| Chapter Three |
| Nikki laughed at Ryan, as he did an impression of a monkey that was scarily realistic, "Oh man, Ry... That is too...." She trailed off when she saw Jenny run toward them. "Oh great." she mumbled under her breath. "Hey Ryan!" Jenny threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "How are you?" She grinned evilly at Nikki.Ryan sensed the tension between the two, but decided to ignore it, for his own sake. It was a smart move. Nikki scowled, but, keeping a tight grip on her pride, said goodbye to Ryan and walked offstage towards the *NSYNC toy room. She shoved the door open, and hopped onto the exercise bike beside the weight bench Justin was laying on, with his headphones blaring. She pressed the stop button, and he opened one eye, immediately giving up the weights when he saw her face. "Nik? What's wrong sweetie?" he said, putting a sweaty palm on her leg. She choked back a tear, and he quickly grabbed her hand in his, rubbing the back of hers with his thumb, "Come on babe, just let it out." They moved slowly to the couch, and Nikki turned into his shoulder, sobbing. Lance walked into the room, but stopped and stared at them uncertainly. Justin slowly nodded and he walked over to the pair, gathering Nikki in his arms as Justin walked out towards the stage, searching for Mandy. Lance continued to smooth her hair with his hands. "Nikki? Do you want to talk about it?" She nodded, and accepted the tissue he offered her. For a half hour, Nikki poured out every feeling she had been holding in for so long. And for a half hour, Lance listened. He didn't talk, but he knew that just being there was enough. Mandy and Justin had walked in quietly at one point, but Lance escorted them out with one look. Nikki dabbed at her blood shot eyes once more, and hugged Lance to her, "Thank you." She whispered. When he looked at her quizzicaly, she gave a nervous laugh, "You're a great guy Lance, really. Nobody's ever actually listened to me that way before." She kissed his temple, "So thank you. I'm gonna go take a shower before our sound check." He smiled as she walked out. Wow. Just..... wow. Who could ever not like that girl? I sure do. I... Oh my God. I love her. I think. Whoa whoa whoa..... you think Lance? Come on. You either do or you don't. I don't. No, wait.... I do. I'm gonna kill Britney for making me watch Passions. Look what happens. That should've come with a freaking warning label. I love her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jenny was ready. Her hair was up, her make up was on, and her dress was killer. Strapless, with a barely there back. And she had done it. Ryan Goodell was hers. She knew it. They were going out weren't they? Her attention was drawn to Nikki, who was sitting in the recliner they had placed in the corner of the living room. She doesn't look too upset. Maybe she gave up. That's good. I hated fighting with her. "Hey Jen? Where are you and Ryan going tonight?" "Olive Garden. Why?" "No reason." Nikki watched as Jenny shut the door behind her. She could hear Ryan's voice out there. It hurt. She picked up the phone and dialed his number. "Hello?" "Hey, its Nikki. Would you like to go to the Olive Garder tonight?" "You mean like, right now?" She grinned and ripped her robe off. She was wearing a silver dress that fit her figure perfectly. Like he can see. "Yeah, I'm ready." "Well, okay. What should I....." "A suit. Eight o'clock." CLICK She grinned and whispered into the mirror, "See ya Lance." |