but…addicting. She was definitely awake, bye bye sweet little innocent Ella.
“Can I really ask you something now?”
“Sure…as long as it doesn’t involve you getting anywhere near my face” Justin said seriously, “that was the worst thing I’ve smelled in…a long…long…time”
“Can I borrow your toothpaste?”
Justin nodded, “that is definitely a request I can fill. He walked over to his suitcase and pulled out a tube of toothpaste and pitched it to her, “Brush away…wait…do you have a toothbrush?”
“I’ll use my finger”
“That doesn’t really work though…you need a high strength toothbrush” Justin pleaded, “your finger will not do the job”
“Justin, I don’t have a toothbrush up here and unless you want me to borrow yours, then my finger will just have to do until I can get to mine. Nicola probably packed up all my stuff for me, so I may not reach my toothbrush until I get on my bus” in a matter of seconds he pitched her his toothbrush, “your actually letting me borrow your toothbrush?”
“Ella, I can buy another toothbrush…but you cannot face the world with breath like that. They will leave you at the hotel to rot in your bacteria”
Ella laughed, “thank you…and I’ll buy you another toothbrush…until then however, I will just rinse this one with really hot water”
“That’ll suit me just fine. You’re not going to change either huh?”
“No I’m not, and I’m not borrowing your clothes “ so don’t even ask” Ella kidded.
Justin scoffed, “I wasn’t going to ask you to borrow my clothes! I’m not that…giving” he smiled; she would probably look cute in his sweatpants…baggy and loose. He shook his thoughts away, the words “Ella” and “cute” were coming up way too often together. Ella had disappeared into the bathroom and he heard her spitting into the sink dramatically.
“What kind of stuff is this…I feel like I just ate an entire pack of altoids at the same exact time” she coughed into the sink and sputtered about, wiping her tongue on an unused washcloth, “Nasty” she appeared in his sight again and he had to chuckle at her appearance. Her face was so distorted from the toothpaste…she looked scarred for life.
“Its just toothpaste…what kind do you use?” he asked, taking his toothbrush and toothpaste back into possession and sticking them into his bag.
“Bubble gum flavored”
He paused to look at her, “you’re kidding”
“Nope…I don’t like my breath smelling like I swam in an ocean of peppermints”
“You’re just so full of creativity today! “entire pack of altoids…ocean of peppermints”…my toothpaste really does inspire you doesn’t it, Ella?” he teased.
“Can I borrow you’re phone?”
“I love that our friendship has excelled to the point where you aren’t afraid to borrow things…what’s next, my underwear?”
“Gross” Ella said, “the last thing on earth I would borrow…would be your underwear”
“You mean you’d rather borrow Gavin’s?”
“Yes”
“Jack Nicholson’s?”
“Yes”
“Leonardo DiCaprio’s?”
“Yes”
“Kurt Cobain’s?”
“He’s dead…but, yes”
“Marilyn Manson’s?”
Ella grimaced “You crossed the line…no. I would rather borrow yours”
Justin smiled,” I do wear boxer briefs you know” he said cockily, “girls love boxer briefs”
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation, if you could call it that, and Justin raced to the peephole, “Speaking of Gavin! Here he is…maybe he has an extra pair of undies you could borrow…he has Nicola with him too…she might not be too happy about that though”
“Hmmm…probably not” Ella concurred, “open the door already”
Justin opened the door and smiled, “Gavin, Nicola…good morning”
“Time to put your bags in the hall, Justin” Gavin said, “I feel like I’m your baby sitter”
“Is Ella in here?” Nicola asked, poking her head inside of the room, “Ew “ messy” Nicola slid past Justin when she saw Ella sitting on the bed, pulling her hair out of its ponytail, “what have you two been doing in here for the past hour?”
“Nothing “ sleepy head over there wouldn’t wake up, so I fell asleep on the opposite bed…and he just now woke me up…did you pack my stuff?”
“Yes I did, but don’t change the subject” Nicola said nosily, her blonde hair highlighted by the sunshine in the room, “what’s with you and him? You guys weren’t this close yesterday…now you two act like old friends”
Nicolas voice had fallen into a whisper and Ella laughed when she peered at Justin and Gavin, they looked as if they were having the same type of conversation, “we just had a really long talk last night and I feel close to him…we’re kindred spirits” Ella said with a laugh, “I love Anne of Green Gables. One of my old teachers made me watch it with her and ever since then I am convinced that God molded me to be just like Anne…maybe not so dramatic though” Nicola gave Ella a look, “okay “ maybe I am that dramatic “ but aren’t I fun, Nic? Aren’t I?”
“You have no idea, Ella…no idea”
The four of them gathered up the extra belongings in the room and ventured out into the hallway, each prepared for the long stretch ahead of them. Though none wanted to admit, it felt nice to get on the road again…to move, to travel…keep things changing and moving. The pace of life was going to get faster, and each person had a certain excitement for the future. However, none of them knew exactly how much life was going to change. The past few weeks on the tour had been uneventful, casual and friendly…they all expected things to stay that way - carefree and easy going…fun, tiring…but enjoyable. Not a single one of them expected anything…maybe a few bumps in the road, a few rough days…but they had no idea just how hard things would be. It was all calm before the storm. Unfortunately, nobody knew just how rough this storm was going to be.
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