Forty eight hours. Two whole days had passed, and still no word from Hannah. As the wheels of the small charter plane touched down, a feeling of great dread washed over all five of us, because we knew it was almost time to go back to the road. Don't get me wrong, I love making music and seeing all the fans but right then, it was the furthest thing from my mind.
"Oh sweet and fair O-Town, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways." Chris began, holding a hand over his heart.
JC scoffed loudly and tossed a pillow at him while I collected my backpack and swung it over my shoulder. Outside the early afternoon sun shone brightly, reflecting off of the steel of the other airplanes. And much to our surprise, there wasn't one rabid fan outside.
"Wow, have we landed back in 1997?" Joey asked sarcastically.
"Hey fellas, welcome back!" Johnny shouted, waving us over to the tour bus, which was parked not too far off the runway.
Once we were all aboard, the engine roared and soon Orlando was nothing but a speck on the horizon.
"So where are we off to first?" I yawned, the insomnia quickly catching up. I made a mental note to wear earplugs so Justin's incessant snoring wouldn't keep me awake. He was like a bullhorn.
"Atlanta." George, our bus driver, answered.
My ears perked up at this. Atlanta, huh?
"Dude you should go see Hannah." Justin said from his bunk. He lowered the comic book and gave me a knowing look.
"No, I can't do that."
"Why not? Afraid of being rejec-ted?" Chris asked. I glared at him, and he came back with a cheesy grin and popped another Oreo in his mouth.
"No... do you see my phone? It's empty, no messages. What does that mean? Oh... Duh… she hasn't called." I slapped my forehead as if it were some new fangled notion. They didn't get it.
"So what? You saw Sleepless In Seattle... just go for it. Fly by the seat of your pants. Do it for the gipper!" JC rattled off, pumping his fist for added effect.
"What's a gipper?" Justin asked, confused.
"Uh, never mind. So Lance, if you like this girl..."
I cut him off, "I do like her... a lot. But I'm not the type who goes off and does something so spontaneous. Sorry, it's just not me."
"Dude, you need to put your pride to the side for the ones you love sometimes, this being one of those times."
"Yeah, but..."
"But? But what? If I were in your position, I would do everything in my power to let the girl know how much I care. Lance, I seriously doubt she's mad at you for hanging up... I think you're reading into it too much."
Now he was beginning to make sense, which is a scary thought. Atlanta was a good two hours away, so I still had time to make up my mind. If I did go up to see her, I'd have to get past security for the privileges.
We made a pit stop just north of the Georgia/Florida border, and as I got off the bus for a breather, I scanned the parking lot for Lonnie. He was leaning against one of the crew buses, talking to Tim, our production manager.
"Hey Lonnie, can I rap with you for a few?"
"Sure man, what's on your mind?" Oh if only he knew.
"Well, uh... I was wondering if I could split for a few hours once we hit Atlanta. There's something I have to do."
He was lost in thought for what seemed like 10 minutes. At first his face was creased with worry, but soon (luckily) it turned into a wide smile.
"Do you need one of us to drive you?"
---
The skyline of Atlanta jutted up in the clouds. As the sun began to set, rays of orange and pink cascaded across the sky. Yes, I was in a good mood. Nervous, but that was to be expected. With a fold-out map spread out on the table, JC made notes as I followed the highway up to Athens.
"Uh, looks to be about a two-hour drive or so." he said after calculating the mileage. I bit my lip. It was nearly nine o'clock, so by the time I got there..."Maybe you should wait til morning? The show's not til Tuesday night, all that's going down tomorrow is radio show stuff."
Yeah right, and not get any sleep?
"Nah, the anticipation would be too great. I'd drive y'all nuts, anyhow." I admitted.
"Yeah and need I remind you who we share living quarters with?" he asked, cocking his head in Chris' direction.
"Okay, good point. But I'd drive mySELF nuts. That better?"
"Man, you must be crushin' on her big time."
Fa ching! We have a winner.
"Welcome to Atlanta, men. Be sure to tip your driver on the way out and have a pleasant stay." George said as we exited the bus, "Bye bye, buh bye, buh-bye now."
Not even an hour later, I was out in front of the hotel, waiting for the car rental place to bring over my truck. Donning shades and a black pullover sweatshirt, I doubted I would be recognized. Time for a mental pep talk… the worst case scenario: she could scream obscenities and slam the door in my face. Rejection. It was nothing new... something that comes with the territory of being in the music business.
"Mr. Bass?"
"Yeah, that's me." I replied as the representative handed over the set of keys. A dark green Kia Sportage was parked at the curb. I slid into the driver's seat, took a deep breath in, and started the engine, "Here goes nothin'."
----
With the radio blaring out the open windows and cool evening air gushing through the sunroof, I was feeling more and more confident.
"Ahh, Reed Hall." I said, pulling into the small-ish lot and got out of the car. There was a room directory in the main lobby.
"Ohmigosh it's Lance from *NSYNC!" one girl screamed, clamping a hand over her open mouth. Oh no.
"Yeah...uh, hi. I'm kinda lookin' for someone?"
The girl then latched her arm around mine. Man, she's got balls.
"Would it be me, per chance? Cause you're my Prince Charming." she sighed, laying her head down on my shoulder.
What is this, the college of the criminally insane?
"Um, no... sorry, I'm looking for Hannah Jamison."
"Oh, third floor." she replied bluntly, as if the words held a bad taste.
"Thanks."
The third floor was spacious, looked more like apartments than a dormitory. There weren't many people around, thankfully, so the disguise wasn't necessary. I roamed up and down the hall, searching for some indication of which room was hers. Turning down a hall, I nearly ran into a tall brunette.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she apologized with a smile. It took all of about a second for her to refocus and then her jaw dropped, "Do you know who you are?"
I had to laugh, "Hi."
"Christie Bradley, age 21, journalism major and very single." she extended her thin hand and gave a toothy grin.
"Nice to meet you. Not to change the subject, but I'm looking for Hannah Jamison. Do you know her?"
Christie's face fell as the words escaped. Uh oh, did she have a vendetta against Hannah too, like the girl downstairs?
"Yeah, she's one of my best friends." her gaze went straight to the floor.
"Okay...is she here?"
"You know Cody was just telling me you left a message on their machine." she interjected, turning the convo in a 360°.
"Oh good, she got it. Could you show me where her room is?"
"Uh... she's not in her room." a single tear appeared and slowly made it's way down her porcelain skin. I was not getting a good vibe from this.
"Could you please enlighten me here?" I pleaded, looking her in the eye.
"She's in the hospital with meningitis."
WHAT?!?! I was maybe expecting an answer like she was out with her friends, studying, but not...the hospital? I could feel a lump forming in my throat.
"I-is she gonna be okay?"
Christie shrugged, but didn't give an answer. Suddenly, all of my previous emotions were forgotten. I had to get to the hospital, and now.
"Come on, let's go." I grabbed her by the wrist.
Instead of dealing with the elevator, I found the stairwell and completely hauled ass down to the main floor.
"Please be okay."
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