Jennifer and Kathy walked out of their psychology class, obviously tired.  “Tell me, was today’s class incredibly boring or was it just me?” Jennifer asked.

“Oh, Lord, it was so boring!  This is why I hate guest speakers; they can’t seem to make the class interesting,” Kathy replied.  “By the way, you fell asleep for a while in there.”

“I did?” Surprised because she never fell asleep in any psychology class, Jennifer stared at Kathy.  “Please tell me I wasn’t doing anything embarrassing.”

“Well, you weren’t snoring or drooling or anything, but you did whisper JC’s name once or twice,” Kathy told her.  Jennifer’s eyes widened.  “Oh, it wasn’t loud or anything, but the way you said his name, you must have been dreaming about him.  But anyway, I woke you up after a couple of minutes.”

Jennifer closed her eyes in mortification.  “Oh, my goodness.  I can’t believe I…” she paused, thinking of everything wrong that could have happened.  “Thanks for waking me up when you did.  I would’ve died if I did anything embarrassing.”

“Hey, no problem.  So what were you dreaming about anyway?” Kathy asked, grinning widely.

“Nothing.”

“Oh, come on.  I know you were dreaming about something from the way you were moaning JC’s name in there,” Kathy teased.

“Shut up, Kat.”  Jennifer blushed, not wanting to reveal what she was thinking.

“You know you want to tell me…come on.”

“No.  I won’t say.”

“Fine,” Kathy settled, having a pretty good idea of what her friend was thinking.  “Let’s go have lunch.”

“Okay, let me just page Derrick.”  Jennifer walked over to the phone on the corner.  Just as she picked up the receiver, her pager went off.  She checked the number, then smiled.  Hanging the receiver up again, she leaned against the phone booth and gazed at the number on the display.

Kathy walked over and nudged Jennifer.  “What’s that?  Who paged you?”

Jennifer said nothing; she just handed over her pager.

Kathy looked at the display: ‘3-17 – 143 – 8-8’.  “What is this supposed to mean?” she questioned, thoroughly confused.

Jennifer sighed, took back her pager, and explained, “See this ‘3-17’?  That’s me.  ‘8-8’ is JC.  Those are our birthdays.”

“Yeah, I got that much, but what does ‘143’ stand for?”

“Oh, that means ‘I love you.’  One letter for ‘I’, four for ‘love’, and three for ‘you’.  So basically, his message says, ‘Jennifer – I love you – JC.’”  Jennifer held her pager tightly and sighed.

Kathy groaned and rolled her eyes.  “Oh, brother.  Now they have codes they send to each other,” she muttered to herself.  She reached around Jennifer and picked up the receiver.  “I’ll have to page Derrick myself.”

**

JC walked away from the phone, grinning to himself.  He had just paged Jennifer with a message they had devised while he was on tour.  He strolled down the hallway and into the lounge, where the others were deciding on what to do for lunch.

“Do you want to go out or stay here?” Chris asked the group.

“Well, I guess it depends on what we all want to eat, right?” Lance said.

“Okay, then what does everyone want to eat?” Chris inquired.

“Let’s just order in a pizza or two,” Justin suggested.  “I’m tired, and I don’t feel like moving anymore.”  With that, he collapsed onto a couch.

“What do you say to pizza, Lance?” Chris turned to his friend for an answer.

“Pizza’s fine, but what do we get on it?”

“Oh, hey, JC,” Joey said, raising his voice to stop the conversation.  “What do you want for lunch?”

“Whatever you guys decide is fine,” JC said, obviously distracted.

Joey looked over at JC.  He’s got something on his mind.  It’s probably Jennifer.  “Something bothering you, JC?”

“Huh?”  JC was deep in thought until Joey interrupted him.  “Oh, nothing.  Everything’s fine, thanks.”

“Okay, then if everything’s fine, why do you look so intense?” Justin asked, coming over.  He, along with Lance and Chris, noticed JC’s facial expression.

“I’m okay, really I am,” JC tried to assure his friends.  “Thanks for your concern, though.”

“Come on, man, spill it,” Chris said.  “That look is way too serious if everything’s okay.”

JC took a deep breath.  I might as well tell them this.  It couldn’t hurt.  “All right, I’ll tell you.  Tonight, I’m going to ask Jennifer to come back to D.C. with me for a while so she can meet my family.”

Justin, Lance, Joey, and Chris just stared at JC for a minute.  They knew it had to be serious if JC was going to ask Jennifer to do such a thing.  “Hold up one minute,” Justin said, breaking the silence.  “You’re going to ask her to meet your family?”

“Yeah,” JC said.  “And I’m going to give her this.”  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box.  Opening it to show the others what was inside, he explained, “I think this’ll tell her just how I feel about her.”

Inside the box was a delicate gold necklace.  On the necklace was a pendant showing two linked hearts.  The guys gazed at the necklace, then up at JC.

“Wow, it really is serious between you two,” Lance whispered.

“I told you, I’ve never felt this way about anyone before,” JC admitted.  “I really love her.”

“You don’t need to tell us, JC,” Joey said.  “We can see it every time you look at her.”

“Yeah, and we can tell she loves you, too,” Chris added.  “You know, from the way she looks back at you.”

JC grinned.  “You think she’ll like it?”

“She’ll love it,” Justin murmured.  “Just like she loves you.”

JC frowned slightly at Justin’s quiet words.  “What’s on your mind, Justin?  Why are you so quiet?”

“Oh, nothing,” Justin replied, quickly perking up.  “I’m just excited for you, that’s all.”

“Yeah, we all are,” Joey said.  Everyone began talking as Justin stood and walked to the window.  He looked outside, lost in his thoughts.  JC and Jennifer are so happy together.  Sighing, he looked back at Lance, Joey, and Chris congratulating JC and slapping him on the back.  Why can’t I be happy?  Why can’t I find someone like Jennifer?  He looked back out the window.  Why couldn’t it have been me with Jennifer?

**

Kathy and Jennifer rushed into the restaurant where they were supposed to meet Derrick fifteen minutes earlier.  “Did you have to stand there in that phone booth like that?” Kathy asked her friend.  “Now we’re late again.”

“Oh, please, Kathy, we’re only a little late!  I swear, you must have a really accurate internal clock or something,” Jennifer said as she scanned the tables, looking for Derrick.

“Well, we wouldn’t be late if you didn’t have to stand there, looking at your pager as if he would page you again in the next ten minutes.”

“I was not standing there like that!”

“Yes, you were!” Kathy looked out at the tables and saw Derrick waving them over.  “Look, there’s Derrick.  Let’s go.”

Kathy and Jennifer made their way over to the table and sat down.  A waiter came over to take their drink orders, and then Derrick spoke up.  “How was class, you two?” he asked.

“Boring,” Kathy answered with a sigh.  “Jennifer even fell asleep.”

“Oh, be quiet,” Jennifer said.  “I nodded off for a while, that’s all.”

Derrick laughed, then said, “Sure you did.”

“Oh, you shut up, too.”  Kathy and Derrick both laughed at Jennifer.  Jennifer shot dirty glances at them both, trying to make them stop, but ended up laughing herself.  “All right, so I fell asleep for a second.  Sue me.”  Everyone laughed for a few moments then opened their menus.  They gave their orders to the waiter, then settled back to talk.

“So, ladies, may I ask what you have planned for tonight?” Derrick inquired.

“Well, Lance and I are planning to go to the amusement park,” Kathy said.

“That’s cool!  I haven’t been there in a long time,” Derrick replied with a smile.  “How about you, Jennifer?  I know JC asked you out for a date, but do you know anything about where he’s taking you?”

“Believe me, I’ve tried to get details out of him, but he won’t budge!  I’ve tried everything, but nothing works,” Jennifer said, a bit frustrated.

“Oh, come on, Jen, he wants to surprise you,” Kathy reminded her.

“I know he does, but it’s not like he couldn’t let a few little details slip, you know?”

“Well, Jen, you might be interested to know that I did ask him about your date,” Derrick interjected.

“You did?”  Jennifer’s full attention was now on Derrick.  “Please tell me he told you something!”

“Well, he didn’t,” Derrick confessed as Jennifer’s face fell, “and even if he did tell me anything, I wouldn’t say anything.  He said he wanted it to be a surprise, so I would have kept it a secret.”

“You would keep something that important from me?  Someone you’ve known since high school?” Jennifer asked incredulously.

“Yes.”  Derrick grinned wickedly at Jennifer, making her lean over and smack his arm.  “Hey!” he yelped.  “Don’t be so violent!”

“Oops, sorry…didn’t think I hit you that hard,” Jennifer apologized.

“It’s okay.  So anyway, do you know what the other guys are doing tonight?”

“Gee, we never thought about what they might be doing,” Jennifer said, looking at Kathy.

“Maybe they’ll be going out, too,” Kathy wondered aloud.

“Well, I’ll see if I can catch them later at Trans-Con and ask if they want to go out clubbing or something,” Derrick suggested.

“Cool, they said they’d be at the studio working on new stuff,” Jennifer said helpfully.

“Okay.  I’ll check and see if they’re around when I get back.”

Their food arrived, and the three fell into silence for a bit as they began to eat.

**

After lunch was over, the group of three split ways: Derrick went back to work, and Kathy and Jennifer headed to the nearest mall.  When they arrived, Jennifer turned to Kathy and said, “Okay, so let’s look for your stuff first.”

“But it’s so close to prom time…shouldn’t we look for your dress first before they’re all gone?” Kathy asked.

“I’ll be fine.  If I can’t find what I’m looking for, I have a royal blue formal dress sitting in the back of my closet for me to use,” Jennifer assured her friend.  “Let’s find your outfit first.”  Grinning at each other, Jennifer and Kathy went off to find the right clothes for their dates.

They walked into one store and began scanning the racks.  “Do you see anything you like?” Jennifer asked.

“Hmm…here’s a pair of cargo pants that would look so cute with my new shirt,” Kathy said, holding up a hanger.

“Kathy, we are not here to look for cargo pants!  We’re looking for things you can wear tonight, remember?”

“I know, but…these are exactly my size, and they’re on sale, too!”

Jennifer sighed, knowing Kathy was a sucker for nice clothes on sale.  “Okay, go try them on, but make it quick so we can keep looking for what we came here for!”

Kathy grinned and went to the fitting rooms.  Jennifer kept looking through the racks, searching for something Kathy would look really good in.

“Jen?”

Hearing her name called out, Jennifer looked over to the doorway to the fitting rooms.  Kathy stood there, wearing the cargo pants.  “Hey…not bad, Kat!  Very cute!” Jennifer complimented.

“You think so?”

“Sure.  You should definitely get them.”

“Cool.”  Kathy turned to go back and change into her jeans.

Jennifer looked around some more until Kathy came out.  “Did you see anything that would look okay on me?” Kathy asked.

“Not really.  I saw a couple of styles you might like, but the colors were all wrong.”

“How do you know they were the wrong colors?”

“Easy.  They weren’t black,” Jennifer said with a smirk.

“Oh, okay.  Let’s move on, then.”  Kathy paid for her pants, and the pair went to another store.

The next store they entered was perfect.  They found lots of new styles, and both of them found many items for their wardrobes.  They looked around, grabbing some item of clothing every so often.  By the time they made it to the fitting rooms, each of them had six things to try on.  They were having a great time, laughing as they saw what the other had tried on, approving or disapproving outfits.  When they finished, each had a large bag full of new clothes.  They were talking a mile a minute as they exited the store.

“I can’t believe how much we bought in there!” Jennifer exclaimed, still giggling.

“We went buck wild!” Kathy agreed, then stopped.  “Wait a minute, did we see anything I could wear for tonight?”

“Oh, my gosh!  Guess we have to go back in…” Jennifer grabbed Kathy’s arm, and they walked back inside the store.

“Hey,” Kathy said, pulling Jennifer back.  “Look at these.”  She grabbed a hanger off a rack and held them up for Jennifer to see.  “These are cute!”

Jennifer examined the pair of Capri pants Kathy held in front of her face.  “Oh, you’ve got to try those on!  They’re perfect!”

Kathy walked back to the fitting room.  While Kathy was trying on the pants, Jennifer searched through Kathy’s bag to find a top she could wear with the pants.

A few minutes later, Kathy emerged from the fitting room.  “So?  What do you think?” she asked.

Jennifer grinned.  “Just as I thought…they’re perfect!  One little thing, though.”  She handed Kathy her bag full of clothes.  “Try on the white tank top, and then put on that preppy white button-down over it.  Let’s see how that looks.”

Kathy took the bag and went back into the fitting room.  Jennifer checked her watch while she waited.  Okay, it’s two-thirty.  If this look works for Kathy, we should have plenty of time to look for my dress, Jennifer thought to herself.  Looking up, she saw Kathy walk out of the fitting room.  She was wearing the outfit as Jennifer described it.  “Oh, Kat,” Jennifer breathed.  “You’re going to blow Lance’s mind in that.”

Kathy smiled.  “You really think so?”

“Definitely!”

“Perfect.”  Kathy turned to look at herself in the mirror.  Look out, Lance, she thought.  Here I come.  “Okay, Jen, let me just buy these, and then we can go look for your dress.”

“Sure.  No rush.”

Kathy changed, bought her pants, and the pair walked out into the mall again.  They stood for a minute, wondering where to go first.

“Where should we look?” Jennifer asked.

“Let’s just walk around, and the first store we see that sells formal dresses, we’ll go in.”

“Okay.”  They began to walk, looking around to find the right dress.

**

The guys were just finishing up at the studio.  Derrick had caught up with them, and the six of them were hanging out in the lounge area.

“So,” Derrick began, stretching his legs out in front of him, “what are everyone’s plans for tonight?”

“Well, JC and I have dates,” Lance said.

“With very beautiful women,” JC added with a grin.

“Cool, cool,” Derrick replied.  “What about the rest of you?”

Chris shrugged.  “I don’t know,” he admitted.  “We got caught up in everyone else’s plans that we didn’t make any of our own.”

Derrick laughed.  “Well, I was planning on going out tonight, maybe go out clubbing,” he said.  “Would you guys like to join me?”

“Sure!  Thanks, Derrick,” Joey voiced.

“I’m up for that,” Chris said.  “How about you, Justin?”

“Oh…uh…I don’t know,” Justin replied hesitantly.  “I don’t know if I’m really in the clubbing mood.  I was just going to go home and spend some time with my family.”

“On a Friday night?” Joey asked incredulously.  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“No, really, Joey, I think I want to stay home tonight,” Justin said, not wanting to get into it with everyone around.  I can’t say that going out tonight will make me think of Jennifer out with JC.  I can’t keep thinking of her like that.  I can’t have her, but…Lord, please help me figure out what to do.

Derrick noticed the tone in Justin’s voice.  Hmm… he thought, I think I’d better talk to Justin alone.  Not just yet, though, but soon.

JC spoke up, interrupting everyone’s thoughts.  “Well, since we’re done early, I should start getting prepared for tonight.  I have to get flowers, call the…places I’m taking her,” he stopped, keeping himself from revealing his secrets, “and get a tux.  I need to make some phone calls.”  He stood and walked out to find the nearest phone.

“I’ve got to get some things, too,” Lance said quickly and left.

“Hey, Joey, you should work on your pick up lines for the ladies at the clubs,” Chris teased.

“What pick up lines?  I don’t need any!” Joey joked.  He and Chris walked out of the lounge, laughing.

“I’ll talk to you later, Derrick,” Justin said and stood up to leave.

“Hold on there, Justin,” Derrick stopped the young man.  “Let’s talk about something.”

“Can it wait?” Justin asked impatiently.  “I need to call my mom and see what’s she’s doing tonight.”

“No, it can’t,” Derrick replied.  “Have a seat.”

Justin sighed deeply and sat down on the edge of a couch.  “What do you want to talk about?”

“You know, I couldn’t help but notice how down you were earlier about going out.  Now, if I remember correctly, you’re the one who always wants to go out.  What’s the deal?”

“Nothing, man, I’m fine.”

“You can’t fool me, Justin.  Just tell me what’s up.”

Justin took a deep breath.  “I can’t tell you.”

“Sure you can,” Derrick reassured him.  “Just tell me.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“We won’t know that until you’ve actually told me.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you.”  Justin took another deep breath.  Well, here goes.  “I think I have feelings for someone.”

Derrick frowned.  “That’s all?  You have feelings for someone?  Well, Heaven forbid you have feelings for someone,” he said sarcastically.

“Come on, Derrick.  It’s more serious than that.”

“Then tell me!”

“I can’t, Derrick.  I just can’t…I’m sorry.”

“Hey, don’t think I’m pressuring you to tell me anything.  I’m just trying to help, that’s all.”

“Thanks, but I have to think about this first.”

“Well, at least come clubbing with us tonight.  Maybe it’ll help to take your mind off of things,” Derrick suggested.

“Well…” Justin hesitated, deciding.  “Okay, I’ll go.”

“Great.  You’ll have fun, trust me.”

“Sure.”  Justin then stood up, wanting to be alone.  “Hey, I’ve got to go.  I’ll talk to you later.”  He walked out quickly, leaving Derrick alone in the lounge.

“I wonder what’s wrong with him,” Derrick said to himself.  “Maybe Jennifer can talk to him, she can figure out what’s going on.”  He stood and went back to his office to think about what happened.

**

“Kathy, we’ve been to ten different stores,” Jennifer whined.  “Can’t I just use my blue dress at home?”

“No way, Jen!  We’re going to find you a dress that will take JC’s breath away!” Kathy asserted.  She pulled on Jennifer’s arm and dragged her into another store.  Jennifer groaned, but then she quieted down as she noticed a dress on the wall.

“Kathy…look at that one…” Jennifer breathed.  Kathy’s gaze followed to where Jennifer was pointing.

“Wow…oh, my goodness, Jennifer, you have to try that on.”

Jennifer and Kathy were staring at a lilac-colored satin sheath with double spaghetti straps and a slightly flared A-line skirt.  The bodice was fitted, with the straps criss-crossing across an open back.  It was simple, yet elegant.  They gazed silently until a salesperson walked over and interrupted their thoughts.  “May I help you ladies?” she asked them.

“Oh,” Jennifer looked blankly at the woman standing next to them.  “Uh, yes, can I try on that dress, please?”  Jennifer gave her size to the woman, and soon, she came back, holding the dress in both hands.

“If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to a fitting room,” the salesperson offered.  She turned, leaving Jennifer and Kathy trailing behind.

When they reached the fitting room, Jennifer handed her bag to Kathy and walked inside.  She quickly took off her jeans and blouse, and carefully removing the hanger, slipped the dress on.  Staring in the mirror at herself, she couldn’t speak.  Oh, my…is that really me? she thought to herself.

“Jen?  How is it?” Kathy asked through the door.  I hope it fits her.  It’s so beautiful…and Jennifer would look great in it.

Jennifer turned and slowly opened the door to the fitting room.  Both Kathy and the salesperson inhaled sharply.  “What?” Jennifer asked, suddenly afraid she looked awful in the dress.  “Is something wrong?  Does it look terrible?”

“No,” Kathy said, her eyes softening.  “You’re beautiful.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yes, dear, that’s a wonderful look for you,” the salesperson gushed.  “Just one thing to add.” She walked away for a minute, then quickly returned with a long lilac scarf to match the dress.  Holding it out to Jennifer, she said, “Drape this over your shoulders, buy a pair of matching shoes, and it’s you.”

Jennifer took the scarf and slowly brought it over her shoulders.  The light purple of the scarf and dress made an excellent contrast with her dark hair.  Without taking her eyes off the mirror, she whispered, “I’ll take it.”

“Wonderful!” the salesperson exclaimed.  “I’ll start ringing up the bill.”  She walked towards the register as Jennifer turned back to Kathy.

“Well?  What do you think?” Jennifer asked her friend.

“JC will definitely love it!” Kathy assured her.

Jennifer just smiled and turned back to the mirror.  “I almost hate to change out of this,” she sighed.

“But you will,” Kathy said, “and when you wear it later, you’re going to look perfect.”

Jennifer smiled again and closed the door to the fitting room.  She slipped out of the dress and changed back into her regular clothes.  When she was ready, she and Kathy took the dress up to the register.

“This dress was made for you, dear,” the salesperson complimented.

“Thank you,” Jennifer said.  When the woman had her back turned, Jennifer leaned over and whispered to Kathy, “I don’t know why she’s still complimenting me.  I’m buying the dress and a scarf!  She’ll get her commission.”  Kathy stifled a laugh as the salesperson turned to face them again.

“Dear, I hope you don’t mind me asking,” she began, “but why are you buying a dress like this?  You don’t look like you’re getting ready for a prom.”

Jennifer grinned and replied, “Oh, no, ma’am.  My boyfriend is back in town.  You see, he’s been gone for six months for…work, and he came back just two days ago.  He’s taking me out tonight, and he told me to dress formally.”

The salesperson smiled warmly at Jennifer.  “He was gone for six months?  Why would he have left such a lovely lady as you?”

Jennifer blushed and looked down.  “Thank you.”

“Well, since he’s back from such a long absence, I think I’ll do something special for you,” the woman on the other side of the counter offered.  She scribbled something on a piece of paper, then handed it over the counter to Jennifer.  “You take this over to the shoe store across the way there, and they’ll give you a matching pair of shoes for fifty percent off.”  She smiled again as a look of surprise passed over Jennifer’s face.  “You should look your best for your man.”

“Thank you…thank you so much!” Jennifer beamed at the salesperson.

“You’re very welcome, dear.”  She handed Jennifer the sales slip to sign, then gave her a copy of the receipt and the dress.  “You have a wonderful time on your date tonight.”

“I will.  Thank you again!”  Jennifer and Kathy rushed out of the store.

The salesperson waved, then chuckled.  “She’s such a darling,” she said to herself, watching the pair walk excitedly to the shoe store.

**

Jennifer and Kathy pulled the car into the driveway, exhausted from their shopping trip.  They lugged their bags out of the car and walked into the house.  Dropping everything in the living room, they collapsed onto the couches.

“I don’t think I can move anymore,” Jennifer declared.  “Maybe I’ll just have JC carry me around on our date.”

Kathy laughed at her friend.  “But then he can’t see how good that dress looks on you.  It’ll be all smushed in his arms.”

“Oh, we can’t have that, can we?” Jennifer joked.  Sighing, she closed her eyes.  “What time is it?” she asked.

Kathy looked over at the clock, then jumped up.  “Oh, my goodness!  Jen, it’s already five!”

“What?” Jennifer opened her eyes immediately.  “You’re kidding me!”

“Um, hello…you’re the one who told me I had the accurate internal clock!”  Kathy hurried over to Jennifer and pulled her up.  “Come on!  We have to start getting ready!  The guys will be here in an hour!  You can change in my room, in case the guys come home early and JC goes to your room.”

“Okay!”  They gathered up their purchases and raced up the stairs to prepare for the evening.