| 21 year-old Melissa Walker sat in the farthest corner of the dressing room, watching her boyfriend JC Chasez talk to his band mates. Melissa softly sighed, and continued reading her book. After the past 2 years she had been dating JC, she was used to being in the back. Not that she was complaining. She loved JC with all her heart and knew he felt the same way about her, but music was his first love. She would never try to come between him and his dream. “Hey Melissa! We’re going to get some pizza. Want to come?” Paul, Nsync’s personal assistant, asked from the opposite side of the room. Melissa quickly glanced back at JC and saw that he was still deep in conversation and decided he wouldn’t be done for a long time. Looking back at Paul, Melissa nodded her head while she gathered her stuff. Before she left, she told Joey's brother, Steve, to tell JC where she'd gone. She didn't want him to worry if he got done early. <2 hours later> “Thanks for the pizza, Paul,” Melissa called to Paul as she exited his car. Walking back into the building, Melissa noticed the building was quite dark and deserted. “Anybody here?” she hesitantly called into the empty rooms. “May I help you, miss?” a man suddenly asked, startling Melissa. Talking in the man's appearance and realizing from the broom in his hand that he was the janitor, she asked, “Um...yes. We’re is everyone? There was a big group here earlier.” The man looked at Melissa like she was crazy. “Miss, everyone left about an hour ago.” Melissa couldn’t believe they would leave without her. Steve would have told JC where she was, and he would have waited. Oh gosh, what if Steve hadn't told anyone? Her thoughts turned to JC, who must be worried sick. Melissa quickly thanked the man and called a cab. During the drive, Melissa thought of how poor JC must be worried about where she had gone. She felt so guilty about leaving. “JC? I’m so sorry,” Melissa yelled as she walked into JC’s apartment. There was no answer. “Jace? Are you here?” “Melissa, is that you? I'm in the bedroom," JC finally yelled. When she walked into his room, she saw him perched behind his piano, scribbling into his notebook. Funny, he didn't look so worried, Melissa thought to herself. “Did Steve tell you where I went? I know I should have told you myself, but I didn't want to disturb you." JC didn't take his eyes away from his notebook as he replied, "It's okay." She stood there for a few more moments, waiting to see if he would say anything. It didn't even seem like he knew she was there. "Jace, did you know where I went?" He didn't respond, just chewed on the end of his pen. "Jace, I went with Paul. We went out." "That's nice," JC replied absent-mindedly. Melissa decided to test him to see if he was truly listening. "Yeah, we hung out for a while with a few other people, but after that he took me back to his place. We were all alone and one thing led to another." "That's nice, Melissa," JC responded. Melissa could feel her anger rising. He couldn't even spare 2 seconds to listen to her. That was it! She couldn't handle being second to music all the time. Sometimes she wanted to be the first thing he cared about. "JC, I'm leaving you." "Uh huh." "Listen to me," she hollered as she grabbed his notebook and threw it across the room. His eyes quickly shot up. "What's wrong with you?" He sounded angry at her. That was the last straw. "You're what's wrong with me. I just told you that I was alone with Paul in his house and one thing led to another, but you didn't even care enough to pay attention-" "You slept with Paul?" he asked in disbelief. "No. That's the point! I was trying to get your attention, but you weren't listening to me. All you care about is your music. I'm leaving you, JC." He shook his head. "No, you can't. Please, Melissa, it’s been a long day. I wasn’t thinking straight. I’m sorry,” JC pleaded. “I’m tired of being your invisible girlfriend. Just look at the bright side, you can spend all your time writing.” She kissed his cheek and walked out of the room, never looking back. >2 months later< “Hey Jace! We’re all going to a club. You have to come,” Justin pleaded with a sullen JC. “She’s not going to call. It’s been two months; she would have called by now,” Lance chimed in. JC knew that they were right, but in the back of his mind, he still had hope. She'd come back to him. She just had to. He looked up at the four faces staring at him expectantly. “Ok, I’ll go, but only for a little while” he barely whispered. At the club, JC threw himself into the mix. It'd been so long since he'd gone clubbing. He danced with every girl he saw, but he still felt empty. He was sipping his drink when a familiar voice called his name. It was her. “Melissa?” JC asked looking at her new look. Her once mousy brown hair contained blonde and red highlights, she had two earrings in each ear, and her eyebrow pierced. He'd never pictured her as the type to get so many peircings. Finally she spoke, breaking the awkward silence, “It’s good to see you. I’m sorry I never called, but I had to figure some things out.” He nodded his head in acceptance. “You look good. Different, but good,” JC paused to gather his thoughts “I love you, Melissa. I know I was a horrible boyfriend. I took you for granted, but I never stopped loving you. I haven't been able to write since you left me. You were my muse,” He looked into her chocolate brown eyes and found the courage to continue. “I know you must hate me after the way I treated you, but I hope we can remain friends or-” JC’s words were cut short by Melissa’s lips on his. “I love you too. Did you really stop writing?" He nodded still a little bemused by her kiss. "I started a few songs, but I never finished any of them. You know how I told you that music was my first love? I was wrong. You are." "So, does this mean we're back together?" "In my heart, we were never apart," JC whispered as he brought his lips to hers. |
| Invisible Girlfriend |