end of 1998-1999
JC and Annie came home from Paris and continued on their journey of love and career paths. At times, it felt like they were being thrown around by a drunken whirlwind, desperately holding onto the only reasonably steady thing in its midst: each other. JC and the rest of the guys were touring practically non-stop while Annie had moved to LA to spend the year honing her craft at Restoration Hope. A friend from Annie's childhood, Theresa Johnson, lived there so Annie moved in with her.
They saw very little of each other that year, so any time spent together was special. It was eerily similar to when they had first started seeing each other exclusively in Paris. Rather fitting, considering they had decided to start completely over. They missed each other terribly, but were able to talk on the phone almost every night. Many were the times when either one of the guys or Theresa had to pry the phone from the sleeping fingers of JC or Annie, respectively.
For Christmas, JC gave Annie a painting he had done himself. She loved it, telling him he had talent and to keep practicing so he could get even better. She gave him a painting she’d done of him and Claude sitting at the latter's kitchen table, which rapidly became one of JC's most treasured possessions. So much so that he'd hung it at his parents' house so nothing unfortunate would befall it.
Despite the distance, they managed to make birthdays special that year as well. Annie sculpted a bust of JC, one which she was quite proud of. He, in turn, loved her work so much he had a shelf specially made for the sculpture, putting it near the painting. JC gave her a bracelet with a ruby heart with a peridot on either side (their birthstones). He told her it was her heart inside of his, so he could protect and surround her with his love.
Annie had bought 3 personal copies of Nsync's debut CD: one for her apartment, one for her car and a very special one she kept in the box of things from Claude. This latter one had autographs and added endearments from each of the guys to her.
Annie also brought the CDs as gifts for everyone she knew. One night while talking to Josh, Lance came in.
"Hey, could I talk to Annie for a sec? I promise not to be more than ten seconds."
"Yeah, okay." Still, JC handed over the phone reluctantly.
"Thanks man." A devilish grin spread over Lance's face. "Annie, our sales jumped this week. Have you been shopping?"
Annie laughed, taking the comment in stride. "Well, I want to make sure that Josh is gainfully employed."
"You don’t have to do in single-handedly, you know." Lance relinquished control of the phone back to JC, winking at him as he did. "She's all yours."
After several more minutes of chatting, there was some background chatter on JC's end of the line. After a few seconds, he came back on with a sigh. "Annie, I have to go. It's our turn for the stage so we can rehearse for the MTV awards show."
"I’m sorry I can’t be there." he could hear the reassuring smile in her voice. "Just relax...you'll do fine. Just remember to call me when you get a chance."
"I hope so. I’m a little nervous. We're trying to rework one of the songs...give it an edgier feel." Another sigh as he ran a hand nervously through his hair. "Just hope I remember the new moves."
"You’ll be fine, you'll be wonderful, and the world will be so amazed they won't know what to do with you. Now go on before you're late. I love you."
"I love you too, Annie. Bye."
LATER
Annie was making some tea when the phone rang about an hour later. The TV stilled blared in the background, but she'd seen the guys perform already and knew she wasn't missing anything important. Setting the tea bag in the cup, she reached for the phone and cradled it on her shoulder.
"Hello?"
"Well, what did you think?" JC sounded like a little kid begging for candy.
"It was great!" Annie smiled as she finished pouring hot water into the mug. "You all looked fantastic! I'm so proud of all of you."
"Thanks, love," he answered quietly, grateful she couldn't see the blush that had spread across his cheeks and absolutely refused to go away.
"By the way, how long did the fake tattoo take?" Annie asked teasingly, finding her way back to her seat and being infinitely grateful for cordless phones.
JC puffed up slightly, indignant. "What makes you think it's fake?"
"Josh, get real. One needle prick, let alone the hundreds it would have taken for a tattoo, would have sent you screaming from the room." Annie grinned evilly. "I’ve seen some of Joey’s video from Europe. Don't think I missed the expression of terror on your face when they started teasing you about getting a shot."
"Okay, so I have one little phobia," he growled irritably.
"Little?" she asked coyly, still sounding completely innocent.
"Fine, big phobia." Now it was JC's turn for the demonic voice. "Sort of like your fear of heights."
"Time out, I give," Annie laughed nervously, realizing she'd touched that nerve a little too long.
It also served to give JC a chance to calm down and focus on the other reasons he'd had to call her. "Listen, I've got some bad news.
"What?"
"I won’t be able to come to your parents' for Thanksgiving after all. Some things got switched around and I’ll barely have time to get home to my folks."
Annie tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. "That’s okay. It'll just make Christmas that much more special."
“Annie..." JC’s voice grew quiet. ”This next thing is pretty important. You have to promise not to tell anyone.”
“Do you want me to pinkie swear?’ she said laughingly.
“Annie, I’m serious.” His voice told her the gravity of the situation.
“I’m sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood.”
“That’s okay, you don’t know how big this is getting.”
“What is it?" A waver of fear had crept into her voice.
JC took a deep breath and out spilled. “The guys and I are suing Lou to get out of our contract. Seems like he has been screwing us over for years. We were so excited to have our dreams come true, we didn't realize he was taking so much of our money.”
Annie was about to speak, but then figured that he still had more to say and waited patiently.
He didn't disappoint her. "We have no idea how this will turn out. I mean, we’re just five guys taking on a rich and powerful man. We could even lose the right to use the name *Nsync. But we agreed to stick together in this and we’re determined to see it through to the end - whatever that end may be.
JC's voice became infinitely sad. “You know, I could live with losing the group, but if I ever lost you...” He swallowed hard. “I did once. I don’t know if I could handle it a second time.”
“Josh,” Annie interrupted softly. "First off, you can remove any thoughts from your head that you're going to lose me. That makes no sense. Why would I leave you? Especially when I love you so much I can’t even imagine my life without you in it. Secondly, the fact that you're a member of *Nsync is not why I'm with you today. I fell in love with a kind, sensitive, and beautiful young man who was far from famous when I met him. Someone who was willingly to spend the afternoon with a dear old man and listen with intent compassion to his stories, who had empathy and felt what he felt. Someone who, after being dragged to numerous art galleries, now knows and appreciates the differences between a Matisse and a Picasso, a Van Gogh and a Degas. A sweetheart who watches my favorite movie, “An Affair To Remember”, over and over again, even when I'm sure he could recite every line by heart but never looks bored and is still crying with me at the end. A man who always treats me with respect. Who listens, talks with me for hours about silly and mundane things just to hear my voice, loves me more than I ever thought anyone could love and has the most beautiful, warm smile which lights up my day when I see it.”
"Annie, stop it! You’re embarrassing me..." JC was suddenly grateful they weren't talking on a video phone and that the blush that had spread across his face was safely hidden.
"It’s all true and you know it. I could go on for hours about how deeply I about you. And Josh...I’ll keep you guys in my prayers even more as you work this out."
“Thanks Annie." he paused for a moment, then came back on the line.
"Sorry, but I have to go. As much as I'd love to keep talking to you until we fall asleep again, Joey and Justin have convinced Lance and Chris that they want to go to a party and now all four of them are after me. I’ll try to call you tomorrow, okay?"
"Have fun. I love you."
"I love you, too."
"Oh, one more thing!" Annie managed to catch JC before he hung up.
"Yeah?"
"Tell Joey to lose the red hair."
JC was chuckling as he hung up the phone
