| For some unknown reason, all of the guys, except JC, groaned when they saw her blue shirt, but before Annabelle could ask what was wrong, Justin interrupted her. “Are you ready,” Justin asked as he handed Annabelle the tulip he held. The others followed Justin’s lead and gave her their flowers. “Thank you so much, guys. Yeah, I’m ready.” Joey stepped forward and kissed her cheek, “Since JC won, we’re all going out front and get our seats. Break a leg.” Justin jumped in front of Joey and pulled Annabelle into a hug, “break an arm while you’re at it. Good luck, Belle. Don’t forget to tell Jay Leno about your wonderful friend, Justin.” “Keep dreaming, Timberlake,” Annabelle smirked. “Well, dinner Belle, this is it. Remember to have fun out there. My little girl’s all grown up,” Chris wailed as he, Joey and Justin began their journey to their seats. “I should go with them. Have to watch my biggest star perform, so I can critique her later. Knock ‘em dead,” Lance turned to face JC, “Well you won fair and square. See you out there.” When Lance was out of sight, Annabelle turned to face JC. Raising her eyebrow, Annabelle asked, “What did you win?” JC smiled and took her hand. “We had a bet to see what color shirt you would wear; I picked blue, so I won the honor of escorting you to the stage,” JC paused when he saw her condemning look, “What? It’s not my fault that I’m the one who picked the shirt out! So, you ready to go,” JC asked motioning towards the stage. “Wait, before we go. JC, I really need to talk to you after the show. It’s very important,” she whispered so no one could hear. JC looked at her worry evident on his face. “I don’t like the sound of that, but okay. As soon as the show’s over, we’ll talk.” JC silently guided her through the crowd forming backstage and stopped as they reached the curtain. “Ms. Cooper, in a few minutes we’ll need you to take your place. Just go out and stand on the white line like you practiced,” a passing producer instructed Annabelle. Annabelle nodded at the woman, and frantically began wringing her hands. “Bella, don’t be nervous. You’ll be great,” JC soothed. “I’m not nervous about this. I’m nervous about...” before Annabelle could finish; JC’s cell phone gave a shrill whistle. “Hello,” JC answered as he gave Annabelle an apologetic smile. A few minutes passed, and JC was still talking animatedly on the phone. “Ms. Cooper, it’s time. Good Luck,” the producer said as she nudged Annabelle onto the stage. As she took her spot behind the white tape, Annabelle looked up to see Justin, Joey, Chris, and Lance in the front row clapping wildly. Shyly, she waved towards them, and turned back to the curtain to see JC. “I have to leave. There’s a problem with the new album. I won’t be back for a week. We’ll talk then. I’m so sorry,” JC sadly called to her from behind the curtain as he turned to walk away. ‘NO!’ Annabelle screamed in her head. She tried to run off the stage, but the cameraman’s voice stopped her. “We’re on in 5...4...3...2....” The light went on and Annabelle heard the band start up, but she stood frozen. ‘I can’t wait a week!’ The music stopped, and Annabelle saw that all eyes were on her. She saw the guys exchanging worried glances amongst themselves. ‘I have to do this.’ Annabelle slowly pulled the microphone to her mouth and did the unexpected. |
| Chapter 7 |